Poker Movies
No wonder, but Poker is also showcased in many famous Hollywood flicks, where Poker is shown being played by well-known film artists. Many a times, the Producer adds a poker scene to add essence to a movie, whereas sometimes, the whole plot of a movie emphasizes on the game. Some of the eminent movies that have highlighted Poker as a game:
THE BIG BLIND (2003)
The movie ‘The Big Blind’ was released in 2003. The movie starred Scotty Nguyen, Jennifer Harman, Ray William Smith, Blake Adams, Landry Barb, Elizabeth Burr, and Angela Wright. It talked about the lives of about twelve people playing Poker at a card room in California. The movie had been set in the 1990s and displayed a very monotonous image of Poker. The movie showed several scenes that featured poker being played by the actors. The movie was itself written and directed by a poker player, and thus most of the scenes were practical.
THE CINCINNATI KID (1965)
‘The Cincinnati Kid’ was released in the year 1965. It starred Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robbins, and Ann-Margaret. The Cincinnati Kid is a professional card player. In the movie, he drives to New Orleans to play in the high stakes poker game of his life against Lancey Howard (The Man). The game throughout the movie is a five-card stud film and it showed real playing.
HIGH ROLLER: THE STU UNGAR STORY (2003)
‘High Roller’ was released quite recently in 2003. The movie starred Michael Imperioli, Renee Faia, Michael Nouri, Pat Morita, and Joe La Due. This movie revolves around the life of legendary card player, Stu Ungar. In the movie, Stu Ungar is shown as a three-time World Series of Poker champion. There is a fair amount of both poker and gin playing throughout the movie.
HONEYMOON IN VEGAS (1992)
‘Honeymoon in Vegas’ is another movie that came up in 1992. The movie starred James Caan, Nicholas Cage, and Sarah Jessica Parker. It shows a game of five-card draw, where Cage's character loses $65k. The poker scene went completely bizarre. Firstly, they are playing no limit five-card draw, which is very rarely played otherwise. Secondly, Cage is allowed to re-buy during the hand, which never happens in the game of poker in practical, as Poker is always played at table stakes.
THE STING (1973)
‘The Sting’ was a popular Poker movie that got released in the year 1973. It won almost seven Academy Awards. The star cast of the movie included Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, and Charles Durning. The poker scene was made quite thrilling with players playing a five-card stud game.
MAVERICK (1994)
‘Maverick’ was released in 1994. It starred Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner. Bret Maverick played the role of a professional card player who keeps traveling to a major poker game. Though the movie had many comical scenes during the course of this expedition, the Poker game limited to a five-card draw was more or less unrealistic.
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