Over the years we’ve had our share of movies, but some films that might’ve gone under the radar are movies revolving around a poker game. There’s actually a surprising number of them over the years of movie production and they are well worth looking into.
Below are list of movies with a poker game going on that is just as thrilling as the rest of the film!
The Sting
The first one on the list and it’s quite the old one. Whether you are a fan of Texas Hold’em poker or any kind of poker game styles for that matter, this movie is a must. It’s got two con artists who conned $11,000 ($189,000 today) off of a footman for a crime boss. Set around the Great Depression, it’s a film filled with revenge, intrigue, and of course a high stakes poker game.
Casino Royale
For many of us, this movie is likely the first poker game movie we’ve seen. Being part of the James Bond saga, it makes sense that a lot of people were exposed to it and had a taste of poker films.
This one naturally pulls it off quite well. The poker games that are played in this are fantastic, not to mention all the action scenes are great. It’s James Bond.
Freeze Out
Moving away from not so action packed, to a rather interesting and almost comedy type of movie. Freeze Out is interesting as the movie was actually financed by the poker winnings of the director.
Taking on a friendly poker game atmosphere, it escalates so hard and quickly, the game turns into a sort of monopoly night, where the friends question their friendship. All around it’s a great movie to watch with your Texas Hold’em poker friends or any poker buddies.
Rain Man
As you can see, poker films are quite diverse and this one is no different. This one is quite the touching film that every person should see at least once. The film revolves around poker of course, but on a particular technique in the poker world known as card counting.
For the record, card counting isn’t illegal, however it is very frowned upon and could get you banned from casinos if you are caught counting cards. For the uninitiated, card counting is the practice of counting how many high and low valued cards have been dealt out. You can see this in blackjack more so than Texas Hold’em poker games and such.
The Game
The last one on the list is The Game. It’s a combination of Drama, Thriller, and Mystery. The Game is about an investment banker who starts crumbling away losing his life over his job and the relationships he’s formed. There’s a lot of games in the film paired up with amazing direction, writing, and acting by the the middle part of the film.
The Game is a good film to watch and you may learn a lot more than just poker and gambling.