Hollywood is known for blowing things out of proportion, sometimes quite literally. From secret agents that calmly walk away from explosions (despite the inevitable blast waves and shrapnel) to gas tanks that explode on impact.
But one of its most egregious representations concerns casino games. Not everyone knows that silencers don’t really make a gun whisper-quiet and car doors don’t stop bullets, but with the prevalence of online casino games in Canada, surely everyone knows that you can’t automatically win a poker game just by going all-in when the other player is out of chips.
If you’re sick of these blockbuster mistakes, check out the following films instead, all of which represent casino games accurately.
Rounders (1998)
Rounders is often considered to be the greatest poker movie ever made, and that’s a statement that’s hard to dispute.
Legend has it that the star of the film, Matt Damon, played so much poker in preparation that he became very good at it. Today, he’s a regular feature at poker tables all over the world, including the World Series of Poker.
This 1998 flick is a classic. A drama about poker, life, and trying to make it big based on talent alone.
Rounders is not that well known in mainstream circles, and that’s a shame. Not only is it a great film loved by critics and fans alike, but it also has a cast that would make any director envious, including Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Malkovich, and John Turturro.
The Gambler (2014)
The Gambler follows the story of Jim Bennett, played by Mark Wahlberg. Jim is smart, sharp, and gifted, but he’s also impulsive and likes to risk his money on high-stakes Blackjack games.
The Gambler is a remake of a 1970s film that also has several accurate depictions of high-stakes gambling. The film’s casino scenes will be very familiar to anyone who has ever sat down at a Blackjack table.
Casino (1995)
Martin Scorsese is an undeniable genius of the silver screen and Casino is one of his best works. As you would expect from the Oscar-winning director, Casino contains a wealth of details that add to the film’s accuracy and give you a feel for life on the casino floor and behind its many security cameras.
Casino also stars some of the best actors of a generation, including Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone.
Casino Royale (2006)
In Ian Fleming’s books and the early films, James Bond played Baccarat. But for the 2006 reboot of Casino Royale, the script called for him to play Texas Hold’em, a game that was experiencing a huge surge in popularity at the time.
The scene where Bond faces off against Le Chiffre is one of the best Bond scenes in recent years, one that helped to establish a new era of 007, earning Daniel Craig legendary status in the process.
It’s a great representation of the game and one that looks extra slick and cool with Bond at the helm.
