Poker is a game of wit, power and intelligence. It is all about tricking your opponents into folding, all the while hoping you get yourself a card that will allow you to win. Whether you are playing poker online or you prefer to play it in person, it is never a dull moment. The following poker hands and bluffs from the films truly do not disappoint you.

Rounders

Photo: Amazon

John Dahl directed rounders. This 1998 film portrays Mike McDermott, a poker pro, who lost his all bankroll in a single hand to Teddy KGB, a Russian gangster. This incident forces him to admit defeat and quit the game forever and focuses on law school. He is soon reeled back into the game in a bid to save his childhood friend Wormy, who owes $25000 to Grama, a pimp working for Teddy. What are friends for anyway?

Mike vouches for Worm to pay off his debt in weekly installments. Grama is in agreement, all this while taunting him for not paying upfront. This wounded his pride.  He hurled insults at Grama, who became angry and changed his mind. Worm pays Grama $10000, and the two are given only five days to complete the payment. The only way to pay him is if Mike gets back into the game and plays a couple of rounds until he can pay Grama off, which he does. In the end, he gets to play against Teddy KGB, whom he had lost to earlier before he went to focus on his studies.

Mike asks Petrovsky, his law school professor, to loan him $10,000 and challenges Teddy in the game No-Limit Texas Hold’em. The final hand is where the juice is in this movie. Mike dishes out cards to the players. When he raises the $500, two of them fold, leaving just him and Teddy, his nemesis. Teddy sets a trap for Mike, leading Mike to deal with the card that Teddy needs to flush. Teddy raises Mike by $15000, and McDermott quickly calls Teddy’s bluff and defeats him with a nut straight. 

Ocean’s Eleven

No matter how many times you watch Ocean’s Eleven,  many will agree poker scenes from Ocean’s Eleven are among the most entertaining bluffs from movies. Ocean’s Eleven is a heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh starring two friends, Rusty and Ryan, who team up to plan how they will rob three casinos simultaneously. As much as this is a heist film, we cannot leave out the poker scene at the initial stages of the film. 

Rusty takes advantage of green celebrities when it comes to poker and teaches them how to play with a five-card draw. He takes a break and comes back to find Danny Ocean seated at the table and already making very high bets. Danny raises Rusty and announces to his fellow players that he will teach them how to draw out a bluff. He states that the first rule of poker is to leave emotions out of the game! We are not shown any of the player’s cards. Now, one of the players folds after Rusty raises $500. Another opponent helps raise $500. Rusty’s bet is matched yet again, and Ocean raises by an additional $2000. Revealing his four nines and an ace, Ocean wins the hand. Rusty is not too gloomy despite losing because he knew that he would get a share of the winnings. 

It is quite enjoyable to watch Danny and Ryan swindle celebrities and take their money from right under their noses.  

The Cincinnati Kid

Being one of the oldest poker movies, The Cincinnati Kid is much like a Rounders blast from the past. The Cincinnati Kid was directed by Norman Jewison and aired in 1965. This movie is based on the 1963 novel “The Cincinnati Kid” by Richard Jessup. Steve McQueen portrays the character of “The Kid,” an upcoming poker player in New Orleans who wants to prove that he is the best gambler. Kid’s friend Shooter warns him about Howard, a ruthless poker player who beat him back in the day.

After losing $6000 to Howard, Jefferson is annoyed and blackmails Shooter into cheating in the next game so that the odds are in Kid’s favor. Kid intentionally arrives late to the game. In a matter of time, the rest of the four players drop out, leaving just Kid and Howard. Kid can smell a rat and confronts Shooter, who admits to cheating. He assured him that he could defeat Howard. Unfortunately, this is not the case as Howard beats Kid in the final hand with a queen-high straight flush, leading Kid to lose all his money and an extra $5000 raise. 

In A Nutshell

We all love to see the poker scenes get as realistic as possible. The tension in the air is so thick a knife can cut it. For a poker fanatic, nothing compares to watching a film that brings out the true essence of the game. The visuals and background music emphasizes the already existing tension in the air. The documentary type feels to these films also provide insight and allow for rookies to understand what is going on.