You may have not known this, but the gambling industry and the movie industry have gone side by side for many years now. It was actually the movie industry that was responsible for the global acceptance of gambling. After the success of several gambling movies during the 60s, people from all around the world started advocating for gambling legalization, which is something that they eventually succeeded in.
That also proved that people are fond of gambling movies as they are packed with excitement. Hence, we’ve been able to witness tons of quality gambling films throughout the years. Poker had the highest success as movies where poker is the main “activity” managed to earn millions.
With that being said, we wanted to provide you with the best poker movies of all time. All of the listings below are must-watch as they are also considered as one of the best movies ever made.
The Cincinnati Kid
We are going to start things off with The Cincinnati Kid, a 1965 poker movie that starred Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Marget Karl Malden and Tuesday Weld. The main character is Eric Stoner who is an up-and-coming poker player in New Orleans during the 1930s.
Critics stated that McQueen absolutely nailed the role as The Kid and the movie gained generally positive reviews. The main plot of the movie revolves around the Kid, who finds out that the best poker player in New Orleans, The Man, is hosting a game.
He thinks that this is finally his shot at becoming the Man and that is why he’s eager to play. However, his friend, Shooter, reminds him that he also thought that he was the best five-card stud player in the world, but still lost to The Man. Stoner disregards his friend’s advice and goes on to challenge The Man for the title.
Maverick
Who would’ve thought that comedies would be so successful? Everyone was a bit doubtful when Maverick came out, but this movie proved to be a massive success as it remains the only comedy-gambling film to be so profitable. The initial budget for Maverick was $75 million and the movie grossed over $183 million, making it a critical success.
The scene in this movie is set in the Old West in America where a gambler, Bret Maverick, is on his way to participate in a five-card draw tournament. His mission is simple – go to the tournament and win it. However, things are not as simple as they seem as Maverick is faced with a lot of obstacles along the way.
Casino Royale
Nothing beats a classic James Bond movie and that is exactly the case with Casino Royale. Casino Royale (2006) is a remake of the same-named movie that was released in 1967 and it stars the legendary Daniel Craig.
007 is tasked with capturing Le Chiffre, a well-known criminal that holds a lot of valuable information that is of extreme importance to the MI6. The agency finds out that Le Chiffre will be participating in a poker tournament at a high-stakes casino in Montenegro and decides to send Bond.
The mission is simple – force Le Chiffre’s hand, make him lose all of his money and them, leave him with no other option than to seek asylum with the UK in exchange for that information. However, Le Chiffre is a rather good poker player and after he uses a few tricks up his sleeve, he puts Bond in a tight spot and captures him. Will Bond be able to come out on top or will he have to let Le Chiffre go?
Rounders
Finally, we have arguably the best poker movie of all time. Any movie that has Matt Damon as the main role is likely to be a success and Rounders is no different. Damon plays Mike McDermott, a very skilled poker player who dreams of winning the World Series of Poker.
After participating in an underground Texas Hold’em tournament with Teddy KGB, he ends up losing $30,000 but promises not to play poker anymore and return the money decently. However, after his good friend, Worm, is released from prison, he ends up taking debt in Mike’s name.
Now, Mike has no options on how to pay off the debt and decides to go all-in. Play a game of Texas Hold’em to win all the money back or die trying. He ends up in a 1v1 battle against Teddy KGB, who is also a very good player and will do anything he can to win.
Honourable Mentions
The aforementioned four movies are labelled by many casino and movie fans as the best poker films ever made. However, that doesn’t mean that they are the only ones that you should watch. There are plenty of other great picks in this category that you should watch when you have the time and some honourable mentions are Lucky You, Deal, Shade and All In: The Poker Movie.