Abby Merk had already produced her biggest poker win in years.
Then she risked the entire $1,500 profit on a single hand of online blackjack.
The latest video from the AbbyPoker creator turned a winning Texas cash game into something considerably more nerve-racking, with Merk setting herself a challenge that meant her poker result was never really safe.
Once during every orbit, Merk left the table and played a single blackjack hand. If she had won money during the orbit, she wagered the profit. If she had lost, she wagered enough to try to recover it.
By the end of the night, that meant putting $1,500 on one hand.
And she won.
AbbyPoker Adds Blackjack Twist to Texas Cash Game
Merk’s challenge began with a relatively simple idea.
She would play a live cash game while keeping track of her result during each orbit. Once the orbit ended, she would take that figure to an online blackjack table.
If she was $50 down, $50 went onto blackjack in an attempt to get it back. If she was $200 up, she would risk $200 and try to double the profit.
“The name of the game during this session was going to be to make money,” Merk explained, knowing that every profitable orbit would create another potentially painful blackjack decision.
The first test was hardly terrifying. Merk finished her opening orbit $17 ahead, put the entire amount on blackjack and won.
She was suddenly $32 up.
Then things started getting bigger.
$240 Blackjack Hand Wipes Out Poker Profit
Merk recovered from an early poker loss before winning a sizeable pot with pocket sevens.
After three-betting to $75 preflop, she continued for $100 on a queen-eight-five flop. Her opponent moved all-in for $196 and Merk called.
Her sevens held, putting her around $240 ahead for the orbit.
Under normal circumstances, that would have been a welcome cash-game result.
Under the rules of this session, she had to gamble all of it.
“I just won a really big hand, but I should be more happy about it than I am,” Merk said. “But I’m a little bit nervous because now I have to put $240 on one hand.”
This time blackjack won.
Merk ended up with 17, only for the dealer to make 21, wiping out the $240 she had just won at the poker table.
It would not be the last time poker and blackjack pulled her bankroll in opposite directions.
Poker Session Starts to Turn Around
Back at the table, Merk continued trying to rebuild.
One of the more unusual hands came with six-three offsuit after she made two pair. A series of tiny bets and raises eventually escalated dramatically, with Merk raising to $300 and forcing the rest of the table out.
“I feel like I got away with murder on that one even though I did have the best hand,” she said afterwards.
Another profitable stretch left her $225 ahead, creating another large blackjack wager.
This one went her way.
Merk’s 18 held against the dealer and the challenge swung back in her favor.
It was a pattern that continued throughout the session. Poker profits created bigger blackjack bets, blackjack losses increased the pressure at the poker table, and another win could suddenly erase the damage.
The format is a good example of the type of challenge-led poker content that has become a major part of the creator scene. Poker Type has also seen creators such as Corey Eyring build large audiences around bankroll challenges and the financial swings that come with playing poker.
Ace-King Pushes AbbyPoker $750 Ahead
One of Merk’s biggest poker spots came when she picked up ace-king in the straddle.
After several players limped, an opponent holding king-jack suited raised to $80.
Merk moved all-in.
The shove was called and Merk decided to run the board once. Her ace-king stayed ahead, sending her poker profit to around $750.
Not all of that went onto blackjack because the challenge was based on the result from the individual orbit. This time, the required wager was $200.
She lost.
Instead of ending the experiment, Merk returned to the poker table looking for another opportunity.
She found several.
$920 Shove Helps Produce Biggest Poker Win in Years
The session changed dramatically as Merk accumulated progressive bounty markers used in the game.
With a $20 straddle in play, she found ace-jack offsuit and moved all-in for $920.
Johnny Mott called for $390 with jack-nine offsuit.
Despite Mott flopping an open-ended straight draw, Merk’s ace-high survived the runout. She collected $428 from the hand along with another $160 from the progressive bounty.
Another aggressive hand followed shortly afterwards, helping her collect a further $320 from the table.
Suddenly there was almost $1,500 sitting in front of her.
The result was particularly notable given the ups and downs Merk regularly documents through her content. Her Abby Merk creator profile charts a poker career that has included WSOP appearances, cash games, tournaments and the transition into creating poker content full-time.
But there was still one problem.
The challenge wasn’t over.
AbbyPoker Risks Entire $1,500 Profit
When Merk finally counted her stack, she realized she was $1,500 ahead.
That meant only one thing.
“Oh my god. I have to put $1,500 on one hand of blackjack,” she said.
It was comfortably the biggest wager of the challenge.
Merk was particularly concerned about being dealt a hand that required doubling down, which could have turned an already enormous $1,500 decision into something even bigger.
Instead, she was dealt 16 against a dealer 10.
She had to hit.
“My heart literally can’t handle winning any more money right now,” Merk had said moments earlier. “That’s the first and only time you’ll ever hear me say that.”
A three arrived.
Merk now had 19.
She stood and waited.
The dealer failed to beat it.
The $1,500 poker profit had become a $3,000 combined win.
“Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go,” Merk shouted as the table celebrated around her.
After nearly half an hour of poker pots, blackjack swings and increasingly uncomfortable wagers, there was only one sensible conclusion.
“Cash me out.”
For once, that was exactly what AbbyPoker did.
Watch AbbyPoker Gamble Her Poker Winnings
Abby talks us through her poker success and shows us her blackjack gamble in this 30 minute video
