So here it is – RightCasino's list of the 10 greatest gambling movies ever made!
Feb 05, 2021 What are best movies about gambling and poker ever made? There are certainly plenty of contenders, including Uncut Gems, Rounders, California Split, 21, and more. Here are the best movies about. We've all spent countless hours searching for a good movie or documentary on Netflix or Amazon Prime. We also realized there aren't many solid gambling movie lists for bettors out there. So we decided to have our staff watch, review and rate 10 currently available on Netflix or Amazon to help you determine which ones you should binge - and skip. Whether they take us behind the scenes of a casino or into a thrilling scheme of card counting, the best casino movies of all time have something in common: they make us relive the emotion and atmosphere that we experience while gambling. Top 11 Gambling Movies Of All Time. The staff at OUSC put together a list of the best gambling movies to.
If you don't find your favourite film here, the chances are it's because the movie in question isn't really about gambling (see both Martin Scorsese's Casino and Terry Gilliam's adaptation of Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas). And of course, with only 10 places to play with, some cracking movies just came up short. Among those pictures deserving an honourable mention are Mississippi Grind, The Pick-Up Artist and Bob La Flambeur.
As for the top 10 proper, we begin with…
10) Hard Eight (1996)
Before striking gold in 1997 with Boogie Nights, Paul Thomas Anderson made Hard Eight (aka Sydney), a pared-back drama about a pro gambler past his prime.
Just how a first-time director managed to assemble this all-star cast – Samuel L Jackson, John C Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, the much missed Philip Seymour Hoffman – speaks volumes for the strength of Anderson's script.
Hard Eight is an indie gem that combines black humour with a knowing study of high-stakes casino gambling. And if it has an ace up its sleeve, it's veteran actor Philip Baker Hall as Sydney, the rounder who's seen everything but still can't resist the lure of the tables.
As for the top 10 proper, we begin with…
10) Hard Eight (1996)
Before striking gold in 1997 with Boogie Nights, Paul Thomas Anderson made Hard Eight (aka Sydney), a pared-back drama about a pro gambler past his prime.
Just how a first-time director managed to assemble this all-star cast – Samuel L Jackson, John C Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, the much missed Philip Seymour Hoffman – speaks volumes for the strength of Anderson's script.
Hard Eight is an indie gem that combines black humour with a knowing study of high-stakes casino gambling. And if it has an ace up its sleeve, it's veteran actor Philip Baker Hall as Sydney, the rounder who's seen everything but still can't resist the lure of the tables.
9) Owning Mahowny (2003)
This semi-fictional tale of bank manager turned criminal gambler is a glimmering star vehicle for Oscar-winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
The title character's gradual descent into the dark recesses of addiction stands as a grave warning to us all that never feels preachy or condemnatory. Meanwhile, director Richard Kwietniowski (Love And Death On Long Island) employs sparse direction to downplay any sense of glamour in favour of a very human story of vice overcoming a man's soul. No, you won't leave this movie elated but it'll stick with you forever.
8) Croupier (1998)
Bovada random jackpot. Between Croupier and Rounders, 1998 was a bloody good year for gambling movies.
Clive Owen is Jack Manfred, the titular croupier. In actual fact, he's a would-be writer who's forced to fall back on his chip-handling chops when his literary career fails to take off. From the other side of the table, Jack sees what gambling does not only to the punters but to the people dealing the cards. Such is its corrupting force that it's not long before Jack's playing a hand dominated by deceit, adultery and murder.
Less a public service announcement than a compelling examination of human motivations, Croupier is that safest of movie bets – a picture that pays off every time.
7) The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
Not until 2006's Casino Royale would poker be so engagingly portrayed on film as it is in The Cincinatti Kid. https://rdiu.over-blog.com/2021/02/acorn-6-3-2-equals.html. Director Norman Jewison perfectly captures the tense excitement of seeing the pot stack after the flop and of devising the best play while keeping an eye out for tells…
‘King of Cool' Steve McQueen absolutely kills it as poker prodigy Eric ‘The Kid' Stoner and is at his best during the film's iconic ‘last hand scene'.
Jewison later dismissed the film as an ‘ugly duckling' and went on to enjoy greater success with movies such as Fiddler On The Roof, Rollerball, The Thomas Crown Affair (also with McQueen) and The Hurricane. Nevertheless, this would represent many a director's career high.
6) California Split (1974)
Ask a card player what their favourite gambling movie is and they probably won't say The Cincinnati Kid; rather they'll say it's California Split, a film so steeped in the 1970s, you have to wear flares to watch it.
Directed by Robert Altman (M*A*S*H, The Player) and starring George Segal and Elliott Gould, the picture rings true with poker fans, it's because it doesn't over-glamourise the game. Nor, for the most part, does it feature people staking ridiculous sums of cash.
No, California Split's a film about the grind of the pro gamblers' life. Watch it and you'll understand why those that ‘play' poker are looked down on by the few for whom the deck is a tool of the trade.
5) Casino Royale (2006)
007's stunning return to form is simultaneously the best entry in the entire James Bond franchise and one of the finest action movies ever made. However, central to Casino Royale is the utterly awesome high-stakes poker tournament, in which Daniel Craig's Bond fights to bankrupt terrorist banker Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen).
If you'd bet that it was possible to make 40 minutes of cinematic poker edge-of-your-seat thrilling, we'd have taken you at 100/1 odds and called you a chump. Fortunately, nobody did, so we don't have to fork over my pension fund. Lucky escape.
4) The Music Of Chance (1993)
Gambling Addiction Movies
Adapted from Paul Auster's novel , The Music Of Chance tells the story of Jim Nashe (Mandy Patinkin), a former fireman down to his last $20,000. That's when he runs into Jack Pozzi (James Spader), a gambler who has a plan to take apart two eccentric millionaires (Charles Durning and Joel Grey) over a few hands of poker.
Philip Haas's film has things to say about gambling and good fortune that will be familiar to both casual gamblers and hard-bitten grinders alike. For example, at a key moment in the poker game, Nashe – convinced Pozzi has everything in hand – goes off to have a nap. By the time he wakes up, everything's changed and Nashe and Pozzi are about to lose a lot more than their $20,000.
Did the one event lead to the other? Of course not, but Pozzi thinks it did and it's the intensity of his conviction reveals plenty about chance and how we interpret it. By the same measure, the film's ending shows how one of the worst things that can happen in everyday life can be handy, depending on your point of view.
3) Rounders (1998)
Ever had the urge to watch a young, fresh-faced Matt Damon being terrorised by a mental Russian with an Oreo obsession and a thing for tracksuits? Well, good news! Red Rock West director John Dahl went and cranked out your new favourite movie way back in 1998.
Seriously though, Rounders is a thing of grim beauty. The narrative is as classic as they come: it's the Rocky story, with a plucky upstart forced to bounce back after getting his backside handed to him. However, it's the performances that make this flick, particularly Edward Norton as the hugely irritating Worm and John Malkovich's brilliant turn as deranged gangster Teddy KGB.
2) The Hustler (1961)
Directed by Robert Rosen, The Hustler's jam-packed with gambling archetypes. There's Paul Newman as ‘Fast' Eddie Felsen, the wunderkind who's his own worst enemy, there's George C. Scott's crooked agent, and there's Piper Laurie as the love interest who discovers that there's no room for distraction in a grinder's life.
All the woes of the gambler's life are also on show. Loneliness, heartbreak, boredom, borderline alcoholism – a less glamorous depiction of gaming it's hard to imagine. And yet, so cool does Newman look while he dances around the pool table, it's not hard to imagine that a lot of young men saw the film, left the cinema and headed straight down the nearest snooker hall.
The Hustler is, at heart, a story about the difference between the price and the value of something. Bare that in mind the next time you play a few frames. Oh, and remember – winner stays on and no masse shots.
1) The Gambler (1974)
Based on Dostoyevsky's novel, The Gambler stars James Caan as a literature professor who shares the screenwriter James Toback‘s obsessions with gambling. So great is wagering's grip the academic that he borrows money from his girl, his mother and the worst kind of loan sharks to feed his addiction.
'It's not easy to make people care about a guy who steals from his mother to pay gambling debts,' said Cann. But care we do, thanks to Toback's semi-autobiographscal scipt and the actor making complete sense of our ‘hero', his fractured logic's reveleaed in lines like 'I'm not going to lose [the money], I'm going to gamble it'.
The leading man also clearly grasps Toback's belief about gambling being mainly about the exercising of free will. To paraphrase Dostoyevsky, man is alone is being able to insist that two and two equals five despite all evidence to the contrary. No, it's not wisdom but it says a lot about human nature, and that's what elevates The Gambler to the top of the pile. Not that you'd want to let Cann's character know – he'd only go and blow the prize money on a basketball game.
Gambling movies on Netflix
It seems impossible these days to talk about movies without discussing their availability on Netflix. Unfortunately for film connoisseurs it's easier to find the 2014 remake of The Gamblers (starring Mark Wahlberg) on the streamer service than the 1974 classic.
Casino Royale, arguably one of the best Bond films ever, is of course available for streaming as is the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman's Owning Mahowny.
Croupier is available on the American, Canadian and Brazilian versions of Netflix, so British viewers will have to turn to the good old fashioned DVD to enjoy this gambling movie.
Talking of DVDs, while some of the older movies might not be available for live streaming, you can always opt for a Netflix DVD rental. Sure, it might only be one step up from wandering into Blockbusters but it's better than nothing!
Sports Betting Movies
Originally published: 7/4/2014
Updated: 10/05/2017
It's no surprise that Hollywood has a fascination with the world of gambling and casinos. There's a wide variety of films from different genres, ranging from the outdated, dirty, smoke-filled backrooms at the bars up to today's online casino lobbies.
Whether they take us behind the scenes of a casino or into a thrilling scheme of card counting, the best casino movies of all time have something in common: they make us relive the emotion and atmosphere that we experience while gambling.
Top 11 Gambling Movies Of All Time
The staff at OUSC put together a list of the best gambling movies to watch and help you keep your mind in the game.
The Color of Money (1986)
On a symbolic note, while there are actually no gambling games involved, The Color of Money displays the practice of betting on pool duels. The old expert from a former movie classic The Hustler, 'Fast Eddy' and his apprentice Vincent embark to rip off people across the country using their hustling skills.
The movie illustrates the true value of a game – the skill, action, and thrill rather than the payout, which is what gambling and its inspirational powers are all about.
Owning Mahowny (2003)
Based on a true story, Owning Mahowny is inspired by a gambler nonetheless – Dan Mahowny. His outward posture and mindset cause his friends, family, and girlfriend to hold him in high regards, whilst his hidden gambling addiction slowly paves the way to his demise.
The storyline serves to tell the story of one of the greatest bank frauds ever, only to emphasize the need for proper help against this condition.
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
The Cincinnati Kid and the movie of the same name, follow the life's story of a skilled poker game player back in the ‘30s, known as Eric Stoner. He aims to make a name for himself by challenging the greats from various regions of the South and encounters all kinds of personalities and destinies along the way.
Football manager 2019 ps4. While it may appear to take the focus off the gambling element, The Cincinnati Kid's talent at poker games proves to the contrary.
Gilda (1946)
America online casino. This over half a century old motion picture bears the name of the wife of the lead character, Ballin. Even though he's a casino owner, the real explanation for this movie's spot on our list is his co-star, appearing as Johnny Farrell.
Johnny is a blackjack cheater rather than a gambler, but he is certainly making an 'all-in' bet with a move that tips the immense hate between him and Gilda into something just as potent.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Eddy and his three friends – Bacon, Soap, and Tom promote the gambling theme through their idea to capitalize on Eddy's card skills. The four of them get tricked into a crooked game of poker with a mutual buy-in that ultimately sees them all the more broke and indebted, leading them to grave trouble.
The odds that Slots.lv offers its player pool are practically rewarding in comparison to the ones that this quartet faces along their adventure.
Indecent Proposal (1993)
This film deals with the essential elements of a healthy relationship as financial trouble cause them to hit the casino tables to play real money craps in order to make their dreams of a house and family come true.
The unexpected turn is in fact, the indecent proposal made by a millionaire that undermines their plan. With 'the-end-justifies-the-means' viewpoint, the audience will see the characters gamble through a lot more than a couple of card hands.
Maverick (1994)
For movie enthusiasts particularly interested in the good old game of poker like Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Maverick is the way to go. The typical character of an avid poker player tricking his way through life is depicted by Maverick, who wishes to go to high-stakes winner-takes-all poker table.
Some like it for the gambling, others for the ingenious ways of avoiding confrontation – either way, Maverick is a favorite among the movie heroes.
Rain Man (1988)
The story of hustler Charlie Babbitt and his autistic brother, Raymond Babbitt has so many dimensions in its storyline. The movie provides the ultimate way to capitalize on one's talent – Raymond's condition is the right intellect for blackjack cheating systems leading to massive cash payouts.
Their hustle is noticed by casino security, as it would be detected at any online blackjack casino operator platform, but not before they make enough to save Charlie from all financial troubles.
Casino (1995)
If you're looking for a more universal gambling experience, there is no need to look further than Sam Rothstein, or Ace as his friends used to call him. This character is the stakes and gamble in Scorsese's '95 motion picture following Ace, renowned sports betting expert turned casino manager under the direction of the Mafia.
Casino Royale (2006)
Casino Royale is one of the latest productions featuring the world-famous franchise of James Bond. The movie starts with the character earning his ‘double-0' status, and slowly builds up its tension until the final moments of the illegal high-stakes poker game at Le Casino Royale.
Ocean io game. Players today can choose their live dealers from the casino selection at Bovada or Slots.lv, but hardly anyone gets to play their hand against Le Chiffre's – a famous terrorist accountant.
21 (2008)
As the life of an intelligent MIT student turns upside down, viewers have widely praised 21. The screenplay follows a group of students led by their professor into successfully tricking their way to blackjack fortune at Las Vegas casinos.
Despite the fact that the game allows for online table action at top casinos like BetOnline, this movie follows the players' rise to wealth and spiraling downfall on the land-based casino floors.
What's Your Favorite Gambling Movie?
Did any of your favorite gambling movies make the list? If not, take some time off and start watching these classic Hollywood gambling films. If you feel inspired enough, you can always bet on having a reliable casino site like Cafe Casino to start playing your favorite online games right from the comfort of your home!
