The best poker movies to watch (and what they get right)

Poker films are a fun way to get into the game, though Hollywood loves impossible hands. Here are the classics and what they teach.

Film	Year	Game	Why watch
Rounders	1998	No-Limit Hold’em	The poker film. Matt Damon, Edward Norton and John Malkovich’s Teddy KGB. Great on reads, bankroll and tilt.
The Cincinnati Kid	1965	Five-card stud	Steve McQueen in a tense heads-up duel; the final hand is famously unlikely.
Casino Royale	2006	Texas Hold’em	Daniel Craig’s Bond plays a high-stakes game (the novel used baccarat). Stylish, but the final hand is pure fantasy.
Molly’s Game	2017	Private cash games	Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom, based on her memoir about running high-stakes games. Directed by Aaron Sorkin.
Maverick	1994	Five-card draw	A Western comedy with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster. Pure fun.
High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story	2003	Hold’em and gin	The rise and fall of one of the most talented players ever.
Lucky You	2007	No-Limit Hold’em	Eric Bana as a Las Vegas pro facing his father before the WSOP.
Mississippi Grind	2015	Various	Two gamblers on a road trip; honest about the dark side of gambling.

What movies get wrong

Huge hands every pot: straight flush vs four of a kind is a once-in-a-lifetime event, not a weekly one. See hand probabilities.
Betting more than someone has to force them out: in table-stakes poker you can only bet what’s on the table.
“Reading” someone from one twitch: real tells are patterns, not magic. See poker tells.

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Rounders (1998) is the favourite of most players, with great scenes on reads, bankroll and tilt.

Texas Hold’em in the 2006 film; the original novel used baccarat.

It’s based on Molly Bloom’s memoir about running high-stakes private poker games.

Partly. They exaggerate big hands, but often show real truths about tilt, bankroll and discipline.