Vanessa Selbst has been handed the chance to appear on the award-winning TV show Billions during its seventh and final season.
Poker superstar @VanessaSelbst ACTING (much dialogue!) on #Billions tonight. Of course, no poker player says NO to @DavidLevien & @briankoppelman! #Rounders @SHO_Billions pic.twitter.com/M7wQVpnyqe
— Susie G. 🦋 (@Ziggy_Susan) September 25, 2023
The female all-time money leader amassed $11.9 million from live tournaments over her career and probably much more from cash games. But then, out of the blue, she gave it all up for a career in finance.
This was certainly a dream opportunity for Selbst. The chance to play ultra-high stakes with other people’s money with no skin in the game must be nice.
And can you think of a more suitable candidate for a financial trading job than a poker player?
In fact, during the 1980s, a Wall Street firm targeted chess grandmasters, thinking they would be ideal for intense analytical work under high stress.
Today, we can assume that top poker players are thought of on par with the best chess players when it comes to logical analysis.
The trading firm I work at is interested in interviewing top poker talent. I think it’s the best “real” job in the world if you’re seriously into poker. Reply to me if interested & I will potentially connect you to recruiting (directed only to people I know personally or know of)
— Vanessa Selbst 🏳️🌈 (@VanessaSelbst) July 14, 2022
Not the First Poker Connection on Billions
Vanessa Selbst’s appearance on Billions isn’t the first connection to poker we’ve seen on the show. Some readers might be aware that Brian Koppelman and Devid Levian, two of the show’s founders, co-wrote Rounders, the greatest poker movie of all time.
Not only that, but 17-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth also made a cameo appearance back in season 3 of Billions.
The episode “Optimal Play” saw a charity poker tournament in which Damian Lewis’ character, hedge fund manager Bobby ‘Axe’ Axelrod, needs to find the right employee to represent his firm in the event.
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