3 barrels of pure value including Mike Sexton explaining the similarities between poker and war; Phil Hellmuth and Brian Cantu starring in the hit show Billions, and we reveal the stars of the second season of Pokerography.
Task & Purpose is a news site dedicated to the ‘new kind of American veterans’ emerging from the war on terror.
Here are examples of articles that appear on the site:
Here’s What we Know About The American’s Signing Up to Fight ISIS.
8 Military Punishments That Wouldn’t Fly in The Civilian World.
And
A Poker Champ Explains What Gambling Teaches Us About War.
Wait?
What?
Poker and war?
A poker champ?
I was 100% sure it would be another cameo role from our beloved Phil Hellmuth, but it turned out that Mike Sexton was the poker champ in question and why not? The World Poker Tour (WPT) Commentator served with the 82nd Airborne Division between 1970-72 where, amongst other things, he taught ballroom dancing.
“Combat, like poker, is a gamble.” Wrote the article’s author James Clark, himself a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, and it was an excellent opener. The Poker Hall of Famer’s new book is titled: ‘Life’s a Gamble.’
Sexton, who never won the World Series of Poker Championship as the article alleged, said that there are three things gambling can teach people about warfare: accept that some things are beyond your control, draw your opponent out and strike from a position of strength, and make a decision.
“You can’t control the outcome. You can’t control the luck factor. You can’t control the card that comes off the deck.” Writes Sexton.
“The battlefield is no different,” wrote Clark.
I think this was an opportunity that Sexton should have politely declined.
What do you think?
Phil Hellmuth & Brandon Cantu Star in Billions
So that’s why the Poker Champ wasn’t writing about war. He was busy filming a Showtime hit.
Say what you like about the man with white magic oozing from his fingertips he is the one and only poker megastar we have.
This time, there is no beer can in his hand, and no burger. Instead, Hellmuth was in New York where he was due to star in a cameo of the Showtime series Billions.
Billions is a series about power and money. It stars Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti. The series writers are Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Koppelman and Levien wrote Rounders. Hellmuth has also been a guest on Koppelman’s successful podcast. Brandon Cantu was also thrust into a chair and covered in blusher.
What a great time working with the show Billions. @MalinAkerman @lewis_damian @KellyAuCoin77 #billions #sho_billions pic.twitter.com/JVaO7NQkJ5
— Brandon Cantu (@brandoncantu) August 7, 2016
Pokerography Returns for a Second Season
The Billions crew may feel that Brandon Cantu is worthy of a role on the show, but the same cannot be said for Poker Central’s documentary series Pokerography.
The show returns for a second season, and Cantu will not be one of the players featured. His Billions co-star Phil Hellmuth did star in Season 1.
The episodes are 30-minutes long, way too short in my opinion, and here is the complete list of stars for that second season:
Jennifer Tilly
Brian Rast
Maria Ho
Liv Boeree
Johnny Chan
Jonathan Little
Nick Schulman
Chris Moorman
Jason Koon
Isaac Haxton
Byron Kaverman
Celina Lin
Like the first, the second season is very American pro-centric. The UK posse breaks it up slightly with a focus on PokerStars Liv Boeree and 888Poker’s Chris Moorman. Asian audiences will be glad to see Celina Lin making an appearance.
The show is available on the likes of Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Xbox, PlayStation, and Roku TV.
What do you think of the new line-up?
Who would you like to see kicked off and replaced?
