A really excited poker player even loves thinking about his favorite game, if he is not actually sitting at a poker table. That means: poker books are studied, strategies are improved, and poker tournaments are being watched on TV. Why not take a good dose of poker for recreation? There are many movies about the game of poker. Here are our three favorite poker films:

The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

This classic movie takes place in New Orleans of the 1930s. Steve McQueen is a young poker player who enters into a poker contest against the champion “The Man”. Poker really is a leading part in this movie. The hero of the movie travels to all kinds of poker tournaments and the viewer gets to know all the excitement and the flair of the game in a colorful way. The showdown – the final hand between the hero and his opponent – may not be very realistic, but this is Hollywood and not a real poker game. Every poker fan should watch this movie!

Rounders (1998)

Matt Damon is Mike McDermott, a talented but luckless poker player. He did not participate in any gambling until his friend “Worm” (Edward Norton) asks for his help. To get rid of his debts Mike returns to the underworld of poker. The makers of Rounders did everything to make this movie as realistic as possible – and they learned the game of poker very well. In fact, the two players even participated at the WSOP in 1998 to prepare for the acting in this movie. Of course, not all details are very true to reality, but nevertheless this movie is one of the best – and most realistic – poker movies of all times.

The Sting (1973)

The Sting with Robert Redford and Paul Newman is much fun – not only for poker fans – but it probably is one of the best and most exciting movies in film history. Redford and Newman are two smart cheaters, doing everything to take revenge on a much-feared godfather of the mafia. Even though poker is not the main focus of this classic movie, there are some really impressive poker scenes every fan of the game will remember years after.