ShareVanessa Selbst has made a guest appearance on the hit TV show Billions. The poker star turned financial professional was seen in an episode aired on September 24 titled “DMV” analysing employees in a casino.
Selbst made a successful career for herself in poker, winning more than $11 million in live tournaments to make her the most successful female player of all time.
In need of a new challenge, Selbst called time on her full-time poker career and headed into the world of finance, working as a consultant for the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. Known for her ability to read her opponents and analytical abilities, this seemed like the perfect move.
Only last year, Selbst was offering her poker peers the chance to make the move too.
Billions is a drama series that follows the lives of wealthy and powerful individuals in the world of finance, the justice system, and politics.
The show has been praised for its writing, acting, and attention to detail in portraying the world of high finance. It has also been criticised for its portrayal of the financial industry as a cutthroat and immoral world.
Fans of the show in the poker world will no doubt be aware that two of the show’s writers, Brian Koppelman and Devid Levian, also wrote the script for the hit poker movie Rounders, starring Matt Damon, Ed Norton, and John Malkovich. That movie turned 25 this year and is well worth checking out if you haven’t seen it yet.
Phil Hellmuth also made a guest appearance in Billions, during season 3 in 2017. In that episode, titled “Optimal Play”, Bobby ‘Axe’ Axelrod must send an employee to a poker tournament to represent his firm. Tyler Mason, played by Asia Kate Dillon, wins the event after making a sick call that was a copy of a hand played by Stuey Ungar at the 1992 WSOP.
