May All Your Cards Be Live And Your Pots Be Monsters: A Tribute To Mike Sexton
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“I’m Mike Sexton, and thanks for joining us. Until next time…”
For those of you who have seen even one episode of the World Poker Tour (WPT), you know what follows next. A line so iconic it will never be forgotten. A quote that will now live in infamy, attached to such a great ambassador to the game of poker. If you need a little refresher, or are one of the select few poker fans who has never even seen an episode of the WPT, here it is:
“May all your cards be live and your pots be monsters.”
In some ways, it’s a well wishing of sorts. In other ways, it’s the proper send off from one of poker’s greatest heroes. Yes, poker players and commentators can be heroes. This may come as a surprise to some, but to those who have played the game of poker or even followed it for a bit, know how important Mike Sexton was to the game. Mike Sexton passed away yesterday, losing his battle with prostate cancer. He was 72 years young.
Not only was he a fan favorite, commentating on the extremely popular Travel Channel (and now Fox Sports One) show, the World Poker Tour, but he was also a very accomplished player in his own right. With live lifetime earnings of $6,708,146 (excludes online play, via Hendon Mob), Mike Sexton was a player whose smile matched his skill. Back in 1989 he won a WSOP (World Series of Poker) gold bracelet, which is given to a player who wins a WSOP tournament, along with the prize money of $104,400. Decades later, he would take down a WPT tournament in 2016 for $317,817. With a poker career that far and wide in between major victories, it speaks volumes to his longevity in that regard.
To match the victories and cashes, he was never one to let his emotions show or even effect his poker playing, something almost no player can attest to. I certainly can’t. Add it to the list of reasons you can look up to him. Mike always had a smile on his face and spoke so eloquently. If you look up old videos on YouTube or the WPT website, all you do is see Mike smiling and speaking as clear as day. It’s as if the poker Gods created the perfect, well, everything in terms of poker when it came Mike Sexton.
