02x03 - Optimal Play

[bunniefuu]

[Gus] Previously on Billions...

Rhoades' misconduct is being investigated.

I have nothing to hide. You'll receive full cooperation.

With it, without it, I'll find out what's true.

Know that.

You broke into my computer, opened my files, and read my session notes.

You stole the evidence you needed.

I thought I wanted to bring you on full time, but now that I know I can trust you, I'm certain I do.

I'm going to w*r with Krakow and Guangdong, and I need boots on the ground.

I want to crush this f*ck.

That glass... it's not a barrier.

It's an asset. It's what makes you good.

You see things differently.

That's an edge.

The Attorney General's called me down to Washington.

She's gonna fire me.

Take out an enemy, a big, hard-to-k*ll one.

It's tough to fire you then.

I need to know how to b*at him.

Will you help me?

You have to be prepared to do things that are entirely outside the bounds of conventional morality.

[♪ ominous music plays ♪]

[Bobby] You know, the first time I ever went to a game, I was in your box.

So, you didn't grow up with football?

Oh, I did, but it was on a -inch Trinitron knock-off.

[chuckles]

TV's great, but you really miss out on being part of something very special.

Yeah, you do...

which is why I've been thinking about watching a few more games in person.

Bobby, I don't know where you get your Intel, but it's accurate.

So that franchise is on the block.

It's going to be announced in the next couple of days.

Well, when I become an approved bidder, I hope I can count on your support.

Well, you can.

But the hoops you have to crawl through...

they don't give a sh*t how many zeros are in your bank account.

I understand.

Just trying to figure out where...

where my seat's gonna be.

They're not gonna be here 'cause my team's not for sale, Bobby.

[chuckles]

Right.

[♪♪♪]

[Carolyn]

And how are the children handling it on the nights you actually switch?

- Fine.

- Not very well.

Kevin is still on about that vows thing.

He brought that up again?

Yeah.

Not directly, but, uh, yeah.

Right after we split, uh, in a moment of anger, Kevin turned to me and he said, uh, "I thought 'vow' meant 'promise.'" We started him in therapy the next week and started coming here.

Yeah, well, anyway, he crawled in my bed last night and asked me to make vows with him.

[Carolyn] Did he have something specific in mind?

[Chuck] It was a list.

First he asked me to vow...

never to leave him.

[clicks tongue]

And then he wanted me to vow to get you and me back together.

What did you say?

I said that Mommy and Daddy were trying to work things out...

and that, while I can't promise that they will, I can promise that we will always love him and Eva, that we will always put them first.

And that's my most sacred vow.

[exhales sharply]

He's a really good dad.

Tell him that.

[voice breaking] Chuck, you're a really good dad.

You're a really good mom.

[Carolyn] Not every couple can do that, recognize each other in the midst of anger and uncertainty.

That's intimacy.

Let's see if we can keep that going.

- What else is on your minds?

- [Chuck] Money.

The Yale Club is kind of steep.

And we had talked about sharing a satellite apartment.

I'm fine at my sister's, but I think it makes sense for you to get your own place.

Uh-huh.

[breathes deeply]

[Chuck scoffs]

Really, it's hard not to notice the shrink sorority eye-lock thing.

Chuck, this is not a conspiracy.

I don't want to speak for Wendy.

I'll just say it felt like you had an emotional response that you didn't share.

[sighs]

Signing a lease...

is a commitment.

Do you mean financial? Do you mean...

I had hoped that this separation wouldn't be permanent enough that it would entail references and credit checks and outlaying security payments, but it'll be fine.

You know, I guess I'll just, uh, sell something.

Chuck, you've got to accept the new reality.

[sighs]

This runs deep, really f*cking deep.

I understand.

And that's intimacy, too.

It's just harder to hear.

- You been on Twitter today?

- Assume I haven't.

Krakow tweeted, "Looking forward to kicking major Axe Capital ass again in Hold 'em tomorrow night, #alphacup." It's f*cking trending in New York.

Don't respond.

If he wants to pop off online while using the squatty potty, let him.

We'll do our talking at the table.

His team has outlasted ours four out of the last five years.

He's a good f*cking card player... great, even.

Phil Laak calls Krakow a wizard, says he can GTO-grind a man into a nub.

How'd you like to go work for him?

No, thank you, sir.

[horn honks]

Respectfully, delicately, regretfully...

he's better than you.

I see that.

Head-to-head, he is better.

So, we don't play?

No. We reduce his edge.

Is this, um...

is this last night's or this morning's?

What if I don't want to answer?

Well, maybe shower before heading to the office.

I already did.

Well, I'm thinking maybe you hit it again.

[sighs]

Heard Tisch will support your bid.

Seems likely.

I wish I could be in there negotiating for you.

We handled the M&A work for the last two team sales.

Well, that's what Chuck Rhoades will do to a man...

rob him of his life's work.

He's a Stalinist...

convict first, then have the trial.

He hasn't even indicted anyone at my firm or subpoenaed documents, just allowed the leak, the insinuations, the idea to fester in the minds of the public that we're dirty.

As a tactician, I admire it.

As the target of it...

Old days when the man with the badge used it for his own purposes, instead of to benefit the township?

That man ended up on the wrong end of a noose...

Yeah.

...but not before he got a f*ck of a lot of his own hanging done first.

Well, then, we better make sure we burn the gallows down before he gets to you.

- [Hall]

Is he prepared?

- Yeah.

He's ready to do whatever he has to.

I look forward to meeting him, then.

Anything come from the surveillance yet?

Rhoades is not exploitable at this moment.

- No openings.

- Find one.

Hall, I hear his name in my sleep and underneath every thought I have.

It's always running.

It's like the f*cking Lord's Prayer.

Find one.

[Chuck]

Is there some kind of a prop bet going on here?

First one to mention Lawrence Boyd has to buy everyone else cotton candy?

There's just nothing to say, boss.

Really?

Nothing that isn't speculative at best.

It's crunch time, and Connerty's pulling a Scottie Pippen.

What, do you got a migraine, Bryan?

Come on, Chuck. That's not fair...

to Pippen.

The man had just suffered a personal loss.

I don't give a sh*t. Lonnie, how about you?

I started a deep dive into their inversion practices.

They keep so much cash stashed overseas, I figured there's got to be some tax irregularities.

And were there?

So, there's nothing on Boyd and company churning accounts?

On, uh, advising retirees against their interests or subprime mortgages making a comeback?

How about hookers for foreign clients?

You're telling me there is nothing of which to speak?

Not as of yet.

[sighs]

I found something.

Please.

A couple of months ago, a flight attendant on the Spartan-Ives jet made a small trade ahead of a merger, turned a $ , profit.

She overheard something.

No benefit was exchanged. There's no crime.

I know that. You know that.

We went to law school.

She didn't.

Work this.

- Work it with her.

- [Bryan] Come on.

How many dots do you figure [door opens, closes]

between a flight attendant and Lawrence Boyd?

You'll let me know.

Or maybe you won't.

Is there an implication in that?

Yeah.

There is.

What is the Alpha Cup?

Wall Street charity poker tournament.

The winner gets to donate the pot to the charity of their choice.

It's like $ million.

Oh.

Why are you asking about the Alpha Cup?

Because Axe invited me to play in the firm's other seat along with him.

Oh, this is f*cking bullshit!

Turn the f*ck away.

That's my f*cking seat.

[door closes]

I'm pretty sure it's my f*cking seat.

I paid for it.

I can award it to whomever the f*ck I want.

Axe, I've been your wingman for the past three years.

I've been close to the final table every time.

Yeah, which is another way of saying you missed the final table three years running.

You know one of the things that I really like about the NFL?

The cheerleaders?

Uh, yeah, yeah, when I was , yeah.

But I'm all grown now, so I was gonna say the contracts.

No other league gives fewer guarantees.

You can sign for seven years, $ million.

Yet you sh*t the bed, they cut you in the spring, you're back knocking on doors again.

So you're cutting me loose.

Well, I wouldn't say it that way, but yes.

For that little...

Hey.

For Taylor?

Everything I measure myself by has been called into question.

Todd.

This is for you...

...by way of an apology for putting you in an awkward position.

[exhales sharply]

Do I really look like I need $ , worth of spa treatments?

You look like you wouldn't give yourself the gift of peace of mind, so I did.

So you're my personal Dalai Lama?

I did spend part of last summer in the company of Rinpoche.

You know, I could actually introduce you, if you want.

[chuckling]

Why are you here?

I'm playing in the Alpha Cup tomorrow night.

Ah.

It's that time of year.

It is, and I'd like you to come, as my coach.

I'll pay you very well for your time.

No.

We've done this dance before.

You're gonna want insight into Axe or...

There are lots of villains at the tournament tomorrow.

Axe is only one.

Look, I want to perform at my best.

And like you said, it's scary when you feel the pressure.

I can admit that.

I'm reluctant.

I am offering you a challenge and a chance to redefine yourself in the industry...

as independent, separate from Axe in every way.

All the top funds will see you as a resource, not as his accoutrement.

If you thought I were that, you would never have come through that door.

I know you're not, because I'm me, but we both know we don't work in a rational business.

You never hear "no," do you?

The word is said in my vicinity on occasion, but somehow it never really lands on me.

[Dake]

It's clear to me that if there were

any ethically compromised behavior, you weren't in the middle of it.

Glad as I am to be seen, how do you know?

One...

I have never come across a more meticulous written accounting of a lawyer's conversations and interactions than yours.

I... don't know how you find the time.

Not much of a social life.

And two... you were the only person in this office who noticed and removed a compromised employee.

You sat on the honor committee at Princeton.

You are not in this to get caught up in some scandal.

In other words, like recognizes like.

But someone as...

keenly sensitive as you must have noticed the vibrations, if not the actual sonic boom, of impropriety.

I have not.

If any of that was happening, I wasn't privy.

Uh-huh.

Thank you, Ms. Sacker.

[door opens, closes]

I appreciate the offer, but I can't play.

Is that the right word... "can't"?

I'd prefer not to.

But you do know how?

What was your screen name?

Why do you assume I had one?

Your age, skill set, the fact that everyone here had one...

and that you had a lot of nights in high school when all the other kids were either stuck on their homework or hanging out under the bridge vaping.

- ZachCody .

- [chuckles]

I was when I started playing online.

I bet you were one of those multi-table prodigies.

Sixteen at a time.

But then I quit poker.

Around the time you went to college?

Black Friday?

I started playing live for the first time against classmates, grad students, professors.

Oh, so you had to adjust to the different speed, different informational fields.

Yeah, I... I did fine live, but then just moved on to other things.

Moved on?

The whole "my d*ck is bigger than yours" thing, it wasn't for me.

You already knew...

about my entire player history.

That wasn't a guess.

Look...

I need to win this thing.

I put somebody on it early this morning.

I had a feeling, pulled your résumé...

saw some game-theory strengths...

looked into it a little bit more.

How'd you clock that I knew?

The way you listened to my answers, the cant of your head.

You weren't receiving new information.

Can I convince you...

to try one more time to play?

I'd prefer not to.

That kind of competition made me sick.

It literally brought on feelings of malaise.

Okay.

Okay.

[Kate]

So, Michaela, the following facts

have come to light.

You have no history of investing in securities,

but on April th, you invested your entire savings, $ , , in Dassan International Potash stock...

two days ahead of a merger that caused shares to rise.

Now, are you some kind of potash expert?

No.

Just a potash enthusiast?

What?

I'm sorry.

You're actually the flight attendant on the corporate jet of the bank that financed the merger.

You're making it sound like I did something...

She's making it sound like I did something wrong.

I thought I was being smart for a change.

You do know trading on inside information is a crime punishable by fine and imprisonment?

We're talking about jail?

Um, I'm not sure I should be sitting here alone.

Time to get Sacker out of there.

[door opens]

Well, if you feel that you've done nothing wrong, you should be...

I'm sorry to interrupt.

Uh, Ms. Sacker, you are needed in Mr. Rhoades' office.

It's urgent.

[door closes]

I just wanted to... buy an apartment.

Believe me, I get it.

Things are stacked against us in this city.

Can you tell me this will all be okay?

Michaela, I-I know you didn't mean to do anything wrong.

My colleague... Ms. Sacker...

she's got a very brass-tacks way of looking at this stuff.

She doesn't see other factors...

that good people can step wrong.

I think I know how to help you.

But won't she...

No. I'm her superior.

You give me your cooperation,

I will give you my protection.

And like Earl Anthony bagging the

- split.

You will?

I will.

[Chuck]

We have a real opportunity here.

If Boyd still feels safe anywhere, it's on his Falcon, his flying cocoon.

And we need to be there when he lets down his guard.

Sacker, Connerty's gonna be the lead on this, not because I don't have confidence in you.

Bryan has a particular set of skills, skills acquired over a long career, skills that make him...

The object of a stewardess's desperate lust.

- [scoffs]

- Congratulations.

Where are you registered?

I hope you like cake servers.

I'll go get the SEC file.

[door opens]

Hey.

Oh, wow.

My God, the kids are gonna love that.

Yeah.

[cellphone vibrates]

Bach, good.

I need names, for a friend.

Yeah.

I need a lawyer, absolute k*ller, the one you'd use if you couldn't be your own.

I already did.

Thanks.

Was that about Lawrence Boyd?

Yeah.

Why you going deep for him?

[cabinet closes]

He asked.

A lot of people ask you to use your influence and resources every day.

You don't always say yes.

I don't like the idea of Boyd going down.

It doesn't... doesn't sit right with me.

[sets glass down]

That's a good answer.

I believe it, but it's not the whole answer.

You never give anyone your playbook, no matter how much you're rooting for them to win.

It's like this...

Rhoades' att*ck on Boyd is very public.

It's very loud.

If Rhoades wins, he gets stronger.

If he loses, he's defanged.

Getting there.

And if we'd just met, I would believe that that was the whole thing.

[laughs]

[laughs]

The rest is strategy.

It's tactics.

If Boyd is convicted, I'll be on the inside.

I'll understand what works, what doesn't.

He's like a soldier. We send him up front.

He's a scout.

He brings back Intel, or he becomes cannon fodder, and that brings a different kind of Intel about where we can step and where we can't.

Lawrence Boyd isn't exactly cannon fodder.

Babe...

everyone in the world, apart from you, me, and the kids is cannon fodder.

[cellphone vibrates]

I'm sorry. I have to deal with something.

See you upstairs in a minute?

Okay.

[sighs]

[crickets chirping]

[sighing]

[line ringing]

You're playing in the Alpha Cup.

It'll do you good... and me.

Consider it a part of those hours you promised.

I can't promise results.

Competition doesn't bring out my best.

Make a session with Dr. Gus.

Maybe he'll help you with the competition piece.

Okay.

[keys jangling]

[Kate]

If Bryan lands this case, I think Crim is his.

But that case could just as easily break him.

Lonnie is taking the surer, steadier route.

I was gonna ask which way you were leaning, but you seem almost equally swayed.

Bryan has always expected it...

and worked for it and Chuck like nothing else in the world mattered.

And lately he's...

It feels like if this goes the other way and he gets passed over, his entire purpose is called into question.

Meanwhile, Lonnie has been sent away, called back, and never let it derail him.

He's dogged.

And none of this is being colored by your personal connection to Bryan?

In the past.

This is an advisory conversation, not "Loveline." Then you should think about yourself and the ways in which you could contribute, given more influence, more control, more access to decision making.

You're right.

Rhoades won't make you head of Crim, but his successor may.

Whoever gets it will need a deputy.

That's true.

They say you can't ride two horses with one behind, but in today's business world, it's a smart move, as long as you're up-front about it so no one can accuse you of being disloyal, only intelligent.

Still pretty sharp for an old dog.

[chuckles] Thanks, Dad.

[Gus] So, you're saying that you won most of the time, but it made you sad to b*at your fellow students in this... college game?

Yes.

But they're losers.

I have to tell you, I've had hours of therapy.

And that's supposed to make me sit back on my heels?

Not at all.

It's supposed to give you useful information to make this session more productive, to save you from using techniques that I might have already parried.

One... this isn't therapy.

Two... I've had more f*cking therapy than you have.

And three... every time you walk away from doing what makes you feel great, even though it also makes you feel sad...

something inside of you dies.

That's true.

Instead...

...when you feel emotionally messy, take yourself to where the boundaries are clean.

It's effective.

It's why we've developed sex workers.

Okay.

Thanks for your time.

- [sighs]

- [Harry]

You sure, Chuck?

Oh, I have to.

The Churchill World w*r II... it's a hell of a set.

I mean, don't get me wrong.

I'm very happy to have it.

I'm sure I'll do very well with it, but I remember how long you worked on this.

Well, maybe I can circle back and grab them before they're gone.

If somebody comes in, I have to sell them.

But, you know, a specialty item like this, at this price, they'll probably be sold at the Antiquarian Fair in April, so, if you do come back, I'll give it to you at the carrying cost, okay?

[chuckles]

"Dear Monty, never give in, never give in, never, never, never, in nothing, great or small, large or petty.

Never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.

And never yield to force. And never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." From the day I passed the bar, I have said those words to myself the first morning of every trial.

You can still say the words.

Thank you, Harry.

[taps book]

[airplane taking off]

[beeping]

This is tricky.

There's nowhere to hide it in plain sight.

So, what do you suggest?

A band on the upper thigh, I think.

Do it.

Yeah, so...

right leg, left leg?

You got a preference?

Um...

I'm sorry.

This is really, uh...

Could you give me a second?

Actually, could you stay?

[door opens]

Yeah.

[door closes]

Sorry.

I-I didn't feel comfortable...

I understand.

Um...

do you know how to do this?

Some parts of the job are pretty intuitive.

Um, I can take it from here.

How does it look?

Passable.

You ready to go?

Mm-hmm.

[door opens]

[Keith Richards' "Trouble" playing from club speakers]

[♪♪♪]

How are ya?

♪ Just because you find yourself ♪

♪ Off the streets again ♪

♪ That don't mean that I can help you ♪

♪ Or I ain't your friend ♪

♪ Baby, trouble is your middle name ♪

♪ Your trouble is that that's your game ♪

♪ Now you're out of circulation, out of reach ♪

♪ And out of touch ♪

♪ Let me keep you in the loop ♪

♪ Though I can't tell you much ♪

♪ Baby, trouble is your middle name ♪

♪ The trouble is that that's your game ♪

Bold move, coming.

I thought, "What would Axe do?" Maybe it was a little soon.

Well, you know, you've made every one of these pricks millions, and yet they turn away.

When this is over, you'll remind them.

f*ckin' A.

For now, I'm just taking a lap, marking the hugs and snubs in my big book, then I'm heading out of town... Jackson Hole.

Good. Clear your head.

We'll talk when you get back.

Hey, great to see you, buddy.

[chuckles]

Always piggybacking on my moves.

Maybe when you embrace someone, it's a move, but when I do it, it's an expression of profound sentiment.

You know my performance coach, right?

Glad you could pitch in.

He needs all the help he can get.

I've won three of those bad boys.

How about you? Zero, right?

'Cause to me it's just a game, Todd.

You take everything so seriously.

- Mm.

- [microphone squeals]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Alpha Cup charity poker tournament.

- Please take your seats.

- Excuse me.

- [Phil] We're about to begin.

- [Todd] Time to battle.

Axe.

So, I see you went to go work for the downtrodden, after all.

I work for myself.

I bet that's what his masseuse and manicurist tell themselves, too.

Today we're here to raise max dollars for charity.

And to see who's the biggest swinging d*ck on the street.

I'll bet it's not gonna be that guy.

[scattered laughter]

Everyone, take your seats.

[door opens, closes]

[♪ ominous music plays ♪]

Paul, this is my dear friend Lawrence Boyd.

Treat him as you would me.

Okay.

Larry, do what this man advises, and he will lead you to the promised land.

Thank you.

So, the issue for me...

Never in threes about any of this...

till we've all known each other a long time.

This is why he's the best.

Okay, I'll leave you two to get down to it.

All humans have stress points.

I'm a man who understands that.

And now it's my pleasure to say, shuffle up and deal.

[♪ Beach Slang's "Atom b*mb" playing ♪]

♪ My heart is set on ' ♪

♪ Wild nights and p*rn mouths ♪

♪ I won't die, so I don't need heaven ♪

♪ I'm too f*cked up to burn out ♪

♪ I'm an atom b*mb tick, tick, ticking ♪

Never gone out before the final table in this thing ever.

[chuckles]

I've never called out the most powerful company in the energy sector as a fraud and been right, so we're even.

[♪ Electric guitar music playing on headphones ♪]

[headphone music fades]

[cellphone vibrating]

[sighs]

Yeah?

Well, it took you long enough.

Anything to report?

They're about to take off.

It's only Boyd on the flight.

Well, he might make a phone call.

She might overhear something.

I'll keep you posted.

Okay.

[sighs]

[Phil] Billionaire city, boys.

Hey, Todd.

How you running?

Oh, my stack's a little bigger than yours, but what else is f*cking new?

Let's say we make this matter.

$ , .

What do you say, Krakow?

Yeah, let's do it.

[chips clinking]

Market's closed.

What's so fascinating?

She's almost here, the Raya girl.

Ah.

A little swing oil?

You know I do.

Give me a, uh, Michter's Celebration.

It's $ a glass.

One, please.

He means one bottle.

[indistinct conversations]

I'm ahead.

You're not blinking.

What?

You're not blinking.

Well, maybe that'll unnerve him.

Or maybe you'll blink like crazy when you pick up a good hand.

Take a breath.

[breathes deeply]

Relax your features.

[low-key dramatic music]

Hundred and fifty.

Call.

One fifty.

[chips clink]

Call.

You're drawing?

Against you?

Never.

Three hundred.

[chips clinking]

Seven hundred.

All-in.

- Call.

- [chip clinks]

[Phil]

We have two all-ins.

One of these players is going to go home rich.

The other player is going to go home rich, but pissed off.

Gentlemen, flip your cards up, please.

Ooh, top two pair.

Unfortunately, I've got these babies.

[chuckles]

You went set-mining against me.

I knew if you'd hit, I'd felt you because you underestimate my strength.

It's who you are.

Well-played, Todd.

You trying to jinx me now that you got four outs left?

Let's see the river.

Yes!

[cheers and applause]

That's what I'm talking about!

- Yeah!

- Ah!

You owe me half a stick.

[chips clinking]

So good.

We done betting?

The tournament's still going on.

How about...

...we double the wager based on my firm outlasting yours?

Well, if it was Dollar Bill, I'd take it in a heartbeat, but he's over there with his thumb up his ass.

Who do you have?

Really?

That?

And you want to double it?

All or nothing.

Banked.

So, as soon as Prianca comes back from the powder room, we're gonna roll on out of here.

Take care of our boy.

Ah.

I would normally volunteer to be his bodyguard, but there's only so much of me...

to go around.

It's a road bottle.

How do you get up and go to work?

Ah, a little Lenox first thing in the morning.

I got a guy... patient concierge...

fixes me up with a room and an I.V.

Forty-five minutes, and I rebound like an undergrad.

Yeah, we did that in nursing school.

I just never thought it...

Hi.

Hi.

[giggles]

Well, have fun.

[chuckles]

How could I not?

[both laugh]

[indistinct conversations]

[♪ rock music playing ♪]

[dog barks]

[cellphone vibrates]

[scoffs]

[barking continues]

[sighs]

[barking continues]

And now we're down to heads-up, Mano a mano, winner take all.

And then there were two.

Just you and me, hot stuff.

Let's have a five-minute break.

Yeah, Todd!

[light laughter]

Tell me you're not enjoying this.

I'm not enjoying this.

You're a k*ller, and if ever a guy needed k*lling...

He's hurting.

I mean inside.

Look at him.

You think people were nice to that guy as a kid?

No, but I really think, even then, he started it.

[♪ rock music playing ♪]

Can I get a Stoli Elit martini with a twist, please?

[glasses clink]

Wendy.

Lara.

Hi.

[smooch]

You been here the whole time?

I walked in just before the cards were dealt.

How are you holding up?

Fine.

You don't have to be brave with me.

Divorces are hard.

[laughs]

So are marriages.

Yeah, I've heard other people say that.

Excuse me.

I don't want to miss the main event.

So, Dr.

Gus told me a bit about your conversation.

Therapy is supposed to be confidential.

It's not therapy.

He seems to think that you don't get something out of winning.

He wanted me to pull you from this entire event.

You didn't listen.

Eh, he may not be very good at his job.

You love winning.

I do?

Yeah.

I keep going back to why you quit the live game in college.

I didn't like...

I think it's that you didn't like that it put the two things that really f*cking matter to you...

winning and being thought of as good...

in direct conflict.

[Phil]

Heads up for the Alpha Cup in two minutes.

I didn't quit.

They kicked me out, and it hurt.

I couldn't compete, so they eliminated me, and it filled me with disdain, almost hate.

Hate is nature's most perfect energy source.

It's endlessly renewable.

I don't want to lean into that feeling.

You know the rider in the bicycle movie who, just when he has victory in sight, takes his hands off the bars and just holds them out like this, taking in the sun, gliding, letting all the other racers whiz by him just because?

No, I don't.

What f*cking movie is that?

I always want to be that biker.

Yeah, but you're not.

You and I don't get to glide.

We churn, and we don't get to become friends with people we play cards with, but that's the sacrifice we make for being able to see what we see.

I know you believe that, but I choose to take a different lesson.

It's not a choice.

Now go back down to that table.

And if, when you see Krakow, you think that maybe he will become a friend, then go ahead.

Take your hands off the bars and let him ride on by.

[Todd]

Do you want to know a secret?

Your boss bet me a million dollars that you would outlast me.

So, you f*ck up, it's a million dollar mistake.

Good to know.

How do you think he's gonna feel remembering that you cost him a mill every time he looks at you?

I mean, no pressure.

Don't let me get under your skin.

You have no clue what is under my skin, and I am certain that a million dollars in either direction, to Mr.

Axlerod or you, is entirely insignificant.

And in the continuum, , years of human history, this card game and the Alpha Cup...

what does it mean?

By , we'll all be gone, every last one of us, unless we've reached the singularity, and at that point, will money matter?

Yeah, I've seen "Cosmos," too.

[♪ low-key dramatic music plays ♪]

[sighs]

Action's on you.

I'm aware.

Four hundred thousand.

I'll call.

[chips clinking]

Not loving the flop.

[chips clink]

Seven hundred.

What do they have?

See bet. I'll call.

Well, we know he's stubborn with a pair, so either he's way ahead or he's f*cking nowhere.

Check.

One-point-seven million.

I'm lost.

They might be making a stop-and-go...

or surrendering.

Call.

Check.

What do you think?

I think Taylor's ahead and has to trust it.

Time.

Can I talk to you for a second?

Excuse me.

[indistinct conversations]

I'm not getting a good read on it.

- You have any...

- That's not your issue.

Really?

It seems to me that it is since that's what stands between me and winning.

No.

Your anger is what stands between you and winning, your inability to de-personalize this competition, and as a result...

My inability?

I didn't pay you to come here and criticize me.

I just wanted...

You just wanted me to knock Axe off his game.

And I came here anyway knowing that because I...

Well, I guess some part of me wanted that, too, and I am going to work on that.

[chuckling]

Consider it a job well done.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to the table and put the sword into Axe's little pet.

Hey, don't worry so much, all right?

It's gonna be great.

We'll celebrate later tonight.

Will we?

Will we have something to celebrate?

What?

I was about to tell you that, in your confusion about your opponent, you've become easy to read.

Bullshit.

I've been watching that thing the entire time.

That's why I came here... so it wouldn't see me looking.

I know exactly what I'm doing.

[grunts]

This is no place for the meek, cupcake.

All of it.

[indistinct whispering]

You don't have a king.

You'd have reraised preflop.

And you're never moving in on a queen here in case I have the king.

I think you're on a gut sh*t, four-five or five-six.

I think you're trying to bully me, and a bully's devastated when you stand up to him.

I'm sorry.

Call.

[crowd murmuring, gasping]

[crowd gasps]

I have ten-high.

God damn it!

[cheers and applause]

Ten-high hero call?!

You skinny f*cking freak!

[laughs]

Good for you!

[cheers and applause]

[cheers and applause]

[♪ low-key dramatic music plays ♪]

[♪ dramatic music plays ♪]

[♪♪♪]

You're a f*cking genius.

You gave me the idea.

Now give me your arm.

Mo.

So, I was like, "Who is this person who couldn't be named and had to sneak onto the plane in the middle of the night?" And then I was like, "Oh, it's Shayleen." McKinnon?

Tom McKinnon's wife, major player at the company.

Thomas McKinnon, Managing Director, Fixed Income.

[Connerty] That must be a common thing...

corporate spouse hitchhiking on a hop back home.

Right, but what isn't common is that they hopped into the slumber cabin together.

That's when I knew I had to get my butt back here.

Got another girl to be on standby for the return flight.

[sighs] It's not great quality.

[garbled speaking on recording]

[clears throat]

Not usable.

[button clicks, garbled speaking stops]

[Michaela] I thought the microphone might be too far away, so I took a little...

initiative.

...you know, some of the tension...

Yeah? Will you help me?

...I'm sure has been building up, yeah.

I want to show you this getup I have back here.

[indistinct speaking]

[both laughing]

[indistinct speaking]

[Shayleen laughs]

[recording of Shayleen moaning pleasurably]

Does that help?

Usable quality.

Uh, we, uh... we can work with this.

Michaela, you did great, above and beyond.

So, I believe I'm off the hook?

You are. Come on.

It's over, then?

Your part's done, but the case isn't.

You're not calling me. I get it.

I can't have anything brought up in court that might look...

You know, I checked, and my trade wasn't illegal, but I went ahead and did it for you, anyway.

Good luck with your case.

Yeah. Hold on. Hey, Lara?

Hey, what?

I'm on with a guy from Wimmershoff Capital Management.

They were there last night, and they're all banged up.

You make house calls, right?

[computer keys clacking]

Starting at $ a drip?

Starting at $ , .

We're in business, Mo.

[trophy thuds]

This is yours.

You won it.

I don't have room for it on my desk.

Besides, people keep coming by to drink beer out of it.

[chuckles]

Hmm.

Okay.

But your name is on it forever.

I know you don't want me to have attachments, things that get in the way of winning...

but you do.

That woman on the rail...

Krakow's coach... you kept looking at her.

I thought you were trying to see if she was cheating, signaling him somehow.

- She wasn't.

- I know.

Later I realized the whole thing wasn't about you b*ating Krakow.

It was about breaking him and having her watch him go on tilt.

Breaking him was the only way to b*at him.

Was it?

[door opens and closes]

Mr. McKinnon, I'm sorry to put you through this.

[Shayleen giggles on recording]

It's Shayleen.

[moaning pleasurably]

[exhales sharply]

Turn it off.

[moaning continues]

Turn it off!

[key clicks, moaning stops]

The moaning.

Yeah. I know.

I know.

Would you like a drink, Mr. McKinnon?

No.

You're strong.

I'd need one.

I want to make this divorce hurt.

I'll take the kids and the f*cking house.

Hold on to that, Tom.

Be hurt, sure.

Be angry at Shayleen.

She was weak. But be angrier at Boyd.

He's the responsible party here.

Yeah. We were friends.

Spent long weekends at his compound.

Lawrence Boyd can be friend to no man.

[exhales sharply]

He's a venal beast of the first order.

He needs to demonstrate that he is the alpha of the pack, needs to dominate you in his own mind by heaving his seed into your bride.

[McKinnon] Jesus f*ck.

He didn't use a rubber?

Of course you want to k*ll him.

I know I would.

Choke him till the light goes out.

Violation like that stirs a man to savagery.

You won't do it, but you want to.

Isn't that right?

Yeah, I want to f*cking k*ll him.

Yeah, but you can't. The law dictates that you can't.

And yet that doesn't mean you have to let him win.

Okay, so, how do I win here?

Disgrace him.

Humble him.

Force him to his knees and f*ck his metaphorical throat until he swallows your seed.

I'm in.

Boyd's been rigging Treasury bids.

I'll get you whatever I can.

Whatever it takes, I'm in.

[slaps McKinnon's arm]

I talked to a friend of mine, a lawyer for the League.

He back-channeled and got a yellow light.

NFL thinks it would be best for all involved if you didn't bid.

Stated reason?

Public perception, recent legal aspersion, / revelations.

f*ck!

But they appreciate your interest.

Oh, do they?

You know, when they like my number enough, they'll like me just fine.

You know what we bid before.

A hundred more than any team has ever sold for.

I'll bet a hundred over that and send it right to the league office.

Done.

[door opens]

These are the books you asked for.

Oh, great. Thank you.

These mattered to him a lot.

Mr. "H" told me to tell you that.

Good.

He instructed me to pay cash.

There's no record of who bought them.

Thank you.

- [chuckles]

- [door opens]

This one's signed to Monty.

General Montgomery?

Yeah, that Monty.

Well, you want them here? At the house?

No. Put them in storage.

[exhales heavily] You know what?

Find all the other signed first editions for sale in the U.S. and in England... f*ck it... everywhere.

And buy them all, every single last one of them.

That'll be expensive.

Well, then it's a good thing I'm a rich f*cking man.

[♪ R.E.M.'s "Begin the Begin" plays ♪]