Those who love playing poker and watching movies get the chance to combine their two passions every now and again when movies are released based around poker playing. You may think you’ve watched the best before, but have you? Our list of the top 10 poker movies will help you find out whether you have seen what you need to, or if you need to track down a watch a movie you have forgotten about.
#10 All In: The Poker Movie
Although 10th on the list, this is a great place to start for anyone who has an interest in poker, but hasn’t seen too many movies. This is more of a documentary, tracking how the game became so popular, and why people are playing in huge numbers today.
#9 Shade
This film is all about hustlers, something we don’t see and hear too much about anymore. This group pull off a successful sting but that attracts the unwanted attention of a gangster who goes after them in search of revenge.
#8 Lucky You
This is a great movie highlighting the struggles that people can face in their life. The story is of a poker player who heads to Vegas hoping to win a poker tournament, but away from the table he has many different struggles to deal with in his life. Many of the top poker players go through this kind of struggle during their career, so it is nice to see this type of story played out in a film.
#7 High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story
Those looking for a true story should check this movie out. Stu “The Kid” Ungar is the star in this film that shows how he became a poker legend and one of the most famous players in the world. It shows the highs and how he rose to fame, as well as the lows of his life.
#6 Deal
An excellent story about an ex-gambler who teaches some college students all his favourite poker strategies and moves. He then finds himself dragged back into the world of poker, signing up for the World Series where a familiar face proves to be his toughest competition.
This movies brings together the whole gambling world, and is one that all punters will love, whether you play poker or place bets with bookmakers such as those listed on newbettingsites.uk/. As this film portrays, everyone had their own favoured poker room and bookmaker but now we have an excellent range of new betting sites available to us, some of which also offer online poker rooms.
#5 The Grand
A completely different look at poker in this film, which is a comedy based around an actual poker competition. The actors take their place in the tournament and the film follows their progress in this light-hearted look at the game we all love.
#4 Maverick
Another film with a comedy angle in it, to lighten the mood while you are watching, although there are very serious moments to this one. The film features all the storylines you would expect from a casino based film, with a thief and a variety of different comedy mishaps to show the light hearted side of things.
#3 Rounders
An all-time classic game based on a reformed gambler who goes back to playing poker for big stakes in order to help his friend settle a debt. We see the struggles of a gambler in this film as he tries to focus on winning to help his friend, while also trying to keep his girlfriend happy and try to concentrate on graduating from law school.
This is a great film to watch for those looking to pick up some poker tips as you can see how the main character handles playing under pressure and with other distractions around him. While this is a film, it shows this brilliantly and can be a real learning tool for new poker players.
#2 The Cincinnati Kid
If you are looking for the classic poker movie then this could well be it. Set in the 60s, this shows what the poker world was like back then, giving a great insight into how the game has evolved and grown.
The story follows an up and coming poker player who goes up against a far more experienced rival in a David vs Goliath type matchup. Those looking to know how to handle pressure and the thought of taking on someone far more experienced will enjoy this film.
#1 Casino Royale
Adding James Bond to poker gaming is a match made in heaven, which is why Casino Royale is seen as the best poker movie by us. Expect to see the usual drama and edge of the seat action as we have all come to love from 007, with a touch of poker in for good measure.
The storyline all revolves around a high stakes poker game between Bond and a private banker who has been found to be funding terrorists, and he must be stopped!