Whether it's underground celebrity private poker clubs, Charity fundraisers or the next film gambling and particularly poker continues its love affair with Hollywood.
It seems nothing can beat the thrill, suspense and exhilaration of a well executed poker showdown or match the glamour and status a Vegas and Monte Carlo casino symbolises.
Some films are a more accurate reflection of the game and skill of poker whereas others use the game as a way to showdown two characters in a duel like scene. Ultimately the gambling movie is always a wild ride, sometimes taking the audience to the thrilling heights of the winner's circle and, more often than not, to the lonely lows of the loser's personal hell.
From the wild west, mobster casinos, intelligence spies in Monte Carlo or the rise to living the dream within numerous genres here are our picks for our Poker in Movies Awards2011!
Best Poker Film:
Rounders has become a cult favourite and often named as the film of choice for pro players. This film starring Matt Damon and Ed Norton is the best representation of modern poker. At the time of publication there is a sequel in production.
Poker Scene in a Movie:
The Sting, whilst not actually being a poker movie, contains one of the most famous poker scenes ever! To view for yourself, just forward to the scene where Paul Newman cheats the crime boss in a high-stakes poker game onboard a train. Newman's boozy, needling performance and the shocked expression on Shaw's underling's face when he realizes he has been out-cheated reveal a glimpse of how below the polite veneer, poker is used in movie to reveal the characters true nature.
Best Gambling Movie:
This is a hard category so there are two winners in our eyes… Let us know if we have picked the right two on the forum.
The Cincinnati Kid, the film which follows a young card player through New Orleans as he tries to win the title of the best poker player of all time is undeniably one of the best gambling movies.
The Gambler is a scorching portrayal of a gambler showing the inevitable, wilful slide into oblivion that faces the man who cannot resist. James Toback's script focuses intently on the element of self-destruction which haunts Alex Freed (James Caan) as he repeatedly places bets believing each one will dig him out of the hole into which he is so enthusiastically burying himself.