House of Games (1986) The movie is famous for the poker scene where Mike (Joe Mantegna) plays against his rival George with the help of a psychiatric Dr. Ford (Lindsay Crouse). Mike is a conman who forces Dr. Ford to accompany him to a poker game and analyse opponent’s body language and expressions to infiltrate his mind.
Rounders (1998)
There are countless scenes from Rounders to choose from, such as Mike reading all of the players at the Judge's game, or the tutorial on beating the Atlantic City tourists. The movie definitely ranks as the best movie ever with regard to total quantity and total quality of poker content. Below, I chose two of the most important scenes - the first big hand between Mike and KGB, and the last big hand.
This is the first big hand between Mike & KGB. This scene was great because it was the most realistic poker hand in movies. Most poker movies show a great hand beaten by a unrealistic hand like a straight flush or royal flush. In this hand however, you simply have two great hands going against each other without either one being unrealistic. This hand also sets up the eventual evolution of Mike McDermott as a poker player. Getting beat boat-over-boat is not necessarily a rookie movie, but the fact that Mike didn't even consider the possibility that KGB had him beat shows he still had a little to learn.
This is the last big hand between Mike & KGB. This is another realistic poker hand. Mike plays suited connectors looking to flop a flush or straight draw. KGB's logic is correct - the Ace didn't help Mike on the river. KGB lost the hand because his read was wrong, but he didn't play it badly - all things considered.
California Split (1974)
This scene is surprisingly contemporary considering that it is almost 40 years old. The educational voiceover reminds you of Rounders, even though the voice has the stiff and awkward tone of a 1960s instructional video. In this scene, you can see a young Elliot Gould, who would show up in Ocean's Eleven (another movie on this list) many years later.
Stylistically, I like the way this scene is shot. It begins with a wide shot of someone walking through the poker room where you can see the big sign-up board and all of the tables. There is a certain kind of giddy (if restrained) anticpation that a poker player feels when he walks into a poker room, as if the room metaphorically (and literally) represents a giant pile of money from which a good poker player can walk into and start grabbing. The shot then zooms in close to the table and focuses on the particular hand and players.
Cincinnati Kid (1965)
This screenshot shows the famous scene Steve McQueen's character was beaten with Aces-full by Lancey Howard's straight flush. This is one of the most widely recognized poker scenes in movies simply because it was one of the earliest. But the hand was famously unrealistic and doesn't have much appeal to an intelligent poker mind.
The Sting (1973)
This popular movie starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford. It was a classic movie, although it did not specifically focus on poker.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
IMDB link. This shot was interesting stylistically because it tried to focus on the psychology of poker when it shows super close-ups to build tension. But I think the shot was overly stylized and took away from the actual poker hand.
Casino Royale (2006)
IMDB link. Since this is a European high stakes game, you can see the players betting with plaques, as you can see on my poker chips page, are used in lieu of chips. The poker content of the scene is almost universally disapproved of by the poker community. Losing a full house to quads with a pocket pair is an unlikely hand. It's nice to see someone doing chip tricks (albeit simple ones) in a movie though.
Ocean's Eleven (2011)
IMDB link. Unlike other poker scenes in movies, this scene had no relevance to the movie as a whole. But this poker scene was actually one of the most interesting poker scenes to me for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it shows someone giving a decent poker tutorial where they talk intelligently about poker. Talking about the game of poker is not often seen in movies despite the fact that talking about a hand happens all the time at home games. The second reason why I like this scene is that, from a strategy perspective, it elucidates one of the major lessons one learns in order to move into the 'intermediate' skill level - to tell the difference between when a player is bluffing, or slow-playing a monster hand. Brad Pitt's incorrect read on Clooney was described in way ('he is trying to buy his way out of his bluff') which is a way that I have never seen it described before. This hand shows the evolution of a thinking player, while most poker scenes merely show rounds of betting with close-up shots of wooden-faced poker players, or contrived tension based on the large financial stakes at hand.
In Time (2011)
IMDB. From a poker perspective, the scene is very basic. It was semi-interesting because it was somewhat related to the plot of the movie and was not completely superfluous.
Run (1991)
IMDB link. This was a cheesy, but good, action movie from the 1980s starring Patrick Dempsey. It had two poker scenes. The first is a scene at the beginning of the movie at a home game where Patrick Dempsey is playing with his friends. The second scene is about 10 minutes into the movie where Dempsey plays in an underground game.
King of Paper Chasin' (2011)
IMDB link. Hulu (free). This scene was superfluous. There was not any kind of poker action or poker talk.
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November 21st, 2019 14:28Poker is an alluring and highly entertaining game and its really fun to watch famous actors playing the game of skill on big screen. Movie makers have attempted many times to encash the growing popularity of poker in their movies. It is challenging to portray the true form of poker on silver screen. The tension, nervousness, adrenaline-rush, and thrill of the competitive environment of a real life poker table is difficult to accurately represent in a movie. However, some movies effectively managed to capture the essence of the game.
Here are some memorable poker scenes in movie history:
Rounders (1998)
Rounders is a story of friendship and revenge. Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) is a law student and poker player who quits the game after losing all his bankroll to a Russian gangster Teddy KGB (John Malkovich). He returns to play poker to help his childhood friend Worm (Edward Norton) pay his debts. The climax scene is all about a no-limit Texas Hold’em heads-up game played between Mike and Teddy and how Mike turns the table this time by observing Teddy’s moves and identify the “tells”. Rounders is a must watch for every poker enthusiast in the worldadda52.com.
Big hand for little lady (1966)
Famous for the great twist in the end, the movie is a western starring Henry Fonda and Joanne Woodsward. A woman have to play out the hand by replacing his husband who collapsed mid game, in order to save the family savings which the husband put at stake on the table. The 40-minutes long fine poker game scene led to the brilliantly written climax of the movie.
The Sting (1973)
Paul Newman and Robert Redfordstarrer “The Sting” is about two con men scamming a mob boss and steal large amount of money. The movie is famous for the high stake Five Card Draw scene in a train where Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) plays against Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), a mobster. Although it was more of a con than a poker game and the players cheat to win, its the atmosphere and suspense that keep viewers hooked to the seats. The movie won seven Academy Awards and is considered as a classic.
Casino Royale (2006)
A Bond movie revolves around poker. The mission of James Bond (Daniel Craig) is to defeat terrorist Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelson) in a high stake Texas Hold’em tournament. Although criticized for minimal inaccuracy in texas poker rules and etiquette, the movie succeed to combine the intensity of a poker table and the grittiness and style of a spy thriller. Whenever we watch Mr. Bond defeating the villain on the poker table with his trademark charisma, we cheer with excitement and pleasure.
Maverick (1994)
The highlight of the movie is the game scene where Bret Maverick (Mel Gibson) plays in a high stake poker tournament and reaches the final table against Angel (Alfred Molina) and Commodore Duvall (James Coburn). Although Maverick’s slowroll move is unethical and unrealistic (taking time and showing cards one by one), he wins the game with a royal flush. This might be the most bizarre game play, but still the gripping screenplay makes it very popular among poker lovers.
The Cincinnati kid (1965)
This movie is a treat for Steve McQueen fans. This classic is about “ The Kid” Eric Stoner (Steve McQueen), a young stud poker player who challenges the best card player in the country “ The Man” Lancey Howard (Edward G. Robinson) for a high stake Five Card Stud poker game. It is known as one of the most popular movies about poker. Watch it for the unexpected twist at the climax which proves that anything can happen in the game of poker.
House of Games (1986)
The movie is famous for the poker scene where Mike (Joe Mantegna) plays against his rival George with the help of a psychiatric Dr. Ford (Lindsay Crouse). Mike is a conman who forces Dr. Ford to accompany him to a poker game and analyse opponent’s body language and expressions to infiltrate his mind. Later it is revealed that it was just a trick to con the psychiatrist. There is a lot you can learn about behavior and psychology from this movie.
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Whats more amusing than getting poker lessons from Brad Pitt! The movie is about robbing three casinos in Las Vegas but is famous for one funny sequence where Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) teaches poker rules to a group of actors and later joined by Danny Ocean (George Clooney) who won the game and took the money. The celebrities playing against each others makes it more enjoyable to watch.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Poker House Movie
Directed by Guy Ritchie, this crime comedy is full of style and entertainment. The movie is about four friends who lost a big amount of money in a game and now have to pay the debts any way possible. Although filled with violence, the movie successfully demonstrates the darker side of the game and the risk factors involved. The movie achieved international cult status and also acclaimed by critics.
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Luke (Paul Newman) is a war veteran sentenced to prison who earns the nickname “cool hand” due to his skills and experience in the art of deception. There is one great scene in the movie where Luke plays poker with his fellow inmates and wins the game by showing his great bluffing skills. It is known as one of the most accurate poker scenes in history.
Freeze Out (2005)
Freeze out is a comedy movie which was financed by director’s own poker winnings. A player seeks revenge from his friends for their bullying and trains himself secretly to defeat all of them at a weekly poker game. The movie received many prestigious awards at various film festivals and events.
California Split (1974)
A Robert Altman movie, California Split has this famous opening gaming scene where is still significant even today. The highly realistic movie centers around life of poker players more than the game. The six-minute credit roll in the beginning with narration about the game makes it absolute watch for poker enthusiasts.
The Poker House Full Movie
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