There’s nothing quite like the thrill of playing in an exciting hand of poker. Chips are flying, cards are being slammed on the table, and everyone is holding their breath. It’s rare that you’ll find yourself involved in these hands in online or brick-and-mortar poker rooms but, fortunately, we have some great movies for reference that do an amazing job of depicting the sheer excitement of playing in a lucrative poker hand:
Rounders – The Final Hand
We’re watching Mike (portrayed by Matt Damon), as he goes heads up with a Russian mobster (John Malkovich), who is trying his best to intimidate him. Mike plays it cool under pressure. After flopping the nuts, he checks down to the river and infuriates the dangerous gangster. We all wish we could keep as cool a head as Mike in such emotional circumstances.
In Time
In this dystopian, time is the universal currency. As main character Will Salas is seconds away from using up all of his time and facing death, he engages in a poker game with a time loan shark named Weis. They’re betting centuries over the hand, and Salas wins with 84 off-suit for a straight while Weis only has triple Queens.
This scene puts a dangerous new spin on cinematic poker, as it is more than a real money poker game. Salas is literally playing for his life. Because of this, it is arguably one of the tensest poker scenes in a film.
Casino Royale
The big blind is now $1 million, as Mr Bond faces off against Le Chiffre and two other skilled players. It is one of the highest stakes poker games that we’ve seen on film, and the tension is palpable. We watch as James calls Le Chiffre’s all-in for over $40 million, as a room full of onlookers oohs and aahs over every card revealed. It’s a thrilling game, and we’re blown away by the sheer extravagance of it all.
Ocean’s 11
This is one of the funnier poker scenes that we’ve seen in a film, as Rusty teaches teen idols to play poker. The table features Joshua Jackson from Dawson’s Creek and Topher Grace from That 70s Show, it’s kind of adorable how clueless they are.
Danny Ocean joins the game, and Rusty takes this as an opportunity to teach the table about bluffing. However, Danny hits quad fours, and the idols are out quite a bit of money – going to show Rusty that he can still outsmart his former partner in crime.
Trinity
We’re going back to the 1970s for this one, but Trinity really does bring us one of the best poker scenes in cinematic history. It’s almost completely silent, save for a few impressed exclamations as Trinity shows off its dealing skills.
This scene really set the bar for poker games being depicted in film. The camera cuts between the shifting eyes of each player, as we feel the tension increase. Not to mention, it leads to the iconic gun/slap scene:
