Two sharply dressed professionals sit across a table with mountains of chips at their side, neatly placed into towers. The entire casino floor goes silent as one lays down four of their hands and starts to rake in his wins. His opponent stops him and shows a royal flush, and the crowd goes wild as the winner turns around and leaves the table, leaving all the chips behind. Dramatic and entertaining is the entire point of such movie plays, but while similar to real poker, there are some drastic differences worth pointing out.
1. Online poker
Not to spoil anyone’s fun and nitpick, but real-world poker is different from what’s portrayed in movies. Yes, Hollywood took some cues from the real deal, but movie poker can set unrealistic expectations. One distinction often left out is the online version of poker. Online casinos made over $66 billion during 2023, and poker had its part to play.
Movies don’t show the incredible multimedia entertainment that any player can expect when playing poker at offshore websites, welcome bonuses, and a variety of games. Such great lists are made by iGaming experts, like Wendy Prinsloo, and the work of such individuals is also not portrayed in movies. Ignoring entire industries and not showing the modern, online version of poker in movies, does the industry a disservice, as poker is evolving and moving online.
2. Mathematical improbability
Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but several royal or straight flushes to happen during one tournament are slim to none. The math does not lie, and such powerful hands are extremely rare. Movies resort to showing these combinations because the audience recognizes them, and even the most novice player will wow at four aces. When poker is portrayed in movies the directors often resort to power scaling, displaying these best outcomes.
In reality, poker wins happen with combinations that rank much lower, like flushes and straights. Professionals who play real poker, online poker, or even at crypto gambling sites know the probability of the upper level of card combinations, and that’s why they will rarely, if ever, try to form and play them. Poker is a game around strategy and planning, and when it comes to such tactics the mathematical average is the best outcome you can hope for.
3. Psychological warfare
“Aha. My opponent raised his eyebrow slightly to the left. He has a flush.” The psychological aspect of poker duels is present in both versions, but the movies often go to extremes. Bluffing, calling, raising, and reading your opponent do exist and are valid strategies, but nowhere near are they as effective or powerful as shown in the movies. After, you’ll see a player get stared down or made to back off and fold due to the psychological strain on him.
On the other hand, while psychological pressure will happen at a professional tournament, what movies forget to tell you is that all players are professionals there, and folding or choking under pressure is rare in the poker world and even more difficult to perform.
4. The dress code
Main characters must wear sharp black outfits or lavish dresses that leave everyone breathless. Their hair is impeccable, and everyone in the casino dresses to impress. At the table, everyone looks like they came off a fashion runway or from a Vogue photoshoot. Movies here, again, go for the dramatic and wow effect and display poker players as fashion divas. Real poker players wear whatever they find themselves comfortable in.
Most have lucky hats, t-shirts, socks, or other clothes they find themselves comfortable in. At a real poker table during a high-stakes tournament, you are more likely to find a t-shirt, hoodie, sweatpants, lucky tie, sneakers, and sandals rather than an Armani suit. The trick is that poker players’ lucky clothes are usually from the time they were small-time players and often serve as a psychological advantage and a soothing mechanism rather than a display of wealth and class.
5. Beating the system
Casino heist movies like the Ocean series have depicted total casino robberies as a common occurrence. Rigging the slot machine, counting cards, hacking into the security system, robbing casino vaults, and other mischievous deeds are impossible or near impossible to pull off in reality. Casinos employ some of the best professionals in the business and their security is top-notch. Their entire business and reputation depend on it, so millions are invested in casino safety.
Summary
Movies provide great entertainment and a quick way to see some basics of the gambling world. They successfully blur the line between reality and fiction, but viewers should stay grounded and informed. Real gambling is much more complex, nuanced, and detailed than displayed in movies. Making the real deal so much better and gratifying because reality can often be stranger and more beautiful than fiction.