Continuing with the theme of card games in movies, one of the most memorable ‘cinematic’ poker games was in the 1973 Oscar Winning movie ‘The Sting‘.

Set in 1930s Chicago, it’s a great ‘revenge’ movie and Paul Newman plays a wonderful, menacing part. In one scene he’s on a train and gets involved in a game of poker. Using various poker card tricks, He hustles his way against another card sharp (played by Robert Shaw) … and wins!

The movie won no less than 7 Oscars.

Playing cards has been part of everyday life for a long time so it’s not surprising that many movies have featured card games in their storytelling.

It might be a gangster movie such as “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” (1998) by Guy Ritchie in which 4 guys from London pool their money into a high stakes card game.

It might be a comedy such as “Rush Hour” starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Tucker plays Carter who calls in on his cousin for some inside information. The cousin is hosting an illegal card game in the back of a pool hall. Whilst Carter talks to him, Jackie (playing Inspector Lee) ends up in a fight amongst the pool tables - the combination of superb marshall arts with comedy makes for a memorable scene.

There are lots more and I will maybe come back and cover a few more soon!