Nikhil Arcot

Nikhil “Nik Airball” Arcot is an American high-stakes cash-game professional and livestream personality from West Linn, Oregon. He discovered poker while studying at New York University in Shanghai, where he became fascinated by televised and livestreamed cash games. Before pursuing poker full time, Arcot worked in investment banking in New York and Los Angeles. He held FINRA-registered roles and passed the Series 7, Series 79, and Series 63 exams.

Arcot moved permanently to Los Angeles in 2022, where he became a regular presence in the city’s high-stakes private games and on major poker livestreams, including Hustler Casino Live. His connection to the livestream world began earlier, when he watched Live at the Bike closely and developed a friendship with producer Ryan Feldman. That relationship eventually helped bring him into the Los Angeles livestream poker scene.

The nickname “Airball” reportedly came from commentators describing a series of failed bluffs as “airballing,” a term borrowed from basketball for a shot that completely misses the basket. The name stuck and became one of the most recognizable identities in modern livestream poker. Arcot has since embraced the character, often presenting himself as the table’s villain and using table talk, humor and confrontation to create an entertaining atmosphere for viewers.

Unlike many professional players who emphasize solver work and formal range study, Arcot has said he learned primarily by watching live poker and relying on instinct, observation, and reads. He describes his approach as understanding whether opponents are truly willing to risk their entire stack, rather than simply following theoretical charts. While his public persona is deliberately outspoken, he has also said he is trying to be more measured away from the table and to avoid unnecessary social-media arguments.

Outside poker, Arcot has a background in finance and business. He became an investor in The Lodge Card Club alongside Ethan “Rampage” Yau and later became a CoinPoker ambassador. His combination of investment-banking experience, high-stakes cash-game play, and deliberately provocative livestream persona has made Nik Airball one of the most recognizable personalities in modern poker.