Poker In Cinema: Films About Poker That Were Made Perfectly

Among all games that could be depicted in films, poker stands out the most. While gambling films tend to depict characters in casinos using various card games, few of those were devoted to poker and managed to show the actual beauty of poker games.

This list isn’t about films in which gambling plays a role; it’s about those which helped to form a certain image of poker in pop culture.

The Characteristics of a Good Film About Poker

Most gambling films use card games to provide their viewers with something interesting and exciting, while those devoted to poker use the card game itself as a tool. All great films about poker make strategy a kind of narrative device. If you also want to learn how poker works, you can visit top-casinos.co.nz reviews, where all gambling games will be explained.

Those below fit perfectly the description given above.

Rounders (1998)

There is only one film about poker that helped it become a pop-culture phenomenon; this is a film about Mike McDermott, a New York City law student, who can’t get away from playing high-stakes underground games and who finds himself dragged back into them by his former friend Worm (played by Edward Norton), who gets out of prison.

It isn’t only one of the most accurate depictions of poker games in terms of the technique; it was filmed in real underground clubs, such as the Mayfair Club, where professional poker players used to play. The four-time World Poker Tour champion Darren Elias claimed that this film represents underground poker the most realistically.

However, this film isn’t just about the game of poker. It’s about the difference between playing for fun and playing to win no matter the consequences. The latter is definitely a much tougher way to play.

The villain in this film – the legendary Teddy KGB (played by John Malkovich) – is deliberately portrayed in a theatrical way which contrasts with the real underground poker games depicted in the movie, but that works.

Watching if: You want to know how this game became a phenomenon at the turn of the millennium. This film played an important role.

Casino Royale (2006)

In all Bond movies James Bond played baccarat, but the directors of the Casino Royale decided to change it; in 2006 Texas Hold’em was a game everyone played, so they changed baccarat to it.

One of the central parts of the film, the tournament in which Le Chiffre (played by Mads Mikkelsen) plays against James Bond, has the structure of a game with a $115 million buy-in. Underneath the cinematic exaggeration lies a real psychological layer – Le Chiffre has a tell, and Bond manages to identify it. The entire tournament structure is described on Menacasino.com, and you can also find information on jackpots and the biggest poker prizes.

Thomas Sanbrook, poker expert who advised the production team during making this film, taught the cast how to behave at the table, so they look believable when playing. It was the main requirement for them. Where it fails: the famous final hand requires all four remaining players to hold monster cards at once, which is highly unlikely.

What this film gives to its audience is the insight into the psychology of poker players. Telling mechanics are explained in a simple way in the movie.

Watching if: You don’t pay attention to poker psychology. This movie will help you get to know about it.

Molly’s Game (2017)

There is something unique about this film about poker in that it is based on a true story. Molly Bloom ran the most famous and exclusive underground poker game in the world in Los Angeles and then in New York for nearly a decade; her clients were stars and professional athletes. In 2013 she was arrested by the FBI. The movie was written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, who worked with her throughout.

Jessica Chastain perfectly portrays Molly Bloom in a way that is required by this film, and Idris Elba is her lawyer. Fast-paced, informative dialogue written by Sorkin is what makes the film energetic.

As for poker accuracy, it’s high; industry experts called it the most realistic portrayal of table behavior ever filmed. The film uses creative liberty regarding timeline and some details, though: the Viper Room, where the games took place originally, becomes “Cobra Lounge”. Player X, widely believed to be Tobey Maguire, is portrayed by Michael Cera with less goodwill than he described in his memoir.

What makes Molly’s Game unique is that it shows what goes behind the poker table. Logistics of running underground poker game are explored with unusual thoroughness.

Watching if: You are interested in poker-related business and the ecosystem of underground poker games. It shows a lot of useful information.

The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

This movie influenced all those that followed. Steve McQueen plays Eric Stoner, a young player of Five-Card Stud poker in New Orleans in the period of Great Depression, trying to get to a match with an aging poker legend Lancey Howard (played by Edward G. Robinson).

The scene of final battle of poker between McQueen and Robinson is considered one of the most psychological poker scenes ever filmed. The game of poker they play is Five-Card Stud, not Texas Hold’em; it should be mentioned since it belongs to a different era of poker cinema.

The film ends with a surprise that many thought to be controversial at the time of release, but that is the right ending. The film claims that talent doesn’t mean mastery, and that even the best hand can lose.

Watching if: You want to see where it all began. DNA of all future films about poker started growing here.