High stakes poker movies are intense thrillers full of mind games and individual moments that mean everything. Heist movies keep audiences on the edge of their seats and can swing between stealthy and bloodless or vicious assaults on the target. Combining the two should be the secret to a successful action thriller.
Review
Cold Deck combines these explosive plot elements but ultimately falls short. This Canadian thriller follows the hapless Bobby, a factory worker with a gambling addiction, as he gets pulled into a criminal underworld he’s not equipped to deal with. After losing everything at a private high stakes poker game, he’s convinced by the shady owner of his local poker room to rob the next high stakes game. The heist goes smoothly but things quickly fall apart and Bobby has to scramble to survive.
It’s not the most unique premise but it had potential. Who doesn’t love a poker heist, after all? Unfortunately the movie is hampered by its low budget and short running time. It’s missing most of the classic heist elements – there’s no planning and no frantic getaway, and the heist itself involves a canister of tear gas, a single gunshot and a muttered threat. There also isn’t very much poker – we see some raising and folding but most of the action at the table is just a dealer flinging cards haphazardly, and losing players walking away in a huff.
Casting
The casting in Cold Deck is hit and miss. As Bobby, Stéfano Gallo does a convincing job of portraying the struggling loser who just can’t get a break. He has a harder time portraying Bobby as a man using his wits to escape the hole he’s in.
Bobby’s long-suffering mother is played by Kate Trotter, but she isn’t given much to do besides looking frail and disappointed. On the other hand, Bobby’s girlfriend, played by Jessica Sipos, mainly just looks beautiful and disappointed.
Robert Knepper, who has successfully been playing the part of an unsettlingly vicious criminal since 1989’s Renegades is great here as Turk, the poker game’s host. He’s just a vaguely threatening, wealthy family man who runs a high stakes poker game for visiting oil investors and bankers. That is, until he’s robbed and becomes a pistol axe-wielding monster bent on vengeance.
Paul Sorvino, as Chips, is stepping back into a role we’ve seen him in so many times before. Chips doesn’t have the menace of Paulie Cicero (Goodfellas) or the power of Anthony Salerno (Kill the Irishman) but it’s always a pleasure to see Sorvino as an underworld figure. It’s obvious he’s enjoying it, too. Both Sorvino and Knepper treat their roles with respect and aren’t just phoning it in. Their performances make Cold Deck worth watching.
Cold Deck and problem gambling
What Cold Deck does a very good job of showing is the desperate lengths that gambling addiction can drive people to. Bobby and his friend steal cars and rob Bobby’s disabled elderly mother in order to get the money for the buy-in at an exclusive poker game. Bobby’s father, also a gambling addict, made risky business decisions that put the family in a precarious financial position.
At times, Bobby doesn’t even seem to be enjoying playing. He falls asleep while playing online roulette, for example. One of the things that keeps drawing Bobby back to the table is that the other players insist that he’s walking away because he’s a coward. His masculinity is tied to his willingness to risk everything for a poker hand.
This is particularly an issue with poker, which is still seen as a man’s game. There are plenty of alternative games that don’t carry the same baggage and expectations. In fact, many online casinos have begun to specialize in live casino games that are similar to traditional card games but without the same stereotypes.
Lucky spin the wheel games are particularly popular. This makes sense since spin the wheel games can be found on tv, at local fairs, raffles, and other events. The click clack of the wheel as it slows down is almost as familiar a sound as the whirr of the roulette wheel. Crazy Time live in Ontario is one of these new alternative games – it’s a fast paced, Wheel of Fortune-style game where players can feel free to wager what they’re comfortable with without any of the traditional baggage.
Final thoughts
Cold Deck will never be a classic of the genre. It doesn’t have enough poker for the card sharks and the heist is over too quickly for the action junkies. Despite this, Sorvino and Knepper put in great performances and are incredibly fun to watch. At only 80 minutes, Cold Deck is worth a watch if you’re in the mood for a poker heist movie you’ve never seen before. Too bad we never get to see Knepper’s character use that pistol axe, though!