The 20 Best Movies About Poker Ever Made To Watch

Poker movies are nothing but movies based on gambling and mafia. These poker films show us people risking their everything in a game.

Sometimes it isn’t funny to watch all this stuff, but these movies are always the best at teaching lessons. The poker concept in the film is added to generate thrill and dramatic effect in the movie scenes.

As poker is a global phenomenon all around the world, it is famous for rich as well as poor people. And it also attracts the audience who are into this type of culture.

But mainly, poker movies are made to show the reality of the world and, of course, to entertain us.

This article will list the 20 best poker movies with the best poker game portrayal. After watching these recommended movies, you will learn more about the poker world and how it works.

20. Grinders (2011)

Director: Matt Gallagher
Cast: Daniel Negreanu, Matt Gallagher, Cornelia Principe, Nick Hector
IMDb Ratings: 5.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 40%
Where to watch: Vudu and Amazon Prime

This movie shows the struggle of an unemployed filmmaker who discovers the true meaning of life when he becomes a father. And to sustain his family life, he gets into illegal poker gaming.

The audiences dislike the film because of the failure of direction. But the movie showed the true colors of life very well. The movie’s ratings are not very fascinating, but watching it for once is recommended.

19. Bet Raise Fold: The Story Of Online Poker (2013)

Director: Ryan Firpo
Cast: Danielle Anderson, Tony Dunst, Martin Bradsteet, Aaron Groben
IMDb Ratings: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 64%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

This movie documents the lives of professional poker players and their struggles. The film follows the fortunes of a new generation of international poker players playing online poker. It analyses the sudden increase in the money-making of the online poker industry during the 2000s.

The movie is very entertaining and realistic. Every aspect of a poker player is portrayed very nicely in the film.

18. Finder’s Fee (2001)

Director: Jeff Probst
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, James Earl Jones, Matthew Lillard, Erik Palladino, Carly Pope
IMDb Ratings: 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 60%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

This crime thriller shows the story of a young man named Tepper who discovers some fascinating poker world reality. Unfortunately, this young man gets diverted from his path by seeing the idea of making millions of dollars in an easy and shortcut way.

17. Luna’s Game (2001)

Director: Monica Laguna
Cast: Ana Torrent, Dafne Fernandez, Ernesto Alterio, Manuel San Martin, Carlos Bardem
IMDb Ratings: 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 40%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

This movie is truly a dramatic thriller movie. The film revolves around a woman who plays poker for a living and decides to play with a man who killed her father. The movie is good and can be watched once.

16. Smart Money (1931)

Director: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Evalyn Knapp, Margaret Livingston, Boris Karloff
IMDb Ratings: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 47%
Where to watch: Vudu and Amazon Prime

This movie is an ancient crime drama. At that time, these types of films were very few. The movie shows the story of a gambler named Nick, who is lucky and wins every time.

Therefore his customers decided to gather resources for him and to send him to a big poker game in the city. The movie’s ratings are average, but this movie is exceptionally excellent.

15. Casino Royale (2006)

Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Caterina Murino
IMDb Ratings: 8/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

Casino Royale is a James Bond franchise movie full of adventure and action. This movie contains a famous scene of James Bond in which he wins a huge amount at the poker table.

The movie’s story shows James Bond on a mission to prevent Le Chiffre, a mob banker, from winning a high stake poker tournament with the help of a British agent. The movie is critically acclaimed and is one of the best poker movies.

14. A Big Hand For The Little Lady (1966)

Director: Fielder Cook
Cast: Henry Fonda, Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards, Burgess Meredith, Paul Ford
IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 85%
Where to watch: Vudu and Amazon Prime

This movie shows the struggle of a woman whose husband lost all their money in poker because of his bad habits and ailing health. But his wife replaces him in the poker game and takes the challenge to get everything back.

13. Shade (2003)

Director: Damian Nieman
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Stuart Townsend, Thandiwe Newton, Gabriel Byrne, Melanie Griffith
IMDb Ratings: 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 67%
Where to watch: Vudu and Amazon Prime

The shade movie shows card games. The film is a crime thriller and reveals the story of three con artists who decide to scam a well-known cardsharp.

To collect the needed resources for scamming, they plan one last job, and during that, everything goes wrong. The movie’s ratings are good, and the film is worth watching.

12. Casino (1995)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Don Rickles, Kevin Pollak
IMDb Ratings: 8.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 79%
Where to watch: YouTube and Hulu

The Casino film is a crime thriller based on the novel Casino: love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nicholas Pileggi. The movie was released on November 22, 1995.

The film revolves around the story of Ace, a mafia associate who is asked to run a casino in Las Vegas and rises to power. But he gets in trouble when collisions arise between his friend and lover Ginger. The movie shows authentic crime portrayal and is full of thrillers.

11. Mississippi Grind (2015)

Director: Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Ben Mendelsohn, Sienna Miller, Lio Tipton
IMDb Ratings: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91%
Where to watch: Vudu and Amazon Prime

This movie is another masterpiece and shows the life of a gambling addict. It indicates that Gerry, a gambler, gets with Curtis, a stranger he sees as a good luck charm, and takes him on a trip to win significant amounts through gambling.

The movie was released on September 25, 2015, and became a hit at the box office. The reviews of the film were not good, but the film became famous because of the actors in the movie.

10. Deal (2008)

Director: Gil Cates Jr.
Cast: Bret Harrison, Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning, Vincent Van Patten
IMDb Ratings: 5.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 3%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

This movie is not very popular and poorly rated, but the techniques shown are unique for every poker player.

The movie shows an ex-poker player who teaches a popular college kid some card tricks. The college kid faces his toughest competition when he enters the international poker series.

9. Lucky You (2007)

Director: Curtis Hanson
Cast: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Debra Messing, Robert Downey Jr.
IMDb Ratings: 5.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 28%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

This movie was released on May 4, 2007. And it is a mixture of romance and drama. The film shows a man’s struggle between his poker life and his relationship.

Huck Cheever, a talented poker player in Las Vegas, needs money to secure his seat in a poker tournament but struggles between the demands of his personal and professional life. The movie ran successfully at the box office and managed well to show the life of a poker player.

8. Maverick (1994)

Director: Richard Donner
Cast: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner, Graham Greene, James Coburn, Alfred Molina
IMDb Ratings: 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 67%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime and Hulu

This is among the best poker movies ever made, full of comedy, drama, and entertainment. This movie was released on May 20, 1994, and is based on the television series of the same name created by Roy Huggins.

The movie shows the story of Maverick, a professional poker player who needs money to enter a poker tournament named Winner to take all poker Games. And to fulfill his dream, he gets in touch with a woman gambler, and they both try their best to get into that tournament.

7. The Grand (2007)

Director: Zak Penn
Cast: Woody Harrelson, David Cross, Gabe Kaplan, Werner Herzog, Ray Romano
IMDb Ratings: 5.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 40%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

This poker movie shows Jack Faro, grandson of a casino legend and a former poker professional who lost all his inherited fame and casino to liquor and alimony.

But he decided to win back all his fame and money and entered the upcoming world championship of poker. He faces tough competition from famous poker players like Deuce Fairbanks and Lainie Schwartzman during this. The primary lesson that this movie gave us is never to back down.

6. High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story (2003)

Director: A. W. Vidmer
Cast: Michael Imperioli, Renne Faia, Michael Nouri, Michael Pasternak, Pat Morita
IMDb Ratings: 6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 55%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

This movie is a biopic on the life of the American professional poker and gin player Stu Ungar. The film shows some professional sports and poker, including Vince Van Patten, Andy Glazer, and Al Bernstein. The film was released in 2003 and was liked by many people because of its realness.

This movie is based on actual events, and it shows Stuey Ungar, a teenage gambling star who later got into debt because of his excessive gambling habits.

But he got a second chance from Vincent, a gangster from Las Vegas. Stuey accepted his offer and moved into a high-profile poker career, but because of his troubling lifestyle, he became an addict.

5. California Split (1974)

Director: Robert Altman
Cast: Elliott Gould, George Segal, Joseph Walsh, Gwen Welles, Ann Prentiss
IMDb Ratings: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 86%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime and Vudu

California Split is another gem among the best poker movies of the era. This movie was released on August 7, 1974, and distributed all over by Columbia Pictures. This film is a mixture of drama, comedy, and gambling. The movie shows a single carefree guy Charles Waters with two prostitutes, Barbara Miller and Susan Peters.

All of them love gambling; actually, they love to gamble. One day Charlie sets out on a gambling streak in search of a big payday, but that day becomes very problematic for him. This movie is serious, but it will not stop your laughter throughout.

4. All In The Poker movie (2009)

Director: Douglas Tirola
Cast: Matt Damon, Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer
IMDb Ratings: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 45%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

This movie takes the poker game from different angles as it shows online poker gaming. This documentary movie shows Filmmaker Douglas Tirola examining the growing day-by-day popularity of online gambling.

And analyze the crackdown on online gambling. This documentary was released on July 29, 2011, and was not liked by many people as it lacks originality.

3. Molly’s Game (2017)

Director: Aaron Sorkin
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Michael Cera, Kevin Costner, Jeremy Strong, Joe Kerry
IMDb Ratings: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 82%
Where to watch: Netflix and amazon prime

This movie is different from most poker movies as it shows a woman in the mainstream organizing high-stakes poker games for the mafias. Molly’s Game is an American biographical crime thriller.

The movie revolves around the story of Molly Bloom, who runs a high-stakes poker game for high-profile stars and the mafia. Everything was going smoothly until the FBI sought interest in her profile. This movie is full of entertainment and thriller and is one of the best poker movies ever.

2. The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

Director: Norman Jewison
Cast: Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann Margaret, Karl Malden
IMDb Ratings: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 86%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

This movie was released on October 15, 1965, and became a successful hit. The film shows a young poker player, Eric Stoner, the ‘Cincinnati Kid.’

This young man wants to build his image by beating the best poker player, Lancey ‘The Man.’ Stoner’s friend arranges a poker game for them, but Stoner discovers that it is being fixed against Lancey. But Stoner objects to all this because he wants to win the match through his skills.

1. Rounders (1998)

Director: John Dahl
Cast: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, Famke Janssen, Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich
IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 65%
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

Rounders is the best poker movie, and it is top on our list because of its excellent portrayal of poker games. It is an American drama film released on September 4, 1998.

Rounders gained mixed reviews and became one of the most successful poker movies at the box office. During the poker boom era in the early 2000s, this film became a cult hit.

The movie’s story shows two friends Matt Damon as Mike McDermott and Edward Norton, as Lester Worm. Mike is a reformed gambler who turns back to his old friend Worm when Worm asks him to pay a loan shark the money he owes him.