Poker Player Wins Who Wants to be a Millionaire Jackpot by Reading the Host’s Face
Winning Is Everything
When people say Who Wants to be a Millionaire, you can only think of one way to win: you must have the world’s most intelligent brain and stuff it with many useless information. There are people who have won the quiz show’s jackpot, and they can be described as pretty amazing. With all the knowledge that they possess, you might even wonder if they had a fun childhood. However, there’s one man who proved that winning the world’s top reality quiz show is not all about brains—poker can be a help too. Yes, poker, the mental sport that is played by faking and reading your opponent’s expressions.
In the German version of the game show on RTL, poker pro Sebastian Langrock revealed that host Guenther Jauch helped him to win the jackpot. He said he used one element of his profession to be able to answer some of the questions: facial expression reading. “It was a real advantage that I could read Guenther Jauch’s face. In poker, we always try to read the face of our opponent. I also tried to draw him onto my side by making sure he found me likeable.” Langrock was very particular with the USD 83,000 (€64,000) question wherein Jauch did not press him to use a lifeline after guessing the answer.
Langrock’s TV exposure during his pro poker games was also able to help him with his campaign in the Who Wants to be a Millionaire stage. The German bluffer said that having played in front of a lot of cameras with big money involved helped him overcome the pressure inflicted by the Endemol program. He said his profession made it easier for him to keep his composure during the most difficult situations.
There’s a chance that Langrock’s feat will be duplicated and we’ll never know when that will be. Still, Langrock’s achievement is a statement that Who Wants to be a Millionaire is not all about facts that you’ve read in a book. You can also hit the jackpot by just being observant of the surroundings and the people around you.
There are many famous people who use poker in their profession. There’s partypoker ambassador Jaime Algersuari who competes in the Formula One, NBA star Paul Pierce, football player Francesco Totti, and former world tennis no. 1 Boris Becker, who is arguably the most successful athlete turned poker player. All the sports that these men play are pretty much like the card game. You have to read the situation before you make your action/attack.
Poker is applicable in any activity. As long as you know how to stay calm and disciplined, you’re bound for something great. Langrock is a proof of how helpful the card game is. We just hope that Who Wants to be a Millionaire won’t feel like they were cheated.
