Optimal Play

**Optimal Play** is the third episode of the Season 2 of *Billions*. The episode was written by Willie Reale and directed by Alex Gibney.

## Plot Summary

Axe considers buying an NFL franchise, and finds a new ally. Chuck begins a last ditch case against a banking titan by developing a low-level informant. Meanwhile, Wendy makes a controversial appearance at the Alpha Cup Charity Poker Tournament by accompanying Axe's competitor as his performance coach. Lara launches her new business.

## Plot

Bobby walks into an empty football stadium with Steve Tisch, one of the co-owners of the New York Giants. He confirms that a franchise team will be up for grabs soon, but warns Bobby that the path won't be easy for him, even if Bobby becomes an approved bidder.

Wendy and Chuck are seated across their marriage counselor and discussing how the separation has affected the children. Chuck reveals that their son approached him in private and made him promise to never leave him and to do everything in his power to get back with "mommy". Wendy is upset to hear this, but comforted that Chuck handled the situation well by explaining to his children they both will always be there for them and by not making any promises he couldn't keep with respect to fixing the marriage. The counselor changes the topic and Chuck brings up that Wendy is still pushing him to get his own place. Moving out and signing a lease is, in his words, a "commitment" in the wrong direction. He tells Wendy that he believes if they are going to fix this marriage, he shouldn't move out, but Wendy won't hear it. She tells him their problems are too deep and that this is an appropriate next step.

Wags walks with Bobby and shares with him a tweet from Todd Krakow taunting him with respect to the Alpha Cup Poker Tournament. Bobby has bigger fish to fry and doesn't care, but Wags is tired of seeing Krakow's team outlast Bobby's in the tournament. Axe tells Wags not to worry about it and that he'll do something later to ensure Krakow's "edge" is reduced. He then leaves Wags to have a lunch meeting with Lawrence Boyd.

Boyd is upset that Chuck has seen fit to fire shots at him but has yet to subpoena any of his people or produce any concrete evidence. Bobby shares his disgust of the man and how he must relish ruining sterling reputations, but Boyd says he once admired Chuck's efficiency in that regard, that is until he became a target. Bobby assuages Boyd's fears and lets him know that there is still time to stop Chuck before Boyd is brought up "to the gallows".

Axe leaves Boyd and meets with Hall in his vehicle nearby. He updates Hall on the situation and lets him know that Boyd is ready to proceed and that they should meet soon. Hall reports there is no way for them to exploit Chuck at the moment, but Bobby tells him he has to find an opening for them. Meanwhile, Chuck meets with his team back at the offices. Bryan Connerty states they haven't been able to find anything actionable on Boyd, something that Chuck finds ridiculous. He questions Lonnie Watley, but he too admits that he hasn't been able to find any "irregularities" after combing into Spartan-Ives's tax records, the place he best believed he would find misconduct. Chuck is frustrated and willing to settle for hooker/escort scandals at this point, but Kate Sacker chimes in that she may have something. A flight attendant who works in a Spartan-Ives private jet made a trade on a company ahead of its merger. The flight attendant profited $24,000 and Kate says they should exploit it as that private jet is frequently used by Boyd. Bryan says the stewardess probably just overheard something and that isn't illegal, but Kate says while everyone in this room went to law school and knows this, the flight attendant probably doesn't. Chuck approves the course of action and tells both Bryan and Kate to pursue it, much to Bryan's frustration.

Mason questions Ben Kim and Mafee on what the Alpha Cup is and is told that its a Wall Street charity poker tournament that usually amounts to $15 million dollars. The winner donates to whichever charity they deem fit. Dollar Bill Stearn walks by and overhears the conversation right when Mason admits that Axe just extended an invite to play at the tournament with him. Stearn is furious and rushes to Axe's office asking why he just betrayed his seat to Mason. He cites how he has always been close to the final round in the tournament since he started playing in the Alpha Cup, but Axe responds that Stearn's efforts translates to three years of losing. He compares their situation to the NFL, where an athlete can have a long-term 5+ year multi-million-dollar contract but, the moment said athlete gets irreversibly injured, the contract gets shredded, and the athlete is cut loose. He is cutting him loose for Mason and tells Stearn to deal with it as Axe is in this to win now.

Krakow visits Wendy at her private practice and gifts her $5000 worth of spa treatments as an apology for upsetting her the last time they talked. Wendy questions him on what he's after and he tells her he would like her "assistance" at the Alpha Cup tomorrow. She says she isn't looking to give him all of Axelrods' "tells" but Krakow says there will be plenty of other big fish at the tournament and that this is an opportunity for her to "redefine" herself, not to betray Axe, but to show how effective she is in keeping Krakow focused and sharp. Every titan of finance will see the value of Wendy's insights and desperately want to tap her talents. Wendy is intrigued and continues to listen to the pitch.

Oliver Dake questions Kate on her two most impressive qualities that he has recently noticed; Her meticulous note taking and her attention to detail when she was the only one to notice a compromised employee in their offices. Kate says she isn't involved in any wrong-doing but Dake states her abilities means that it'd be impossible for her not to see anything, if wrong-doing was indeed going on. Kate is uncomfortable but denies it and excuses herself out of the meeting. Meanwhile, Mason enters Axelrod's office and rejects the invitation to the tournament. Mason states they would "prefer" not to play, and when Bobby questions them, they admit that while they understand how to play poker, and are even good at it, once they transitioned from online play to live play it became a lot more distasteful. After admitting to their username and how they started at the age of 12, Mason pauses and realizes that Bobby already knows all this. Bobby questions how they were able to tell, and Mason states that his "tell" was how he behaves differently upon receiving new information versus something he already clearly knew. Axe admits to doing his homework and asks Taylor to reconsider, but Mason still tells him they do not want to play.

Kate speaks to McKayla, the flight attendant, on her recent stock trade on Dassan International Potash stock. Two days later, the company merges and the stewardess profits immensely. Kate tells her that its dangerous to trade on insider information, but before she can continue, Chuck pulls Kate out of the interrogation room, leaving Bryan and the now nervous flight attendant alone. McKayla states she thought she was being smart and just wanted to buy a new apartment and Bryan moves in to calm her. He offers to help her as Chuck and Kate watch on the other side of the glass. Later after Bryan is successful in turning McKayla, Chuck states they now have eyes and ears inside Boyd's private jet and he will eventually let down his guard in there and give them what they need. Chuck pulls Kate off as lead on the case and installs Bryan, justifying the move by saying he has the right skill set for this case moving forward. Kate is insulted though and leaves.

At home, Bobby shows Lara the signed NY Giants football he has brought for the kids. Their joy is interrupted by a call and Lara presses Bobby on why he is putting so much effort in to help Boyd. Bobby states that if Chuck wins this fight, he will get stronger, but if he loses, then Chuck will get weaker. Lara knows there is more to it then that, and Bobby admits that he is using Boyd as a scout, testing out what strategies will and won't work against Chuck. He says Boyd will either return valuable intel to him or end up as cannon fodder, proving which strategies are doomed to fail when used on Chuck Rhoades. Bobby benefits from either outcome. Lara is shocked stating Boyd isn't exactly "cannon fodder" but Bobby tells her that everyone else outside of their family is indeed "cannon fodder". They kiss, but the mood is ruined when he gets a text from Wendy about how she will be going to the Alpha Cup with Krakow. Bobby is upset and calls Mason, telling them he is no longer asking, but rather, ordering them to be at the Alpha Cup tournament now. Mason is still concerned as competition brings out the worst in them, but Bobby tells them to take it up with Dr. Gus and to just be ready.

Kate talks to her father, Frank Sacker, about Bryan, Chuck, and the Spartan-Ives case. She questions if Bryan can weather through the current mess, citing how Lonnie knew how to avoid the fray, and is even capable of surviving the worst when it comes. Frank advises his daughter to focus on her own interests and not those of her colleagues. He tells her to find ways where she can get increased access to decision making stating that Chuck will never give her the Head of Criminal Investigations position, but maybe his successor will.

Dr. Gus questions Mason on why defeating their classmates in poker made them feel sad, but Mason offers information on past therapy techniques that have failed with them. Dr. Gus questions if this is an intimidation tactic, but Mason states its only meant to be of value for him as it is his job to make this session is productive for them. He goes on the aggressive and tells Mason clearly that every time they walk away from doing something they are good at just because it makes them "emotionally messy", they are allowing a piece of themselves to die. He advises Mason to focus their mind on where the "boundaries" are clearer if things do indeed get messy and Taylor, who is shocked and appreciative by how useful the session is actually proving to be, thanks Dr. Gus.

To help fund his new apartment, Chuck offers his signed collection of "The Churchill World War II" to a private bookseller. The seller lets him know that he likely has until April, the time of the Antiquarian Fair, to buy back the set before it finds another home, and Chuck takes solace in knowing he has time. As Chuck quotes the passage inside the signed first edition, a man watches the exchange intently. Chuck leaves with a check for $40,000 to help lease his new place away from Wendy and the kids.

McKayla is getting wired up before boarding the plane, but then tells the guy helping wire her she needs a moment. When he leaves, only Bryan is left, but she asks him to stay and help her with putting on the wire, stating she is more comfortable if he is the one putting hands on her. He helps her and when she offers up her body for examination, Bryan assures her that its well hidden. She leaves the covert van and prepares to board the plane.

At the Alpha Cup, Bobby arrives ahead of Krakow and decides to meet and greet everyone there. He takes note of when Krakow and Wendy arrive together though as well as when Boyd arrives. He comforts Lawrence who feels everyone in the room staring at him but Axe says the others will soon know it was a bad move to abandon him in his hour of need. Boyd says after this is tournament, he is leaving town for a while, a move Bobby says is smart, but then Krakow interrupts and embraces Boyd in a hug. Bobby insults the obvious "move" Krakow is making, but Todd rubs in Bobby's face the fact that Wendy will be helping him in this tournament. As Todd and Boyd leave the conversation, Wendy speaks to Axe to confirm there are no hard feelings, but Bobby rebuffs her. As the announcer introduces the event to everyone, Hall, Bobby, and Boyd meet in private outside. Bobby allows the two to discuss the matter in private, advising Hall to help Boyd in every way, and telling Boyd to do everything Hall says to the letter. As the two continue talking, Bobby returns to the tournament as the first round begins.

Bryan is enjoying a quiet evening at home when he receives a call from Chuck. Bryan tells him that McKayla's jet hasn't taken off yet, but Chuck is growing impatient. Back at the tournament, Bobby, after surviving numerous rounds of poker where others have fallen, sits down at a table with Todd Krakow. He taunts Bobby, but Axe unnerves him a bit by upping the ante immediately to $500,000 dollars. Meanwhile, Wags and Lara are at the bar. He shares with her what has him so excited and glued to his phone; soon he will be meeting Prianca, his first Raya date. Back at the table, Krakow checks in with Wendy to tell her that he is ahead. Wendy tells Todd to start blinking cause he isn't doing much of it at the table. Krakow responds it might be a good intimidation tactic for Bobby, but she warns him that he'll start blinking when he has a bad hand and it'll ruin things for him. Todd returns to the table and Bobby decides to up raise the man as he has a King and Ace. Todd is dealt two 3's and calmly "calls" every time Bobby raises. Axe questions the confidence but decides to go "all-in", and Krakow does the same. The announcer shares the moment with everyone and asks the two to reveal their "hands". Bobby has "two pair", but Krakow wins with his "three of a kind". Bobby has been momentarily humiliated, and admits defeat, but he asks Krakow to go "double or nothing". Axe may be out, but Taylor Mason is still in the tournament. Todd laughs and questions if Bobby is really gonna have him play against "that", but he decides to take him up on the offer; double or nothing on Mason vs Krakow.

Wags tells Lara to take care of Bobby as he's focusing his attention on his Raya date tonight, but she wonders how he can possibly continue such an exciting alcohol-fueled night and still be fine in the morning. Wags tells her that he learned to rebound using IV's for 45 minutes following any night of debauchery. Just then, his date Prianca arrives and the two leave, but Wendy is more interested in the business lead Wags just gave her and messages her cousin Mo to come see her in the morning.

Mason and Todd Krakow are the only ones left in the tournament and Todd starts taunting them. Mason gets up during a short break and shares with Bobby that there will be no pleasure in defeating Todd as he is clearly already "hurting". They cite how Todd was probably picked on in school for his height, but Bobby tells them to stay focused and that Todd deserves whats coming to him. At the bar, Wendy and Lara run into one another. They exchange pleasantries, that is until Lara asks Wendy how she is holding up following her divorce with Chuck. Wendy doesn't say much and excuses herself from the table as the final round is about to start.

Bobby and Mason continue to speak in private. He tells Mason that Dr. Gus advised him to pull them from the tournament, a sentiment Mason states Bobby chose not to listen to. Axe admits Dr. Gus had it wrong in believing Mason gets no satisfaction from winning. He says he knows they love winning and presses Mason on what he believes is the real problem; Taylor doesn't like that winning and being thought of as a "good person" are in direct conflict when competing. With two minutes left before the final round starts, Mason gets upset and tells Bobby the real problem is that they were kicked out before from competitions and "it hurt". Because they couldn't find anyone to compete on Mason's level, organizers banned them from competing, and it filled them with this all consuming rage and hate. Mason doesn't want to tap into that feeling as its too toxic, but Bobby says its a great energy source. He tells Taylor to do what they believe is best, but he is confident that they won't be content using their current logic as they sit across from Krakow's smug face.

To get inside Mason's head, Krakow tells them that Bobby bet $1,000,000 dollars that they would be able to outlast him. He tells Mason that losing to him will be a costly mistake, but he fails to get inside their head and the game begins. Wendy starts to look uncomfortable, realizing Mason is Axe's secret weapon, and that she doesn't know much about her. Krakow has a 4 and 5 card while Mason has a 9 and 10 card. Mason raises the bet and Krakow continues to call every time they do. Both are bluffing for the moment as neither has the upper hand. Mason chooses to "check" right before the final card is revealed and Krakow decides to call a time-out to speak with Wendy. He continues to insult Mason's gender in private but Wendy tells Krakow she regrets coming to the tournament with him. She admits a part of her must have wanted Axe to lose and Krakow says she did well in that regard. She tells him that his confidence and lack of respect for Taylor is going to cost him though as he has become "easy to read". Krakow isn't having any of it and says that Wendy is wrong. He only called the time-out to unnerve Mason and, by turning his back on them, being impossible to read while he talks to Wendy.

He returns to the table and continues to taunt Mason, stating its no time to be "meek". Mason is in deep thought and stares down, away from the table. After a long pause, Mason raises their head and breaks down the facts of the situation before them. They know Krakow would have played the round differently if he had better cards and has correctly surmised that he likely has a 4/5 card combo based on his refusal to ever raise them or play more aggressively. Mason decides to go all in and calls, Krakow refuses to follow and reveals that Mason was correct in identifying the cards he had. When Mason reveals they only had 10 high, Krakow is furious and throws his chips, screaming at Mason and calling them a "skinny freak". The Axe employees celebrate the win and the jubilation continues well into the morning when Mason enters the offices, much to their discomfort.

Lara enters Axe Capital with an entourage of nurses to unveil her new business. Wags tells her she is brilliant for initiating this, and readily accepts Lara's offer to be her first customer for an IV treatment. As Mafee gets his own drip, he tells Lara that Wimmershoff Capital Management employees are looking for treatments themselves and Lara informs Mafee to tell all who ask that the IV drips start at $1000 per drip.

Back at the AG offices, McKayla reveals someone was snuck onto the private jet last night. She tells them it was Shayleen McKinnon, wife of Tom McKinnon, Managing Director of Fixed Income at Spartan-Ives. Bryan says that its probably common for corporate housewives to enjoy free rides on the company jet, but the flight attendant says what is important is that the married woman entered the slumber cabin with Lawrence Boyd. On her own "initiative" the flight attendant took a video of the two being intimate in their seats before sneaking away into the slumber cabin together. Though it all happens behind curtains, the audio clearly reveals the two are having a sexual affair. Bryan thanks McKayla, and she asks him if she is off the hook now. Chuck nods and McKayla is escorted out of the office by Bryan. She openly admits to her interest in him, but Bryan states he cannot afford to have any "impropriety" revealed when he takes this matter to court. McKayla confesses she did her homework and knows that the "insider trading" threat they made on her had no merits, but she went ahead with helping them because she likes Bryan. Bryan is speechless as she leaves.

Mason brings the tournament trophy to Axe, stating they want nothing to do with it. Mason states they have determined Bobby was not interested in beating Krakow but destroying him in front of Wendy. He tells Mason that breaking him was the only way to beat him, but Mason knows thats a lie. At the AG offices, Chuck shows Tom McKinnon the video recording of his wife with Boyd. He can't stomach watching it for longer then a few seconds. He is furious and declares he will take the kids and everything from Shayleen, but Chuck says to focus his rage on Boyd. Tom admits he thought Boyd was his friend, stating the two of them shared vacations together, but he knows the truth now. Chuck doubles down and tells him that he knows every fiber of his being wants to kill Lawrence, but the law won't let him do that, so he'll have to do the next best thing; He must help them destroy Boyd's reputation and ensure he goes to jail for wrongdoing. Tom says he will do it and that he knows Boyd has been rigging Treasury bids and will get them concrete evidence soon.

Wags tells Bobby that the NFL commission believes it would be best if Bobby didn't bid. Wags states the official stance is that the 9/11 history, legal issues, and public perception are something they don't need. Bobby is furious and states he doesn't care if they didn't bless his deal, he is gonna double his offer and send it directly to the owners anyway, making it $200 million dollars more then any other team bid ever made. Just then Stephanie arrives and lets one of Hall's henchmen in, the man that was watching Chuck at the bookstore. He informs Bobby he acted discreetly, making the purchase in cash, and that the books he is holding have a great deal of sentimental value to Chuck Rhoades. He leaves the books with Axe, who in turn tells Stephanie to put the books in storage. He stops her before she leaves though, telling her instead to buy up every signed first edition copy in America and Europe, just to spite Chuck. She tells him that will be expensive, but Bobby just looks at her smugly and states, "well it's a good thing I'm a rich f\*\*\*ing man".

## Cast

### Starring

* Paul Giamatti as Chuck Rhoades
* Damian Lewis as Bobby Axelrod
* Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades
* Malin Åkerman as Lara Axelrod
* Toby Leonard Moore as Bryan Connerty
* David Costabile as Mike Wagner
* Condola Rashad as Kate Sacker

### Guest Starring

* Harry Lennix as Frank Sacker
* Terry Kinney as Hall
* Asia Kate Dillon as Taylor Mason
* Malachi Weir as Lonnie Watley
* Danny Strong as Todd Krakow
* Christopher Denham as Oliver Dake
* Marc Kudisch as Dr. Gus
* Ross Partridge as Tom McKinnon
* Kelly AuCoin as Dollar Bill Stearn
* Eric Bogosian as Lawrence Boyd
* Dan Soder as Dudley Mafee
* Shaunette Renée Wilson as Stephanie Reed
* Shannon Koob as Marriage Counselor
* Erinn Ruth as Mo
* Gia Crovatin as McKayla
* Sara Sampaio as Prianca
* Angela Marie Roy as Shayleen McKinnon
* Dared Wright as Hall's Henchmen
* Steve Tisch as Himself
* Kira Harris as Donna