You already know that when I talk to you about Poker, I always resort to one of my favorite movies to try to instill in you what it feels like to enjoy the emotion that this game arouses: Casino Royale, one of the last of 007. But I admit that as an example of a film in which poker is the protagonist, the film is fine, but it is no more than a decent title. The quintessential card game has been an excellent claim for the big screen throughout history, and we can count numerous films whose storyline was based on or, at least, was lame if the green baize and the cards were not there. half.
Much has been written about the appearance of Poker in the movies, and more so considering that lately there has been a proliferation of game scenes with more or less correct and always spectacular moves. Therefore, I think it’s time to review some of the best movies with poker as the protagonist.
We will mention five. They are neither the best nor the worst, but they do constitute an obligatory reference and they all use Poker as a common thread.
THE KING OF THE GAME
1965. Dir; Norman Jewson
Act: Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret
An authentic cinematographic jewel of obligatory viewing. In New Orleans, a young Steve McQueen (Cincinnati Kid), a local figure, ends up facing a game against the best player of the moment, trying to dethrone him.
The outcome may seem unexpected, we will not reveal it, but it certainly helps to capture the reality of the game.
It leaves us many already famous phrases but especially this pearl in the form of a dialogue:
“How could you know that he had a better hand than yours?”
“You have paid to see my cards. The lessons are separate.”
ROUNDERS
1998. Dir: John Dahl
Acting: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Malkovich
For many, the best poker movie to date. In it we see clandestine games of all kinds in which a young law student aims to finance access to the WSOP in Las Vegas.
Rounders has left us mythical phrases such as:
“Listen, that’s the game, if you can’t distinguish the cousin in the first hour of the game, it means that the cousin is you”.
“He plays with the man, not with the cards.”
The first one is actually attributed to Amarillo Slim, a Poker legend and both give an idea of how different the approach to the game is here, it’s mostly skill, not chance.
MOON GAME
2001. Dir: Monica Laguna
Acting: Ana Torrent, Ernesto Alterio, Carlos Kaniowsky
Set in Spain. A young woman who has lived in the atmosphere of clandestine games since she was a child and who becomes a recognized player in those circles.
Beyond the quality of the film, it is interesting to see the climate that was generated around those gambling dens where the main modality was chiribito or synthetic poker. Similar to Texas but with fewer cards, normally 32, starting at 7, and where the flush has more value than the full house.
Those images, far removed from modern Texas and the glamor of the big tournaments in the best casinos in the world, are as real as they are recent. In any national casino we will find veteran players narrating incredible anecdotes of synthetic games.
LUCKY YOU
2007. Dir: Curtis Hanson
Acting: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall
A current movie where a professional player agrees to play in the world championship where his father who is a legend of the tournament also participates.
The film, as it is not set in Las Vegas, although somewhat weak in terms of the game, does offer a multitude of cameos by professional players that will be recognized by the viewer: Negreanu, Greenstein, Farha, Harman or Doyle Brunson himself, among others. .
Some want to see the finale pay homage to Chris Moneymaker, who won the 2003 WSOP after qualifying in a $39 online satellite.
RUNNER, RUNNER
2013 Dir: Brad Furman
Acting: Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton
Recent film where the particular world of online poker is possibly addressed for the first time. A player loses a considerable sum of money in an online session and decides to locate the owner of the room at his retreat in Costa Rica. He ends up being recruited and joins the company where not everything is what it seems.
Some wanted to see a resemblance to a famous room and its role in the famous Black Friday, but beyond that, it is an independent Thriller where the action does not stop.