Casino Royale, the 007 film that kick-started Daniel Craig’s series of Bond films was nothing short of brilliance. The film had a dark and serious tone with the most realistic portrayal of the British spy. It redefined the Bond franchise and paved the way for more realistic action thrillers.
Casino games have been a part of James Bond movies since Sean Connery’s first portrayal of the spy. However, the nail-biting poker scene in Casino Royale was what piqued the interest in poker games in the moviegoers. Today, we look at the poker game featured in the movie and analyze whether it was realistic or not.
Bond Vs Le Chiffre
In the film Casino Royale, James Bond after being promoted to the “Double-O” status is sent after Le Chiffre, an Albanian private banker that supports terrorists. MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service enters Bond into a poker tournament at Casino Royale, Montenegro to beat Le Chiffre at the game, making him surrender to the British Government. However, Le Chiffre needs to win the poker as he has lost the terrorists’ money and his life is at stake.
Behind The Scenes
In Ian Fleming’s original novel, Bond plays Chemin de Fer, a variation of baccarat. However, in the film, the game has been changed to No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, as it was the most popular game at the time and offered very high payouts. In the movie, Bond plays against Le Chiffre and other top players for a $115 million pot. Since No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em can accompany high stakes, it was selected as the game.
To make the poker game more realistic, the filmmakers had to hire Thomas Sanbrook, a poker expert. He designed the game in such a way that it goes in tandem with the screenplay, elevating the scene, and making the viewers more anxious. Thomas Sanbrook also taught the actors the game, how to handle the cards and the chips, and how to stare at each other for calling the bluff.
The High-Stakes Poker Game
The game in Casino Royale is not a normal game of Texas Hold ‘Em. With $155 million in the pot, the tensions are rising. As the game has reached its peak, out of the initial ten top poker players, only four remain. One is Le Chiffre and the other is Bond himself. Towards the last leg of the game, every player has four cards in their hand. The last card is being dealt and the cards on the table are 4 of spades, 6 of spades, 8 of spades, the ace of hearts, and the ace of spades.
Now, it’s time for the four remaining players to show their hands and everyone is looking confident in their hands. The first player reveals his hand, Queen and King of Spades. The second player smilingly reveals his hand and it is 8 of hearts and 8 of plums. Le Chiffre now reveals his hand, 6 hearts, and an ace of clubs. Le Chiffre smiles as he has the best winning hand. However, Bond reveals his hand, 5 and 7 of spades, a straight flush. Bond wins the $115 million pot, beating Le Chiffre.
To win the game ultimately, Bond had to lose the game first and a CIA agent had to stake him back in. This helped Bond to know the bluffs of Le Chiffre, which was advantageous for his win.
Reality
While the poker game was thrilling and entertaining, would it happen in real life? The chances are less. No game has ever been played with $115 million in the pot. Such a high stake was necessary for the movie’s plot and for providing a sense of anxiety for the audience.
The biggest pot ever played in real life was between the multimillionaire Andy Beal and the Corporation, consisting of a group of poker players. Their game had a stake of $600,000, very low when compared to the movie.
While players do have bluffs, they are not as prominent as shown in the film. Le Chiffre is a caricaturish villain, brilliantly portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen. Most poker players fake the bluffing like Le Chiffre did, but seasoned players would never make a call by only observing bluffs.
In the movie, all four players in the last leg of the game have strong hands, which is highly unlikely in a real game of Texas Hold ‘Em. With each hand served, the dealer’s deck is bleeding cards. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that all the players in a game of poker have incredible cards.
Conclusion
Even though the poker in Casino Royale was not as realistic as a real-life poker game, it was very entertaining to watch. No casino game has such a high stake as portrayed in the film and the chances of every player having strong hands is also unrealistic. However, the scene was entertaining to watch, even for people who are not interested in poker.
The poker scene does not make sense to poker enthusiasts. But, for the sake of the story, the game needed to have such a high stake. Even though the poker scene in Casino Royale might be ludicrous for poker enthusiasts, it has been used as a great plot device that redefined the portrayal of casino games in movies.
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