The casino gaming and its world, with its luxurious ambiance, smoke-filled rooms, and high-stakes excitement have always been a captivating topic for the movie industry. The casino with its flashy lights, sophisticated decor, and mystery filled in the air has inspired many successful classical movies. Among the various games of chance, poker is the game that most casino-based movies have made of. Poker and its game are personified in many of these movies. From Molly’s Game to The Cincinnati Kid, many classic movies are made focusing on poker and its skills. Let’s take a look at some poker movies that you need to add to your watchlist.
1. The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
This is a classic drama and the story revolves around Steve McQueen, starring as a young poker player, Eric Stoner, who is also known as a Cincinnati kid, who wants to defeat the best player in town, Lancey “The Man” Howard. This movie was directed by Norman Jewison and released on Oct 15, 1965. Poker is a central character in the movie. Portraying poker as a test skill and as a metaphor for life. The movie is different from other casino movies as the choice of poker in most movies are flop games like Hold’em or Ohama, but in Cincinnati Kid, they play 5 card kids. You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime, or Apple TV.
2. Molly’s Game (2017)
This movie is based on a 2014 memoir of the same name, Molly Bloom, who hosts a famous high-stakes underground poker empire in Hollywood celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck have taken part in this poker. The cast of the movie includes Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O’Dowd, Joe Keery, Brian D’Arcy James, and Bill Camp. This movie makes the audience a part of this underground poker empire and how things are done there. Even though the movie runs around Molly, the movie is made in such a way that it also explains the game in which a person, even with beginner knowledge can understand the game. You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube.
3. Rounders (1998)
A poker player must watch rounders as it is one of John the classics. It stars Matt Damon as Mike McDermott and is directed by John Dahl. It tells the story of two friends who went into the underground poker world to come back from a busted bankroll to have a seat at the World Series. The acting of Matt Damon is at its peak in this movie and that is what makes it different from other movies, through Matt you can learn poker without even trying. It is a masterpiece in the category of the poker movie. You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and YouTube.
4. The Sting (1973)
This movie belongs to the comedy and crime genre. The Sting won the award for Best Big Picture along with 7 other Academy Awards. It was released in 1973. The idea of the movie includes two of the grifters teaming up to pull off an ultimate con. You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, YouTube, and Google Play.
5.Mississippi Grind(2015)
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. The storyline of Mississippi Ground starring Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn goes like a losing poker player, Jerry meets Curtis, a traveling gambler, and the two of them the friends over the game of poker, leading to a road trip to Mississippi, New Orleans, and Nevada. This movie shows addiction, regret, and depression. You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, or Google Play.
6. Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or, shortly called LSTSB, is directed and written by Guy Ritchie. This movie belongs to the British comedy/ crime genre with a lot of twists, featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, and Nick Moran. You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime.
7. The Grand (2007)
It is a humorous mockumentary, written and directed by Zak Penn. The film follows a group of professional poker players including 6 people competing with each other for 10 million dollars. The winner gets it all tournament. Even non-poker fans could have a laugh if you watch the grand. It is said to be that, at the time of shooting, even the cast didn’t know who was going to win. The cast included Woody Harrelson, Hank Azaria, Chris Parnell, Ray Romano, Werner Herzog, and Gabe Kaplan. You can watch this movie on Apple TV.
8.Lucky You(2007)
This is a movie that is inspired by the 2003 WSOP Main Event. The story is about Huck Cheever (Eric Bana), a beginner poker player. He wants to google too much, and it is causing problems with his father, who is a two-time WSOP Main Event champion. Huck always wanted to enter the WSOP but didn’t have the $10,000 to enter the competition, he is constantly trying to make it, and he finally does and enters the competition. You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, or Google Play.
9. California Split (1974)
California Split is directed by Robert Altman. Elliott Gould and George Segal as two gamblers who are friends gambling story follows them gambling high-stake bets. The movie grossed over five million dollars at the box office at that time. The film is a lot more than a comedy. You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime, or Apple TV.
10. High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story(2003)
This is the story of the poker legend, Stu Ugar, the three-time WSOP Main Event bracelet winner. He was a gambler by the age of 10. The film goes forward as a flashback when Stu himself tells his life story to a stranger in a motel. You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these are the 10 poker movies that you need to watch right now. Watching these movies isn’t just about the entertainment, it can also increase your poker skills. Poker’s popularity in the movie industry is because psychology, mathematics, and social interaction all come together in one place, making it a wonderful topic to build a story on. The game’s ability to build characters, and create tension in the plot has made poker a central role in classic and modern movies.
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