Top 12 Recommended Poker Movies! Also Introduces How to Enjoy Poker Movies!

“I want to see various scenes in poker movies“

“Are there any recommended poker movies?“

Have you been searching for poker movies with thoughts like these?

Poker is a part of overseas life, and it’s no exaggeration to call it a culture by now.

As a result, various poker-themed movies have been made overseas.

So in this article, we’ll introduce our site’s top 12 recommended poker movies.

Reading this article will make you love poker even more, so please read to the end.

Our Site’s Top 12 Recommended Poker Movies

Let’s dive right into our site’s top 12 recommended poker movies.

There are various types of poker movies, but we’ll introduce movies mainly featuring Texas Hold’em.

The specific movies introduced are as follows:

Molly’s Game

Molly’s Game is a story about a female protagonist who operates a private poker room.

In America, private poker rooms are held frequently, and operating one isn’t considered illegal as long as you don’t take a rake.

The heroine starts working while at rock bottom and is entrusted with running the poker room.

She then begins learning poker terminology one by one and develops a sharp eye for identifying which players are easy marks.

However, the arrival of card cheats and the mafia sends things in an unexpected direction…

It is a biographical film that vividly documents how she rose to run a poker room that became famous even in major cities.

Rounders

Next, Rounders, released in the 1990s, is also a recommended poker movie.

‘Rounders’ refers to gamblers, and it is a rugged, orthodox gambling film depicting a young man who plays poker to pay for his tuition.

The protagonist, who had his entire fortune taken from him and resolved to quit, is later shaken up when his old friend — the cheater Worm — gets out of prison…

It vividly portrays young men getting hooked on gambling, and is popular enough that bars modeled after Rounders still open to this day.

Maverick

 Maverick is a movie released in 1994.

While it belongs to the Western and comedy genres, the story starts with the protagonist raising money to enter a poker tournament.

Raising money through cash games to enter a poker tournament is a prerequisite for professional poker players.

Since it depicts the life of a professional poker player, you can experience what it’s like to make a living at a casino.

Casino Royale

From the 007 series, Casino Royale is a movie with poker as its central theme.

Texas Hold’em showdowns are repeated throughout the story, and even the villains lead a gambler’s life, heading to the casino to raise funds.

In particular, the psychological battle between Bond and the villain is heated enough to be called the quintessential poker movie, and any poker player would want to engage in such a battle.

However, as we’ll explain later, be careful — in modern poker, excessive psychological warfare is inadvisable.

The Shuffle

The Shuffle is a relatively new movie released in 2016.

While it uses poker as a theme, poker is not the main subject — it is only brought to the foreground through actions at the poker table, and its overall meaning is somewhat secondary.

It is quite an innovative work, so it could be said it’s selective in its audience.

Shade

Shade is a poker movie released in 2003.

It belongs to the crime suspense genre, with skilled gamblers engaging in intense battles.

Poker is merely a backdrop — the story begins with the characters accidentally swindling a mafia tribute payment.

Deal

Deal is a Texas Hold’em poker movie released in 2008.

The protagonist is a law school student who enjoys online poker. The story starts when he is completely defeated by a professional poker player in a live-broadcast final table.

A person who sees through the protagonist’s potential offers staking — on the condition of following instructions — and proposes a 50/50 prize split.

In the end there is also a mentor-student showdown with that person, so you’ll be excited by the heated battle.

Lucky You

Lucky You is a movie released in 2007, a human drama set against the backdrop of the poker world championship.

It depicts as a love story the encounter between the protagonist living in the poker world and a female singer, and you can’t help but wonder what results he’ll achieve at the love-hate-filled world championship.

The showdown with his legendary father in the poker world is sure to be nail-biting.

All In

All In is more of a documentary film than a movie.

It is depicted from various perspectives — such as why Texas Hold’em became popular and how genius professional poker players gained their fame — making it a useful study material for those aiming to become professional poker players.

In particular, since renowned poker players including Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth participated in the film, it’s worth watching at least once.

Texas Five Friends

The Cincinnati Kid, made in 1965, is the oldest film featured in this list.

It is a story where five gamblers who made their names in the American West gather together for a big poker showdown.

It’s a slightly older film, but since you can experience the atmosphere of good old-fashioned poker, it’s recommended.

Bet Raise Fold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPtC5fIsfVo

Finally, as a story about online poker, we introduce a documentary film that follows players who are seriously devoted to poker.

Online poker, which had quickly become a billion-dollar industry, vanished almost instantly due to regulatory impacts.

Bet Raise Fold is a documentary film that follows poker players still dreaming of success through the remaining live online poker platforms.

The Sting

The Sting is a thrilling movie about a card cheat who battles a gangster in various gambling games.

A card cheat who lost a friend after swindling a gangster challenges the gang boss using his innate techniques.

The overall pacing is good, and there’s a mysterious charm that keeps even first-time viewers engaged without getting bored.

Although it’s an older film from 1973, the cheating techniques that still look cool today make it a masterpiece that any poker fan will enjoy.

Wild Gamble

Wild Gamble is a movie about gamblers Curtis and Jerry traveling from place to place to earn money by playing various gambling games.

In this film, in addition to poker, various types of gambling appear including slots, roulette, and horse racing.

There are few flashy productions and it often moves along quietly, but the film vividly depicts people getting drawn into gambling.

Since it’s a relatively new 2015 film, it’s recommended for poker fans thinking ‘old movies aren’t really for me…’

Are There Poker Movies in Japan?

Unfortunately, there are no movies in Japan that capture the atmosphere of Texas Hold’em or other poker games.

This is probably because for most Japanese people, poker isn’t yet something close to their daily lives.

While it may briefly appear in some works, the reality is that it is not featured as prominently as in overseas films.

Since mahjong movies are particularly thriving, this may be unavoidable.

There is a possibility that poker-related films will appear in the future.

However, for those who currently want to watch poker-related works, it’s recommended to look for overseas films or domestic works in other media.

Recommended Poker Manga in Japan

While there are no films featuring Texas Hold’em poker in Japan, there are some manga.

In this section, we’ll briefly introduce recommended poker manga in Japan.

Specifically, the following manga are recommended:

Poker Millions

ポーカーミリオンズ第22話(JOPT⑥)
トーナメント全国大会完結編です！

よろしくどうぞ！https://t.co/4SlKDhP8Jc#ポーカー　#ポーカー漫画

— ちゃぼ　『ポーカーミリオンズ』作者 (@chabo32) March 18, 2022

Supervised by professional poker player Naoya Kihara, Poker Millions is famous as an ultra-authentic poker manga.

It is serialized as a web manga, but has maintained a loyal following and is now being serialized on Note.

Since it has been praised by various poker players, make sure to check it out at least once.

Gutshot

A gutshot in poker refers to a state where one more card would complete a straight — and the manga bearing that name is Gutshot.

It depicts the growth of a protagonist who has always lived by reading others’ facial expressions, as they take on Texas Hold’em, known as the ultimate mind sport.

Junket

【㊗️本日発売㊗️】
ジャンケットバンク最新12巻
本日8/18発売です‼️

初のワンヘッド戦「シヴァリング・ファイア」編スタート‼️
今回も⚠️描き下ろしオマケ漫画大増量♨️

皆様どうぞよろしくお願いいたします‼️

ジャンケットバンク 12 (ヤングジャンプコミックス) https://t.co/B62Tizupuu pic.twitter.com/atmyKtHOI3

— 田中一行 /『ジャンケットバンク』 (@itch_itch) August 18, 2023

Junket was a manga serialized in Modern Mahjong Original.

Since it was released in 2011, its style feels somewhat dated.

It strongly reflects the storylines of mahjong manga, and depicts suspense rather than Texas Hold’em poker strategy.

Bad Beat

Bad Beat, released in 2016, is an unusual poker manga with a female protagonist.

The essence of poker is properly depicted, making it perfect as a beginner’s educational material since you can understand how beginner poker players should approach the game.

It’s recommended not only for poker beginners but also for those who are just starting to become interested in poker.

3 Reasons Why Poker Movies Are Recommended for Beginners

In the final section, we’ll briefly explain why poker movies are recommended for beginners.

The specific reasons are as follows:

We’ll explain each of these in more detail below.

① You Can Learn Poker Rules Through Visual Information

Poker rules are difficult to understand just by reading text — visual information is most important.

Therefore, by watching movies and reading manga, you can understand specific rules concretely.

For example, you can easily understand how Small Blind and Big Blind are forced to bet from the dealer button, and how the betting rounds progress.

By learning poker through visual information like this, you can understand the rules in a short period.

② You Can Experience the Atmosphere of Poker

Another recommended point for watching movies is that you can experience the atmosphere of poker.

This is because poker is perceived as part of foreign culture, and detailed depictions allow you to experience various atmospheres.

In Japan, online poker has been trending in recent years and the player population has been gradually increasing, but it will still take some time before it blends into everyday life.

Therefore, by watching overseas poker movies, you can learn through film what kind of lifestyle professional poker players lead and what a professional gambler is.カープロがどのような生活をしているのか、そしてプロギャンブラーとは何なのかを映画を通して学べるでしょう。

③ You Can Understand the Excitement of Poker

Finally, the highlight of movies is that you can understand the excitement of poker.

The reason watching movies helps you understand the interesting aspects of poker is that the directors making poker films put great effort into them.

The most heated scenes in poker movies are the psychological battles, and it’s also fun to think along with the players about how they’re thinking and bluffing.

With different directing styles in each film, please enjoy the thrill of poker.

[Summary] Be Careful Not to Be Too Influenced by Poker Movies!

In this article, we introduced our site’s top 12 recommended poker movies.

While various types of poker movies are being produced overseas, please be careful not to be too influenced by them.

This is because modern poker has developed as an academic discipline, and there is not much of the psychological warfare depicted in movies.

Watching poker movies as a hobby is fine, but avoid using them as educational material for your actual poker play.

Thank you very much for reading to the end.