Abby Merk Answered a Friend's Question. The Internet Built a Stockade.

Daily Brief  ·  09/22/26  ·  The Nineteen Grand Edition  ·  Published

Abby Merk Answered a Friend's Question. The Internet Built a Stockade.

Abby Merk answered an honest question from a friend at the table, lost the hand twice on a run-it-twice deal, and asked for a minimum buy-in on camera. The clip went viral, the internet built a stockade, and both players say the whole thing was resolved between them within minutes.

A Friend's Question, Run Twice

Abby Merk, a poker player, content creator and CoinPoker ambassador, raised to $50 from the hijack in a livestreamed $1/2 cash game at The Lodge Card Club in Texas. The cutoff 3-bet to $150. A player named Susan, who had limped under the gun, called, and Merk 4-bet shoved for $821. The cutoff folded and Susan tanked.

"Do you want action?" Susan asked, weighing the call. "Not really," Merk answered. Susan called anyway, the two agreed to run the board twice, and Merk lost the pot and asked on camera: "What's the minimum I can buy in for? I don't really want to play anymore."

The clip passed a million views within days. Poker pro Matt Berkey called Merk's reaction "a ridiculous reaction to a self inflicted wound." Comedian and player Caitlin Comeskey posted: "Being one of the most prominent women in poker in 2026 is fucking torture."

Merk later explained on Instagram that she and Susan are longtime table friends and that she answered the way she would answer a friend, not an opponent. Susan's own statement backed up that account and added that folding as a favor "would be collusion." The two say they resolved everything privately within minutes of the stream ending.

The Story Was Never the Hand

Two players who like each other had a completely legal conversation at a poker table, ran an unlucky board twice, and by evening one of them was being treated like a defendant by strangers. Merk's account and Susan's do not disagree with each other, which has not stopped several thousand people from disagreeing with both. The story was never the hand. It was how fast the internet can turn one honest sentence into a public trial.

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In the Spotlight

Eric Chang Won a Record Austin Main Event. The World Champion Made $19,030.

What happened

Eric Chang, a Texas-based pro and Columbia graduate, won the $1,700 World Series of Poker Circuit main event at Texas Card House Austin on Monday for $433,670 and his second Circuit ring. The 2,090 entries were the largest field a $1,700 Circuit main event has drawn, building a prize pool of $3,166,350 against a $2 million guarantee.

Chang sat fifth of nine when the final table began and eliminated Eric Tang in fifth with ace-king of diamonds. Lucas Jumalon, who won the 2026 WSOP main event and its $10 million first prize in early August, came back for the final day as chip leader with 18 players left and finished 14th for $19,030.

Why it matters

A $10 million title buys the same seat as everyone else, and the seat does not remember him. Austin's turnout was up more than 22 percent on the room's first Circuit main event in May, which drew 1,709 entries.

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The Explainer

Amy Batson Won Mississippi's First Belt Buckle on a Flip. Holland Took the Money.

What happened

The inaugural Mississippi State Poker Championship $400 main event, a RunGood Poker Series stop at Horseshoe Tunica, ended with a seven-way ICM chop. Michael Holland took the largest share at $17,570, followed by Brandon Owens at $15,162, Jason Miller at $12,120, Jeff Manley at $11,305, Bill Onley at $10,547, Amy Batson at $9,394 and Melinda Freeman at $8,777.

With the money settled, the seven flipped for the belt buckle, the winner's photograph and the title itself. Batson won the flip and became the first champion in the event's history. She has played poker a little over a year, started at a bar league called River Rat Rounders after her son left for university, and wore a crown at the table throughout Day 2.

Why it matters

The money went to Holland by arithmetic and the trophy went to Batson by chance, and everyone at the table agreed to both. The record book will carry Batson's name forever, unqualified, next to a sixth-place payout.

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Follow the Money

Viorel Gavrila Had $10,007 in Live Cashes This Year. Rozvadov Paid Him 125,500 Euros.

What happened

Viorel Gavrila of Romania won the 250 euro EPC Mini Main Event at King's Resort in Rozvadov for 125,500 euros and the Royal Scepter trophy, out of 4,389 entries against a 1 million euro guarantee. He knocked out each of the last four opponents himself, ending it with nine-five offsuit against Mystery Kid's ace-king. He had $10,007 in live cashes this year and says he now plans to play more live.

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The Circuit

PokerStars Crowned a Women's World Champion. The Title Paid $4,049.

What happened

Vanessa Kade won WCOOP 73-H, the $215 Women's World Championship on PokerStars, beating a 75-player field for $4,049 and the first WCOOP title of her career. In 2021 she won the Sunday Million 15th Anniversary for $1,514,920. Marle Spragg finished third for $2,269. On the same day Patrick Leonard won WCOOP 69-H, a $530 turbo, for $15,428 and his fifteenth career WCOOP title, two behind Benny Glaser's seventeen.

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Beyond the Felt

Resorts World's Former Compliance Director Says He Was Fired for Compliance.

What happened

Preston Banks, Resorts World Las Vegas compliance director since September 2022, has sued the company, alleging he was fired in September 2025 in retaliation for flagging a group of gamblers whose sources of funds could not be verified. The suit says staff filed more than 50 suspicious activity reports and the property banned 28 people over roughly $12 million in unpaid credit. Resorts World denies the allegations and calls the action frivolous.

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Also Filed

Joseph Ferguson Was All In Three Times With Sevens. He Won All Three.

What happened

Joseph Ferguson won the $700 RunGood Poker Series Golden Expedition Joplin main event at Downstream Casino Resort for $48,516 and a ring, beating Robert Little heads up out of 400 entries. He was all in with pocket sevens three times at the final table and won all three. An Oklahoma electrical estimator, it is his biggest cash and takes him past $100,000 in lifetime live earnings.

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