Three days after quitting a heads-up marathon match with professional poker player and coach Matt Berkey, Nik “Airball” Arcot showed a more refined and humble side to himself in an apology he posted on Twitter yesterday.
“I want to apologize for the comments I made about Matt being a scammer and the negative comments I made about his business,” Arcot, 28, wrote. “That was out of line and I regret making those comments. I got caught up emotionally in the heat of the moment and said some things I shouldn’t have said, and for that I apologize. Matt showed during this match that he is a true professional.”
Arcot ended the weeks-long match that spilled over to other games and got physical after 60 sessions and down a tick over $1 million — which allowed him to bow out.
The statement is a stark contrast stylistically with the character Arcot has shown on poker livestream shows where viewers often see him berate and insult his opponents. In his statement, he called it all an act.
“My close friends know the type of person I really am and the character I have. But in poker, I enjoy being an exuberant polarizing character. I believe that poker needs characters, but sometimes I go too far with it, and that’s something I need to work on,” he wrote.
The full statement follows the article.
Blames ‘J4’ hand for quitting investment banker job
During a recent interview while taking a break from playing on Hustler Casino Live, Arcot said the infamous “Jack-four” hand played between Robbie Jade Lew and Garrett Adelstein helped cost him his job as an investment banker.
Adelstein accused Lew of cheating on the stream after she called him down with only J4 in October.
Even though Arcot was not there, Arcot said after Adelstein mentioned him in a “manifesto” about his accusations, his employer began receiving prank calls from irrational poker fans.
“People in the poker community are, like, pretty nasty. People were reaching out to my office and, like, saying pretty hateful things, and it caused a problem, and I was basically in a position where I had to pick, like ‘Do I like my job more, or do I like playing poker more and having my freedom and whatever’ and so I decided to move on from the banking role and that’s when I kind of started playing like twice a week here a lot more commonly,” he said in the interview.
The video was posted by a user on Reddit. In case it disappears, the text of the 2:32 second clip is posted below.
Arcot’s statement about his heads-up match with Berkey
First of all, I want to congratulate Matt Berkey on his victory. There was a lot of shit talking, most of it for fun and to add excitement to the match, but in the end I have to give credit where credit is due. He played well, and he played better than I expected he would. He won fair and square, and he deserves to celebrate his win.
I want to apologize for the comments I made about Matt being a scammer and the negative comments I made about his business. That was out of line and I regret making those comments. I got caught up emotionally in the heat of the moment and said some things I shouldn’t have said, and for that I apologize. Matt showed during this match that he is a true professional.
I have a lot to learn as a poker player. I have a newfound respect for heads up poker. I didn’t have any experience in heads up, but I learned a lot while studying for and playing this match, and I have a lot more to learn. My experience is in live ring games, and that’s where I feel most comfortable and have the most fun.
I also have a lot to learn as a person and a public figure in the poker world. My close friends know the type of person I really am and the character I have. But in poker, I enjoy being an exuberant polarizing character. I believe that poker needs characters, but sometimes I go too far with it, and that’s something I need to work on. I’m never going to change how I really am – fun, loud, social, sometimes obnoxious. But I can work on being better at not making comments that can be hurtful. In the end, I just want to have fun and play some poker.
Thanks to everyone who supported me throughout this match. It was a fun journey, even though I fell short. Even to the haters, I appreciate all of you as well.
Text of Arcot’s interview on HCL
So here’s what it was. So out of school, I got into investment banking. I was working last year when I moved back to LA for a new job. People probably don’t remember this, but basically from March to a little after Jack-four, I’d play once a week, and that’s because I was working. Once a week I’d slip out and come play the stream because I love poker.
Then the Jack four thing happened, and you may think: ‘Well, how’s that relevant to you? You weren’t here, you weren’t in the game.’ Well, Garrett put my name in his manifesto and essentially said I was, like, part of the cheating ring and that caused a lot of problems with me at work.
People in the poker community are, like, pretty nasty. People were reaching out to my office and, like, saying pretty hateful things, and it caused a problem, and I was basically in a position where I had to pick, like ‘Do I like my job more, or do I like playing poker more and having my freedom and whatever’ and so I decided to move on from the banking role and that’s when I kind of started playing like twice a week here a lot more commonly.
That’s kind of like why I’m no longer working in investment banking, but for the longest time, I was.
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