The Best Poker-Inspired Movies – A Must-Watch List for Every Poker Fan

Some of the most iconic movies of all time have featured games of chance. Poker is one of the most iconic games memorialized in film. Let’s take a look at some of the best poker movies that you have to see if you are a fan of playing online poker games.

Cinema has always been interested in organized crime, so there were a lot of films featuring illicit poker rooms and gambling dens. However, there wasn’t a definitive “poker game movie” until The Cincinnati Kid. This film defined the genre for close to a decade and it’s still one of our favourite poker films to this day.

Steve McQueen plays Eric Stoner a.k.a. “The Cincinnati Kid” as he goes on a journey from small-time New Orleans poker games to the top of the game. It’s set in the 1930s, which adds to the overall feeling of nostalgia that reminds us why we started playing.

Most poker movies are very serious. Maverick is not. This film features Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster at their playful best along with veteran actor James Garner playing Marshal Zane Cooper.

It’s not the most realistic movie, on a number of fronts, but it’s a guaranteed good time and a must-watch movie for poker fans.

This Matt Damon poker movie wasn’t a box office hit. Nor is it as popular with the critics as some of the other great poker movies on our list. However, it’s hard to argue that there’s a better portrayal of poker in movies than Rounders.

The story of how Mike McDermott (Damon) and Lester “Worm” Murphy (Edward Norton) rose from low-limit tables to the top of the poker world with the help of the KGB might not be realistic. The actual poker on film, though, might as well have been filmed at the World Series of Poker itself.

In fact, several real-world poker stars, such as Brian Rast, Hevad Khan, Gavin Griffin, and Dutch Boyd, are featured in the film. Another generation of stars were inspired by it. If you’re an online poker fan like I am, you’ll be itching to fire up GoldSpin Casino to play a game after you watch Rounders.

This Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn film tells the story of Gerry (Mendelsohn) and Curtis (Reynolds). The former is a gambling addict who can’t catch a break, while the latter is a young upstart gambler with dreams of a trip to Machu Picchu. They meet and Curtis becomes Gerry’s good luck charm.

Mississippi Grind isn’t as poker-focused as other poker movies, but it’s a very honest and accurate portrayal of the ups and downs we all experience playing poker. If you haven’t seen it already, you should watch it.

One of the things most poker movies have in common is how unrealistic they are. Whether it’s nonsensical strategies or a plot that simply wouldn’t happen, most get something wrong. Molly’s Game, however, is as real as it gets.

This movie details the life of Molly Bloom, played by Jessica Chastain, as she transforms from an Olympics-qualified skier into the boss of one of the biggest underground poker rings in the world. It’s a story you have to see to believe. It’s one of the best poker movies on Netflix now, so give it a watch.