A lot of poker movies fall under the “cult classic” label. Certain people swear by films like The Gambler and The Cooler, even if many have barely ever heard of them. Rounders did so much to rile up the amateur poker community that it’s actually credited with starting the early-2000s World Series of Poker boom. Even Ocean’s 11, which is more heist flick than poker movie, has a cult-ish following; it’s much more universally popular, but there’s a certain crowd that simply worships the film.
Cult classics like these tend to belong to history, and as such we can think of poker movies as being behind us. They have involved stars from Paul Newman to George Clooney, and they’ve taken place everywhere from restaurant back rooms to The Bellagio. But we consider them as part of the past in a certain sense.
The only problem with this is that poker movies are anything but behind us. In 2013, we saw a thoroughly flawed attempt to cover the world of online poker in the Ben Affleck- and Justin Timberlake-led flop Runner Runner. The next year, Mark Wahlberg took on the James Caan role in a remake of The Gambler. In 2015, Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn starred in a very well-made poker film called Mississippi Grind. And in 2017, Aaron Sorkin brought the true story of an underground celebrity poker ring to life in Molly’s Game. That’s not the end of the modern streak, either. We’ve learned recently that there is a forthcoming film about real-life poker star Phil Ivey and his playing partner, starring Awkwafina (who was excellent in Ocean’s 8).
In summary: This genre won’t die. Casinos have changed, public enthusiasm for poker ebbs and flows, the modern game has migrated to the internet, and seemingly every angle for a film has been covered. But there’s always another script making the rounds, and every couple of years a new poker movie emerges.
Because this is such an un-killable genre, I think it’s worthwhile to look at how to get the most of it. Often enough, poker movies feel a little bit stale, but watching them “the right way,” so to speak, can make them a lot more enjoyable.
The first worthwhile tip is to start with a star. Some poker movies are a little dry, or stale. But the ones with genuine movie stars will seldom bore you, even if plots can be somewhat basic, or the film might be a little dated. This isn’t always the case, mind you. Affleck and Timberlake are bigger stars than Reynolds and Mendelsohn, yet Mississippi Grind is vastly superior to Runner Runner. Nevertheless, here’s something to think about: UltimateMovieRankings.com ranked the top 100 movie stars of all time, actually taking “adjusted domestic box office” into account. And within those rankings, at least a dozen stars — from Gary Cooper to Henry Fonda, to Julia Roberts — have starred in films that are at least partially in the poker genre. These are people you can’t help but enjoy in film, and if you let them pull you into the poker genre, you’ll be poised to enjoy it.
The second tip to be mindful of is one that wouldn’t make sense in any other genre – but it is to keep a guide handy. This doesn’t mean that you need to dig up the six-inch-thick Hoyle’s card game encyclopedia from your old gaming cabinet. The movies aren’t that complex. But something you can glance at to understand what’s going on in a poker scene can actually be helpful. There’s a chart that ranks different poker hands on Poker.org that makes for about the quickest and simplest reference point there is in this regard (and you don’t need to sign up or anything of that sort to use it). And it may also be helpful, depending on the film, to find a page online that provides a concise overview of poker betting. With these resources on hand, you can pause whenever a scene doesn’t make sense, refresh yourself on why exactly one player’s cards have him pleased or dissatisfied, and resume your watch. A lot of the poker scenes are actually pretty gripping if you fully understand the game that’s going on.
A third tip is to simply be ready to play! Have a game set up for right after you’re done watching a film. Whether it’s a game with friends, a game over Zoom, or just a site or app you want to get into, playing poker helps you capture the excitement of the film, and makes it more impactful in the long run. In much the same way watching March Madness might make a basketball fan want to shoot hoops or watching Anthony Bourdain’s show makes people want to travel or cook, a great poker film should make you want to play. Setting yourself up to take advantage of the impulse makes for a better overall experience.
Lastly, one handy final tip would be to simply keep an open mind. The aforementioned Runner Runner was very, very bad. A review at The Guardian called it “a low-aiming, by-the-numbers thriller” — and that was one of the kinder reviews. It was bad enough that it could almost make one give up n the genre altogether. But then along came Mississippi Grind and Molly’s Game, which were both enjoyable and generally well-received films of a much higher quality. They were worth staying interested in.
Indeed, it’s a genre worth staying interested in overall. And it’s un-killable anyway, so you may as well get as much as you can out of it!
