# Movies which demonstrate skillful poker play. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2008, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958 "2008-07-10T07:52:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/1 "2008-07-10T07:52:58Z")
Has anybody got an example of a movie where skillful poker play is deonstrated as a primary or major secondary point, as opposed to luck (My 4 Aces beat your 4 kings, so natuarally I’m the beter player) or skill at cheating (I know you cheated, because that’s not the hand I dealt you)? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/2 "2008-07-10T08:39:52Z")
Well, for a bad example, there’s the hypocrisy in _Casino Royale_ where James Bond _claimed_ was was going to play the man, not the cards, then ended up falling back on the ol’ astronomical-odds showdown. _Rounders_ looked like a serious treatment of the subject, but I’d have to see it again. ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/3 "2008-07-10T08:45:31Z")
Well, it’s kinda main point of the [Rounders](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0128442/). Great movie, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/4 "2008-07-10T08:52:50Z")
[QUOTE=puppygod] Well, it’s kinda main point of the [Rounders](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0128442/). Great movie, BTW. [/QUOTE] I agree. The poker in Rounders was really well done. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/5 "2008-07-10T09:06:07Z")
As an incidental note, while researching my reply I came across [this altogther humourous summary](http://www.agonybooth.com/agonizer/Casino_Royale_1954.aspx) of the 1954 live-TV adaptation of _Casino Royale_. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/6 "2008-07-10T11:08:47Z")
[QUOTE=Lazlo] I agree. The poker in Rounders was really well done. [/QUOTE] Well, if you disregard that the major important moment was decided by a way too obvious tell, for a player at that level. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/7 "2008-07-10T13:21:13Z")
[QUOTE=mr. jp] Well, if you disregard that the major important moment was decided by a way too obvious tell, for a player at that level. [/QUOTE] Well, I haven’t seen the movie, but I’d tend to be a bit forgiving of something like that. A mass-market feature denoument has to be fairly obvious to people who aren’t experts in specialized subject matter. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/8 "2008-07-10T15:52:23Z")
[QUOTE=Lazlo] I agree. The poker in Rounders was really well done. [/QUOTE] It was exaggerated quite a bit, though. Like when Matt Damon walks into a poker game at his teachers house and announces the hands of all five players? C’mon. It takes time to observe people and get a feel for them, and even then, you won’t be THAT accurate. I liked Brad Pitt’s poker instruction to young Hollywood actors in _Ocean’s Eleven_. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/9 "2008-07-10T17:48:31Z")
If you listen to the commentary of _House of Games_, David Mamet & Ricky Jay bitch about how rarely movies ever get the details of poker right. The poker in _HoG_ itself is rather incidental (we barely even see a complete hand), but probably exceedingly accurate (most of the players at the table are actual pros). ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/10 "2008-07-10T18:03:22Z")
[QUOTE=JSexton] I liked Brad Pitt’s poker instruction to young Hollywood actors in _Ocean’s Eleven_. [/QUOTE] What’s great about that scene is that it’s really a con between Pitt and Clooney against Pitt’s students to swindle them out of money. It’s not explained or even more than subtly implied at any point in the scene, which makes it so funny to watch. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/11 "2008-07-10T18:11:14Z")
[QUOTE=Enderw24] What’s great about that scene is that it’s really a con between Pitt and Clooney against Pitt’s students to swindle them out of money. It’s not explained or even more than subtly implied at any point in the scene, which makes it so funny to watch. [/QUOTE] What’s even greater is that it’s a con they set up on the fly - Rusty didn’t even know Danny was out of prison until he saw him at the table. Danny does give Rusty a very quick wink though. Doesn’t Topher proudly turn over his “winning” hand and say “All Red!” somewhere in that scene too? ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/12 "2008-07-10T18:11:26Z")
Perhaps the best (in my mind, of course) is **The Cincinnati Kid** with Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson. Besides great, intelligently played poker, it has a wonderful blues score. **Big Hand for a Little Lady** with Henry Fonda was also very good at illustrating at least one aspect of poker. Jimmy Stewart had a minor role in **Cheyenne Autumn** as Wyatt Earp, but there is a good poker scene for him that is rather instructive. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/13 "2008-07-10T18:56:25Z")
[QUOTE=TV time] Perhaps the best (in my mind, of course) is **The Cincinnati Kid** with Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson. Besides great, intelligently played poker, it has a wonderful blues score. [/QUOTE] “ou’re good, kid, but as long as I’m around, you’re only second best.” This was going to be my call, but since you got that hand I fold. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/14 "2008-07-10T20:30:14Z")
Believe it or not, the Eric Bana / Drew Barrymore [Lucky You](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338216/) had the poker right. The non-poker parts of the movie were pretty mediocre, though. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/15 "2008-07-10T20:45:27Z")
[QUOTE=Meltdown] Believe it or not, the Eric Bana / Drew Barrymore [Lucky You](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338216/) had the poker right. [/QUOTE] Really? There’s a scene in the previews where she’s kibbitzing, and he explains how hold’em works, and she says something like “oh, so you only need one more heart to make a flush” or something, out loud, and all the other players fold. Which is totally backwards. If she revealed that he had a flush DRAW, the other players (if they were good) would go all in, forcing him to either make a terrible call or fold (well, depending on the size of the pot and the chip stacks, etc.). As for **Rounders** , I think it’s a good example of a movie that does a very good job of FEELING authentic, without actually being real at all. For instance, the hand where Matt Damon loses all his money at the beginning is a classic example of a dumb movie poker hand, with the second nuts losing to the nuts. Does it make you a bad player who got outplayed to lose with 999AA vs AAA99 on a flushed board? And the hand at the end where he flops a straight makes no sense at all. An ace comes on the river and the russian guy (Teddy KGB) says “that couldn’t have helped you”. What hand was Teddy KGB putting him on? And what did Teddy have? ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/16 "2008-07-10T20:53:59Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] Really? There’s a scene in the previews where she’s kibbitzing, and he explains how hold’em works, and she says something like “oh, so you only need one more heart to make a flush” or something, out loud, and all the other players fold. Which is totally backwards. If she revealed that he had a flush DRAW, the other players (if they were good) would go all in, forcing him to either make a terrible call or fold (well, depending on the size of the pot and the chip stacks, etc.). [/QUOTE] Okay, it’s not perfect. Concessions were made for easy jokes and dramatic concerns. But it was more realistic than most others I’ve seen. I’ve never seen The Cincinnati Kid, though. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/17 "2008-07-10T21:46:08Z")
[QUOTE=Meltdown] I’ve never seen The Cincinnati Kid, though. [/QUOTE] You can’t ever be a real man if you don’t spend time with your family and haven’t at least seen half of Steve McQueen’s oeuvre, including _Papillon_, _Bullitt_, and _The Cincinnati Kid_. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/18 "2008-07-10T22:31:59Z")
[QUOTE= muldoonthief] Doesn’t Topher proudly turn over his “winning” hand and say “All Red!” somewhere in that scene too? [/QUOTE] As I remember it, that was the hand that drove poor Rusty into the main bar area, before Danny slipped in the back. Incidentally, proudly announcing “Allllllllllllll… REDS” is the default way of announcing that you’ve fucked something- anything up in spectacular fashion among my group of friends. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/19 "2008-07-10T22:51:23Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] As for **Rounders** , I think it’s a good example of a movie that does a very good job of FEELING authentic, without actually being real at all. For instance, the hand where Matt Damon loses all his money at the beginning is a classic example of a dumb movie poker hand, with the second nuts losing to the nuts. Does it make you a bad player who got outplayed to lose with 999AA vs AAA99 on a flushed board? [/QUOTE] I don’t recall the implication that it made him a bad player. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958/20 "2008-07-10T22:56:55Z")
I have no idea how to play poker, so it may not be accurate. But one of my favorite scenes in _The Sting_ is conman extraordinaire Henry Gondorf cheating the hell outta racketeer gangster Doyle Lonnegan in a train bound for NYC. Paul Newman plays fake drunk, fake loutish Henry with glee, and Robert Shaw’s Lonnegan is a vicious, scary rat. The best part is that Lonnegan plays with a loaded deck, so he’s cheating too – Henry’s just a better cheater. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-which-demonstrate-skillful-poker-play/455958.md?page=2)