Poker Movies: Top 5 Films about Poker

Many Hollywood films include poker playing in their plots. Here you can
read about five of the best poker movies ever made.

Since the golden age of the Western, poker playing has always been a
popular theme in Hollywood. Although many of the Hollywood films that
feature poker are not very good and some of them even display poker in a
ridiculous manner, watching poker action on the big screen is great fun,
especially if you play poker yourself.

Here are the best poker movies that were ever produced in Hollywood.
Some of the movies are actually excellent movies regardless to their
display of the poker game, while in others the poker games is the
feature that makes them worth watching. However, if you are a poker fan,
add these movies to your musts list.

The Sting directed by George Roy Hill in 1973

The Sting is less about poker and more about the art of card sharking
but it will provide you two hours of sophisticated fun. The 1973 Academy
award winner features young Paul Newman as the greatest con artist of
them all who mentors young Robert Redford in the art of trickestry.
David S. Warn screenplay is based on true con games stories.

The Cincinnati Kid directed by Norman Jewison in 1965

The classic stud poker film known for its climatic final hand and the
unforgettable quote: Gets down to what its all about, doesn't it? Making
the wrong move at the right time</i>. In short, The Cincinnati Kid is
about the battle between Steve Macqueen who plays a young poker player
also known as The Kid and the veteran poker gambler known as The Man who
is played by Edward G. Robinson during the Great Depression in New
Orleans. It may not appear at any other list of best movies, but it
certainly has one of the best poker scenes ever seen on the silver screen.

California Split directed by Robert Altman in 1974

California Split may not be the pick of Robert Altmans creation, but is
one of the best movies to depict the messy everyday life of two
professional gamblers played by George Segal and Elliott Gould. Like in
many of Altman films, the narrative is not particularly straight and the
end is not necessarily happy, but it does succeed in describing an
authentic experience. Additionally, poker trivia fans would be thrilled
to learn that poker legend Amarillo Slim plays a small role.

Rounders directed by John Dahl in 1998

It is hard to tell whether the movie pushed to the 21st century poker
boom or the rise in the popularity of poker during the last decade made
Rounders a cult hit. However, Rounders is one of the best poker films to
display the contemporary high stake poker scene. The core of the movie
is a long poker marathon in which Mat Damon and Edward Norton are trying
to earn money to pay off the latter gambling debts. World Series of
Poker champion Johnny Chan plays a featured role.

Maverick directed by Richard Donner in 1994

Although Maverick is not the most brilliant film ever made and some of
the poker scenes are kinda silly, it is a fun and lightheaded poker
movie. It might even provide you a basic idea on what it was like to be
a rambling gambler in the old west card scene with Mel Gibson as a
maverick who tries to earn enough money for the big five card draw poker
tournament.