Abby Merk’s Power Play: From Finance To Poker Fame To BetMGM Partnership

Abby Merk’s path to poker stardom started with an unexpected piece of career advice: learn poker to thrive in high-stakes, male-dominated boardrooms. That tip not only sharpened her strategy skills but also launched her into a new career entirely.

At just 24-years-old, the former finance professional has become one of the biggest rising stars in the poker world and a major content creator in the industry. Now an official BetMGM ambassador, Merk is hosting the “Creator Game” this Sunday at ARIA in Las Vegas to kick off the BetMGM Poker Championship, bringing together fellow influencers and fans for a one-of-a-kind event that blends competition, charisma, and content.

Merk graduated college with a degree in philosophy and math but wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do.

"I had always been a really diverse kid with many interests, and poker was something that had recently come to my attention. So when I graduated college, I actually had this mentor that was kind of helping me find my way through life, and she suggested that I actually go into options trading. A skill she suggested that I practice, or actually let me rephrase that, a tool that she had suggested that I use to practice my skills and become a better in options trading was actually playing poker," Merk told The Blast exclusively.

"She was hoping that it would teach me skills like confidence, decision making, risk management, things like that and she was totally right. It was a bit of a weird suggestion at first, I'll admit, so when I graduated college, I pretty much took her advice, became an options trader for two years. I was working in finance and did a bit of product management and after that I kind of realized that it wasn't fully where my heart was."

Merk realized that she was enjoying poker and loved that she could create her own path and share her journey online. She liked that she could pursue a creative outlet, and her family and friends supported her decision to leave trading and enter the world of content creation and poker.

"My network is very tight knit and I'm really lucky to have the support system I do," she said. "I think that there's a lot of trust there when it came to making this decision. My parents, for example, always trusted that I would maintain discipline and good bankroll management throughout my journey. They knew I wasn't going to just randomly spaz and do things just because they looked good on camera or whatever."

In addition to playing, Merk is also a successful content creator/influencer. She said the secret to keeping her poker content fresh and fun is "hard work and authenticity." She also said she lives by the quote, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life."

"I fully believe that. When it comes down to it, I found a love for the game first and I was always a really artistic kid so having that outlet for me through a game that I love should hopefully come off as genuine, because I feel it is genuine," she told The Blast.

"I do not post anything that I don't want to post. I don't say anything I don't want to say. Everything that I talk about is my genuine experience when it comes to these events, experiences. I think that's a pretty lucky thing."

Merk collaborates quite a bit and said she's been lucky in her career and has gotten the opportunity to travel the world to play poker.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Merk entered an exclusive partnership with BetMGM. Through this partnership, the award-winning content creator and professional poker player will participate in select in-person poker events and create content on social media.

When asked what this partnership means to her, she simple said, "It means everything."

"It was really just a very natural fit for me. When it came to my voice and my vision, they fully trust me and we align a lot about where we want content creation to go and how we want events to run," she explained. "It's just so amazing to finally find a company that listens to the players. And BetMGM is number one about listening to their players."

On Sunday, June 29, Merk will be hosting the "Creator Game" kicking off the BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA.

"So the 'Creator Game' is going to be a ton of fun. I've carefully selected this lineup to be particularly interesting," she told The Blast. "There's a lot of never-before-seen dynamics on a camera."

Merk feels these games help to grow the poker community and attract new players as well as provide a good time for players.

"We need to realize that poker is at the end of the day, a card game that we all get to do that we're blessed that we are able to do. And at the end of the day, games like this grow the game because number one, they're going to increase awareness of the fact that poker can be fun and you can really have a good time when you're playing these games. And it doesn't always have to be serious, but you can also make money while doing it," she explained. "And also just reminding people to laugh and lighten up and have a good time. i just think it's really important."

When asked what advice she would give other women considering poker, because it's more male-dominated, Merk said "expect failure at first."

"I'm not going to sugar coat it. You should expect failure at first, but I would also expect the most growth you've ever seen in your life," she told The Blast. "You don't have to risk a lot of money playing poker to achieve the same results. So my best advice would be to genuinely be very conscientious that everyone starts as a losing player, truly myself included."

She added, "Be brave. Kind of rip off the Band-Aid a little bit, but then also reflect and learn from this experience. There's truly so much good that can come out of that if you allow the good to come out so I think that women are especially poised to be successful because of these things that are alienating us, if you will. So use that to your advantage and go crush it."

For more information about Abby Merk and to follow her journey, visit her on Instagram.