Poker Movies
Poker movies are all the rage these days. They provide people with a chance to escape reality and enjoy themselves for two hours while watching some great poker action unfold on screen before their very eyes. There have been plenty of recent releases in this genre, but which one is really worth your time? We compiled an epic list that will answer just about every question you could ever think of when it comes down to picking out a movie based solely around the game itself – excluding any storylines or anything like that! You’ll find everything from famous poker quotes right alongside what we believe is considered by most as “the best” poker movie made so far today (though there’s no way anyone can know for sure). Check out our picks below if you’re looking for a poker movie to watch.
Maverick (1994)
Plot Summary: Maverick is recreated from the character James Garner created in the 1950s TV program. Maverick is a poker player who would rather con someone than fight them. He needs an additional three thousand dollars in order to enter a Winner Take All poker game that begins in a few days. He tries to win some, tries to collect a few debts, and recover a little loot for the reward, all with a light hearted air. He joins forces with a woman gambler with a marvelous, though fake, southern accent as the two both try and enter the game.
Quotes from Maverick (1994)
Maverick: See that hawk? You know what it means?
Annabelle: No. What does it mean?
Maverick: Nothing. But you didn’t know that did you?
Annabelle: What’s with you and Indians anyway?
Maverick: Oh nothing, I try to shoot one every day before noon, how about you, Coop? I figured it was their fault too… for being on our land before we got here.
Maverick: So, are you gonna miss me?
Annabelle: Are you gonna miss me?
Maverick: You ARE gonna miss me.
Maverick: Well, now, I bring all sorts of plusses to the table. I hardly ever bluff and I never ever cheat.
Maverick: My old pappy always used to say, “there is no more deeply satisfying religious experience… than cheatin’ on a cheater.”
Annabelle: How’d you know I was bluffing? I didn’t do any of my tells. I didn’t shuffle my cards, I didn’t pull my hair, I didn’t even flick my teeth.
Maverick: You held your breath. If you’d been excited, you would have started breathing harder.
Movie Trailer
Rounders (1998)
Plot Summary: A little drunk on its own arcane exotica as a gambling movie, Rounders is a film that takes us inside a world of high-stakes card players but falls short on such essentials as character development, relationships, that sort of thing. Still, it is a real curiosity, written by a couple of guys (David Levien and Brian Koppelman) who appear to know something about the dark underbelly of card hustling for fun and profit.
Matt Damon stars as a reluctant law student who can’t put aside his subterranean career of playing poker and blackjack for big money. After he loses his post-grad nest egg to a weird Russian kingpin (John Malkovich)–and also loses his disgusted girlfriend (Gretchen Mol) in the process–Damon’s character turns to an unreliable old buddy (Edward Norton) for a dangerous game of sharking wherever there happens to be a game underway: frat boys, cops, bad dudes, you name it.
Norton appears to be living out every young actor’s fantasy of re-creating Robert De Niro’s prototypical head case in Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets, and while his performance is burdened by obvious quotation marks, his estimable talent still shines through. Damon’s charm and intelligence bring some oomph to the curiously flat proceedings, and while his hushed, soul-bearing scenes with Martin Landau (as a law professor who takes a shine to the kid) seem gratuitous, they’re still nice to watch. Behind all this is director John Dahl (Red Rock West), who is not exactly at the top of his game here but who brings his distinctive toughness to the crime-noir tone. –Tom Keogh
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Oceans 11 (2001)
Plot Summary: A gangster by the name of Danny Ocean (George Clooney) rounds up a gang of associates to stage heists of three major Las Vegas casino’s (Bellagio, The Mirage, and the MGM Grand) simultaneously during a popular boxing event.
Quotes from Oceans 11
Reuben: You guys are pros. The best. I’m sure you can make it out of the casino. Of course, lest we forget, once you’re out the front door, you’re still in the middle of the fucking desert!
Basher: It will be nice working with proper villains again!
Danny: Ten oughta do it, don’t you think? You think we need one more? You think we need one more. All right, we’ll get one more.
Saul: Tess is with Benedict now? She’s too tall for him!
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Oceans 12 (2004)
Plot Summary: Set three years after “Ocean’s 11,” this sequel shows us Danny Ocean gathering up his complete gang of con artists and thieves from the first film in New York City before they all jet off to Amsterdam, Rome, and Paris to pull off three seperate heists.
All the while, the boys must deal with increasing pressure from a very mad Terry Benedict, a dedicated Europol agent with a link to Rusty’s past, and a mysterious French rival known as the “Night Fox.” Will Ocean’s crew reach their full potential and become the greatest thieves the world has ever known, or will they fall victim to Benedict’s revenge? All bets are off.
Quotes from Oceans 12
Saul Bloom: I want the last check I write to bounce.
Bruce Willis: You’d better call the rice paddy.
Linus Caldwell: Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream. I am a traveler in both time and space, to be where I have been.
Roman Nagel: And tell him he dresses like a gigolo!
Movie Trailer
Oceans 13 (2007)
Plot Summary: The boys are back in town to perform their third casino heist. However, this time it is less about money and more about friendship. When their close friend Rueben suffers a heart attack because of a casino deal gone sour, Ocean and his crew decide to pull out all the stops to prevent the new casino from getting the prestigious five-diamond award. Not to mention their plan to rig the casino so than Banks loses big money on opening night and will lose ownership of the casino. Noticeably Tess and Isabel are absent from this third installment of the Oceans franchise, this is explained early on by Danny when he says simply it is not their fight. With this gorgeous star filled cast, you will be hard pressed not to enjoy this movie.
Quotes from Oceans 13
Roman Nagel: This is Roman Nagel. If your consciousness absolutely has to intrude upon mine… leave me a message.
Willy Bank: You know, you’re half smart, Ocean.
Reuben Tishkoff: We’ll talk about it when I’m dead.
Danny Ocean: You shook Sinatra’s hand. You should know better.
Movie Trailer
Casino Royale (2006)
Plot Summary: Bond, James Bond. Whether you are eight or eighty you likely have your favorite Bond movie. Casino Royale brings you the new generation of Bond with Daniel Craig’s rugged looks and steel blue eyes sure to turn the head of many ladies. The latest installation finds our fearless hero as a newly promoted double O who tends to ruffle his boss M, every chance he gets. OO7 is on the money trail of an international terrorist organization and the trail stops at a high stakes poker game, with ten million of the government’s money on the line. Win and Bond cuts the money line, lose and the government inadvertently funds terrorism around the globe.
Quotes from Casino Royale
James Bond: I’ve got a little itch, down there. Would you mind?
Vesper Lynd: There isn’t enough room for me and your ego.
James Bond: Why is it that people who can’t take advice always insist on giving it?
Le Chiffre: Wow. You’ve taken good care of your body. Such… a waste.
Movie Trailer
The Grand (2007)
Plot Summary: As poker movies go this one drops the serious aspects for some comic relief. Woody Harrelson, Cheryl Hines, Richard Kind and Burt Reynolds round out the cast in this quirky comedy that on the whole is a work of improvation. Each character has their own brand of weirdness going on including the Russian and his myriad of caged animals, (Please don’t ask what he done with the bunny!) This movie is pretty much a gathering of well known and little known actors having a good time playing poker. Critics have been harsh in their assessment but for a laugh or two, it really is not that bad.
Quotes From The Grand
Billionaire Steve Lavisch: I myself despise nostalgia, because it’s so old.
Harold Melvin: You should have gone all in three hours ago when your stack still meant something.
Harold Melvin: I was a two-to-one underdog, and the pot paid me 11 to 1. Not a bad risk return ratio. You played poorly.
One Eyed Jack Faro: Yes, I did get thrown out of my own casino, I’m not sure how exactly that happened, but they do say that I gave the order.
Movie Trailer
A Big Hand for The Little Lady (1966)
Plot Summary: In the back room of the saloon, the richest men in Laredo set down for their annual poker tournament. Recovering gambler Meredith (Henry Fonda) happens into town needing wagon repairs, when he hears of the game. His wife Mary (Joanne Woodward) is having none of it!
He slips in when her back is turned and stakes the family fortune. When he cannot meet the final raise, Meridith falls out and begs them to let his wife play. She has no clue but once the rules are explained, asks for a moment to get a loan. The banker, known to be highly risk adverse advances her the raise which causes a round of folding from the men who know him.
The twist is the best part, but I will let you see for yourself!
Quotes from A Big Hand For The Little Lady
Sam Rhine, Hotel Owner: I’m not in the thinking business.
Sparrow the Stagedriver: I wouldn’t play poker with Henry Drummond if his back was to a mirror! Even if I had the money!
Dennis Wilcox: Now look, mister, the first rule of the game of poker, whether you’re playing eastern or western rules, or the kind they play at the North Pole, is put up or shut up!
Benson Tropp: Any man who gets himself married is automatically stupid.
Movie Trailer
You can view it directly on this site – TCM.com
Atlantic City (1980)
Plot Summary: Lou is a small time gangster, who thinks he used to be something big. He meets up with a younger girl, Sally, who is learning to be a croupier. Her husband turns up with drugs he has stolen from the Mafia. The husband gets Lou to sell the drugs, but is killed before Lou can give him the money. Later, the owners of the drugs turn up and threaten to kill Sally if she doesn’t return them…
Quotes from Atlantic City
Chrissie:
Oh, I never use seatbelts. I don’t believe in gravity.
Lou:
Yes, it used to be beautiful–what with the rackets, whoring, guns.
This is a very tight town. I only do business with the people I do business with…the people I do business with find out I do business with the people I don’t do business with…I can’t do business with you.
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Bookies (2003)
Plot Summary: Bookies is a story of 3 college students who become bookies and take sport bets. They end up becoming successful but that is not without stepping on the big boys toes which has its own consequences.
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Born Yesterday (1950)
Plot Summary: Born Yesterday (1950) directed by George Cukor, based on the play by Garson Kanin of the same name, is about a corrupt tycoon Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) who brings his mistress Emma ‘Billie’ Dawn (Judy Holliday) with him to Washington D.C to buy a congressman.
Though he gets his lawyer Jim Devery (Howard St. John) with him, he finally employs Paul Verrall (William Holden), a journalist to tutor ill-mannered Billie. As the film progresses Billie falls in love with Paul and transforms into this independent, freethinking woman. She refuses to give Harry back his assets, which he had kept under her nameto hide them from the government. The film ends with Billie intimidating Harry to move away from her and Paul’s life, promising him that he would return his possessions little by little.
Quotes from Born Yesterday
Billie Dawn: He always used to say, “Never do nothing you wouldn’t want printed on the front page of The New York Times.”
Harry Brock: How d’ya like that?! He could’ve had a hundred grand. She could’ve had me. Both wind up with nothin’. Dumb chump! Crazy broad!
Billie Dawn: One night I brought home a hundred dollars and gave it to him. Do you know what he did?… Well, it sure didn’t do the plumbing no good.
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California Split (1974)
Plot Summary: ‘California Split’ directed by Robert Altman, revolves around two gamblers Charlie Waters (Elliott Gould) and Bill Denny (George Segal), bonding through their mutual love for gambling. Charlie is a witty, clever gambler while Bill is an amateur who works in a magazine.
As the film progresses Charlie and Bill bond over the roulette tables and Bill slowly gets hooked to gambling and runs into debt with his bookie (Joseph Walsh). Towards the climax, Bill pawns some of his possessions and pools his money with Charlie’s and enters a poker game against the former world champion Amarillo Slim. He wins $82,000 that night. But a sudden realization at the craps table makes him stop. He tells Charlie that he is giving up gambling as he has lost the enthusiasm for it . The film ends with Bill and Charlie splitting the winning money and parting their ways.
Quotes from California Split
Bill Denny: Goddamnit, lady, you don’t throw oranges on an escalator!
Bill Denny: Everybody’s named Barbara.
Charlie Waters: The tongue of the great blue whale weighs more than a full-grown African elephant.
Charlie Waters: If it takes a watermelon five minutes to water. How long does it take a sweetpea to pee? As long as it takes a pair of dice to crap.
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Casino (1995)
Plot Summary: This Martin Scorsese film depicts the Janus-like quality of Las Vegas–it has a glittering, glamorous face, as well as a brutal, cruel one. Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro, mobsters who move to Las Vegas to make their mark, live and work in this paradoxical world. Seen through their eyes, each as a foil to the other, the details of mob involvement in the casinos of the 1970’s and ’80’s are revealed.
Ace is the smooth operator of the Tangiers casino, while Nicky is his boyhood friend and tough strongman, robbing and shaking down the locals. However, they each have a tragic flaw–Ace falls in love with a hustler, Ginger, and Nicky falls into an ever-deepening spiral of drugs and violence.
Quotes from Casino
Ace : There are three ways of doing things. The right way, the wrong way, & my way!
Nicky : Listen to me Anthony. I got your head in a fuckin’ vise. I’ll squash your head like a fuckin’ grapefruit if you don’t give me a name. Don’t make me have to do this, please. Don’t make me be a bad guy, come on.
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Cincinnati Kid (1965)
Plot Summary: The Cincinnati Kid (Steve McQueen) takes his chances in a Poker showdown against Lancey “The Man” Howard (Edward G. Robinson). Both The Kid and Howard are unaware that the game has been rigged in The Kid’s favor. The Dealer, Shooter (Karl Malden), has been bribed. The Kid finds out and wants to play it straight. After switching Dealers The Kid goes on a legendary run, only to see his luck dissipate during an unlikely hand.
Quotes from Cincinnati Kid
Lancey Howard: [to Cincinnati Kid] You’re good, kid, but as long as I’m around, you’re only second best.
Lancey Howard: Women are a universal problem in our business. Of course, uh, it’s purely an academic question wuth me now, but, looking back, I think it’s best not to look for a fixed thing. Just tie into something nice when you’re away from the action and let it wear itself out.
Lancey Howard: [thinking on what he said to Lady Fingers] No, Lady; he hasn’t gotten to me. Not yet; but he might, he just might.
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Honeymoon In Vegas (1992)
Plot Summary: My, doesn’t Nick and Sarah Jessica look young?! Long before treasures were national and Sarah was launching young men out of their family home these two were crazy lovebirds on their way to be married in Vegas! Or are they?
Unfortunately, for this couple Betsy (Parker) looks a lot like the dead wife of a professional gambler who cheats to put Jack (Cage) in deep debt to him, $65,000 to be exact, which he generously offers to forgive for one weekend with Betsy. Will his girl be won over by the wooing of a wealthy gambler who whisks her away to Hawaii? And will Jack ever manage to find her with Mahi Mahi (Pat Morita) driving him all over the Island?
Quotes from Honeymoon In Vegas
Jack Singer: People get married and then they do the most hideous, unbelievable things to each other.
Tommy Korman: I don’t care if Ming the frigging Merciless is in there, gettem out, OK?
Jack Singer: Yellow then red. Yellow then red. Yellow then red. Yellow then red. Yellow then red. Yellow then red. Yellow then red. Yellow then red. Yellow then red.
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Kaleidoscope (1966)
Plot Summary: Warren Beatty was not long in his career when he starred in this little number. Beatty is a playboy bent on making some serious cash at poker. There is just one catch he has marked every deck in the country! He accomplished this wonderful feat by breaking into the card making plant and etching a mark on the plates used to create playing cards.
With the beautiful Susannah York on his arm, it seems the luckiest poker player on the planet has it made. That is until Scotland Yard figures him out and offers him jail or a high stakes game against a rough character they want ruined. All things are fine until Beatty realizes the cards are not marked, its poker at its best as it all comes down to one big hand and no cheats!
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Croupier (1998)
Plot Summary: Jack Manfred is an aspiring writer going nowhere fast. To make ends meet, and against his better judgement, he takes a job as a croupier. He finds himself drawn into the casino world and the job gradually takes over his life; his relationship with girlfriend Marion begins to deteriorate. One gambler in particular catches his attention: Jani, whom he starts to see outside of working hours – a serious violation of casino rules.
Jani is down on her luck; under pressure from her creditors she approaches Jack, asking him to be the inside man for a planned heist at the casino. Jack carefully considers the odds; it all looks so simple, but even a professional like Jack can’t predict the cards he will be dealt.
Quotes from Croupier
Jack:
Hang on tightly, let go lightly.
Jani de Villiers:
Are you a believer in astrology?
Jack:
No. But then, I’m a Gemini, and Geminis don’t believe in astrology.
Jack:
Gambling’s not about money… Gambling’s about not facing reality, ignoring the odds.
Movie Trailer
High Roller (2003)
Plot Summary: As poker movies go this one drops the serious aspects for some comic relief. Woody Harrelson, Cheryl Hines, Richard Kind and Burt Reynolds round out the cast in this quirky comedy that on the whole is a work of improvation. Each character has their own brand of weirdness going on including the Russian and his myriad of caged animals, (Please don’t ask what he done with the bunny!) This movie is pretty much a gathering of well known and little known actors having a good time playing poker. Critics have been harsh in their assessment but for a laugh or two, it really is not that bad.
Quotes From High Roller
Andrew N.S. Glazer:
And Al, the amazing thing about this is, that Stuey would be achieving that feat after sixteen years of personal struggle, where victories were really few and far between.
Al Bernstein:
And standing between Stuey and history is John Stremp, a local casino executive who’s shown remarkable fortitude, actually, in making it to this point. And here it is, Stu is raising enough to put Stremp all in.
Movie Trailer
Oceans 11 (1960)
Plot Summary: Eleven friends who know each other from World War II service plan to rob five of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas in one night. They develop a master plan but after the whole thing is over, something goes wrong…
Quotes From Oceans 11
Danny Ocean: Why waste those cute little tricks that the Army taught us just because it’s sort of peaceful now.
Beatrice Ocean: There’s only one thing you love, Danny: that’s danger. Cliffhanging. You could never love a woman like you love danger.
Adele Ekstrom: “Jiggly little number” isn’t exactly how I would describe Danny Ocean… more like a well-mannered shark.
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Run (1991)
Plot Summary: McDreamy before he was steaming up the doctor’s lounge stars in this thriller about a mistaken identity leading to the death of a mobster’s son after an ill-fated poker game. Charlie Farrow, (Patrick Dempsey) must now run for his life from the mob boss Matt Halloran, (Ken Pogue).
Death and mayhem ensue as the bullets begin to fly. It will come to a showdown on the dog track when Charlie faces certain death at the hands of a powerful mob boss.
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Shade (2004)
Plot Summary: Shade is set in the world of poker hustlers working the clubs and martini bars of Los Angeles. The tale unfolds as a group of hustlers encounter “The Dean” and pull off a successful sting that results in their pursuit by a vengeful gangster.
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The Big Blind (1999)
Plot Summary: An excellent new full length feature film about poker, shot in lake Elsinore, Ca and featuring two top poker pros in the ensemble cast.
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The Cooler (2003)
Plot Summary: The unluckiest man in Vegas (William H. Macy) – a guy whose bad luck is contagious – is used by the last of the old time mob run casinos to kill high rollers’ action. That is, until he falls in love with a cocktail waitress (Maria Bello) and gets “lady luck,” which throws the situation into reverse. Things turn nasty when the casino director (Alec Baldwin) tries to break up the romance.
Quotes from The Cooler
Natalie: I thought that shit only happened in the movies.
Shelly: That guy is kryptonite on a stick.
Shelly Kaplow: Now listen to me, you little Harvard turd. Lootz is all right, so he’s walking out of here with everything he’s got coming to him. If you so much as touch one fucking hair on his fucking head, I’m gonna fucking wallpaper this fucking bathroom with your fucking ass, do you understand me? Muted tones, isn’t that what you said, huh? Huh? I can’t hear you. Wait, wait a minute. There it is. Blended in, at a subsonic level, like some kind of mantra: “Pain, pain, pain.” [breaks Larry’s wrist]
Shelly Kaplow: You think I want to fuck with your happiness, Bernie? That hurts me.
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The Gambler (1974)
Plot Summary: Based on Dostoyevsky’s novel, The Gambler (1974) directed by Karl Reisz is based on Axel Freed, this New York City English professor whose addiction to gambling spirals out of control. Axel’s (played by James Caan) flamboyant and promiscuous nature along with his idiosyncratic interpretation of Dostoyevsky mesmerizes his students and one beautiful student of his Billie (Lauren Hutton) falls in love with him. But his worsening gambling habits runs him into heavy debt with his bookie Hips (Paul Sorvino) which threatens his lifestyle.
He extorts $45,000 from his mother to pay back his debt but ends up betting it,unable to refrain himself from the greed which estranges him from his family and his principles. The film thus ends depicting Axel on a perilous path of risk taking.
Quotes From The Gambler
Axel Freed:
I’m not going to lose it. I’m going to gamble it.
Hips:
The only thing that’s standing between your skull and a baseball bat is my word.
Hips:
Forty-four thousand dollars, Axel. It ain’t just numbers.
Movie Trailer
The Sting (1973)
Plot Summary: An inexperienced Con-Man, Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford), unknowingly makes a mark out of Mob Boss Doyle lonnegan (Robert Shaw). As a result Hooker’s partner is killed. He skips town and enlists the help of a master of the “Long Con,” Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman). Together they hatch a scheme to use Lonnegan’s cheating ways against him during a rigged Poker game. Unsatisfied with the take, the partners continue to lead Donnegan deeper into The Sting.
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The Deal (2008)
Plot Summary: A washed up ex-gambler mentors a young up and coming college poker player. The two end up going face to face in an epic WPT Championship. The mentor finds out that his toughest competition is the young college kid who has an amazing knack for poker.
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All In — The Poker Movie (2012)
Plot Summary: Poker has seen a huge renaissance due to the moneymaker effect. This has help fuel rapid growth in a game that was once only known to a select few within gambling circles. Since the poker boom poker is now a hip and exciting game that draws millions of viewers for the WSOP in Las Vegas.
Quotes from All In – The Poker Movie
Matt Damon:
Poker has always been a part of American culture.
Phil Hellmuth:
The sport of kings is high stakes poker.
Movie Trailer
All or Nothing (2013)
Plot Summary: No matter the game some will be playing for fun, others for power but not matter its always played for ultimate stakes. In the underworld of ultimate poker there is only one winner who walks out a head. Win or lose and sometimes winning is never enough so you push and push for more.
Quotes from All or Nothing
Kid: So you want to see a magic trick before the next hand?
Asshole: No just deal the fucking cards.
Asshole: Its just you and me kid do you got the balls?
Kid: Raise me and find out.
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Runner Runner (2013)
Plot Summary: This is not your typical poker movie as this is a true crime thriller with some big name such as Ben Affleck & Justin Timberlake taking on the two main roles. Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake) was an ex wall street-er looking to pay for his tuition at Princeton. Richie for better words is an excellent poker player who ends up getting cheated out of tens of thousands. He heads on down to Costa Rica to confront Ivan Block (Ben Affleck) about the cheating going on at his site. Richie then takes a job at Ivan Block’s site and soon uncovers something way bigger than just cheating.
Quotes from Runner Runner
Richie Furst: Everyone gambles. They may call it something else, like the stock market, or real estate. But make no mistake, if you’re risking something, you’re gambling. And if you’re gambling, then I’m the guy you want to see.
Ivan Block: This is your job. You want a clear conscience, go start a charity. But if you want your own island and your boss says you gotta go out there and take a beating, you go out there, take it and come back to work and say, ‘do you need me to do it again?
Ivan Block: That little voice in the back of your head right now, it’s not conscience, it’s fear
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Bet Raise Fold (2013)
Plot Summary: This is the ultimate poker documentary movie for anyone who makes a living dominating the virtual felt. The movie tracks the beginnings and the evolution of online poker during the early 2000’s and then through the Moneymaker boom years. It also touches on the eventual downfall of online poker in the USA (Black Friday).
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