Top 5 Poker Movies
The movies love cheatin’ stories. Cheatin’ at love, cheatin’ at business, cheatin’ at poker. That’s OK. Poker does have that reputation and for good reason.
However, much has changed over the years. Used to be that the deal rotated around to each player. This raised the temptation for a skilled card-handler to mark cards or to deal in a cheatin’ way. And they did.
Now, poker is on TV, it is out in the open, there are neutral dealers and it has gained respectability.
But it is only natural that most movies reflect the cheatin’ tradition. For example:
One. In “The Cincinnati Kid” (1965), Steve McQueen’s friend, “Shooter,” played by Academy Award winner, Karl Malden, is dealing him great hands of five card stud against Edward G. Robinson (“Lancey Howard). McQueen (“Eric Stoner”) folds a full house, asks for a break, and tells Shooter to knock it off.
“Why did you fold a full house?” asks Shooter?
“I was embarrassed to show it.”
When they come together again, Stoner asks for a change of dealers and Joan Blondell (“Ladyfingers”) deals properly to the improbable conclusion of Stoner’s full house (Aces over 10’s) losing to Lancey Howard’s gut diamond straight flush to the Queen.
Two. “Rounders” (1998) updates the poker genre a bit to include No Limit Texas Hold ‘em and the World Series of Poker with an appearance by two-time poker champ, Johnny Chan. Again, cheating on the part of Edward Norton (as “Worm). The conclusion, Matt Damon’s showdown against “KGB,” played by John Malkovich, is based on a “tell,” a way that he pulls his Oreo cookies apart.
Three. “Kaleidoscope” (1966) with Warren Beatty is once again in the cheating genre. Beatty breaks into a United Kingdom card company and marks the metal plates that are used to produce their cards. In other words, he hasn’t marked one deck, he has marked them all. Of course he is the only one who can read these marks – until – the big showdown game. Some servants go to the basement to break new decks of cards out of a shipping crate when they discover “old” decks (prior to the changing of the plates) and bring them to the game. Again the game is 5 card stud. Can you guess the outcome of this one?
Four. David Mamet’s “House of Games” from 1987. Once again the game is 5 card draw. This time the plot is based on the “long con,” a drawn out, multilayered story, with multiple players all acting against one unsuspecting “mark.” Another part of the plot deals with a “tell.”
Five. “The Sting” from 1973. Paul Newman and Robert Shaw are playing cards (5 card draw) on a train. Each is trying to cheat the other. Shaw stacks the deck and deals Newman four 3’s. He deals himself four 9’s. At the showdown, Newman shows four J’s. What is Shaw going to say? You cheated me better than I cheated you?
Coming up in 2006 is a new poker movie, “Lucky You,” pitting a son (Eric Bana from “Munich”) against the old pro, Robert Duvall, who happens to be his father. Let’s see if we are in for another cheatin’ movie.
(c) 2006 Murphy James
Murphy James is the pen name of Harry Murphy. He is a frequent contributor to Poker News and Strip Las Vegas. His website is http://www.murphyjames.com His email address is murphyjames@murphyjames.com
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