The Best Poker Movies of All Time (Ranked by a Pro)

The best poker movies capture the psychological intensity, strategic depth, and human drama of high-stakes poker in ways that no strategy guide ever could. The essential list includes Rounders, Molly’s Game, The Cincinnati Kid, California Split, Mississippi Grind, and a handful of others that have defined how the world sees poker on screen.

I have watched all of these films, and several of them directly influenced how I thought about the game early in my career. What I look for in a poker movie is simple: does it capture the mental game accurately?

Not necessarily the specific hand histories, poker strategy, or betting sequences, but the reads, the psychology, the weight of a big decision under pressure. The films on this list are the ones that get at least that part right.

TLDR: See AI summary of this article.

1. Rounders (1998)
A cult classic starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, this film delves into the underground world of high-stakes poker, capturing the tension and strategy of the game.
2. Molly’s Game (2017)
Based on a true story, Jessica Chastain portrays Molly Bloom, who ran exclusive high-stakes poker games for celebrities and elites, offering a glimpse into the glamorous yet risky side of poker.
3. The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
Set during the Great Depression, Steve McQueen plays a young poker player aiming to establish his reputation by challenging a seasoned pro, highlighting the timeless allure of the game.
4. Lucky You (2007)
This film explores the personal and professional struggles of a talented poker player in Las Vegas, balancing relationships and the pursuit of success at the tables.
5. Mississippi Grind (2015)
A road trip drama featuring two gamblers seeking fortune, this movie captures the highs and lows of the gambling lifestyle and the bond formed over shared aspirations.
6. Casino Royale (2006)
James Bond enters a high-stakes poker game to thwart a terrorist financier, blending espionage with intense poker action in this thrilling installment of the franchise.
7. Maverick (1994)
A comedic take on poker in the Old West, Mel Gibson stars as a charming gambler aiming to enter a high-stakes tournament, facing various obstacles along the way.
8. All In: The Poker Movie (2009)
This documentary chronicles the rise of poker in America, from its origins to the boom of online poker, featuring insights from notable players and industry figures.
9. High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story (2003)
A biographical film about Stu Ungar, a poker prodigy whose genius at the table was matched by personal demons, offering a poignant look at the cost of greatness.
10. Kid Poker (2015)
A documentary focusing on Daniel Negreanu’s journey from a young enthusiast to one of the most successful and charismatic poker players in the world.

These films and documentaries provide a mix of drama, strategy, and real-life stories that capture the essence of poker. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to the game, these selections offer both entertainment and insight into the world of poker.

Table Of Contents

#1 – Rounders
#2 – Molly’s Game
#3 – The Cincinnati Kid
#4 – Lucky You
#5 – Mississippi Grind
#6 – Casino Royale
#7 – Maverick
#8 – All In: The Poker Movie
#9 – High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story
#10 – Kid Poker
Also Worth Watching: California Split (1974)
Where to Watch the Best Poker Movies
Frequently Asked Questions About Poker Movies

#1 – Rounders

Released In: 1998
Director: John Dahl
Starring: Matt Damon, Edward Norton
IMDB Score: 7.3/10

Rounders is one of the few poker movies that can be called a true masterpiece. Coming up on its 30th anniversary, the movie is still watched every year by thousands of avid poker fans who simply can’t get enough of its iconic scenes.

Starring Matt Damon as Mike McDermott, Rounders follows the life story of a young New York rounder who forgets the cardinal rule of poker and loses his entire bankroll in a single sitting in an underground game against the villain Teddy KGB.

Mike vows to his fiancée that he is done with poker, but when his childhood friend Worm gets out of prison, he is quickly suckered back into the lifestyle he enjoys the most.

Rounders appeals to many poker players because they can see a little bit of themselves in Mike, Worm, or other characters in the movie, but also for many other reasons.

The games and poker hands depicted in the movie may be a bit unrealistic at times, but they paint a pretty good picture of the way poker was in the 90s.

What’s even more, the movie features cameo appearances of the likes of Jonny Chan, one of the biggest legends of poker, making the movie an absolute must-watch for any would-be poker fan out there.

Rounders is the reason a generation of poker players got serious about the game, and I am no exception. I watched it when it first came out and can say with confidence that its portrayal of the underground game world, the psychology of reads, and the weight of a bad bankroll decision are more accurate than almost anything else produced in Hollywood.

The hand against Teddy KGB at the end of the film shows Mike picking up a tell on a huge hand, which is exactly the kind of pattern recognition that separates winning players from recreational ones.

#2 – Molly’s Game

Released In: 2017
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner
IMDB Score: 7.4/10

Molly’s Game hit the movie theaters much more recently than Rounders, but it quickly became one of the most popular poker movies of all time.

Featuring Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom, the film tells a story based on real events, as Molly Bloom herself recounts them in her book.

Bloom became the hostess of some of the biggest private poker games in Hollywood and New York after starting out not even knowing basic poker terms, and the movie tells the whole story of what went down in those games.

Savvy poker professionals, compulsive gamblers, and other characters you would expect to see in high-stakes private games make Molly’s Game a movie that speaks to every poker player out there.

If you enjoy watching high-stakes poker games on shows like Hustler Casino Live, Molly’s Game is a movie that you will fall in love with from the very moment you start watching.

Molly’s Game is the most accurate portrayal of the elite private game world I have seen on screen. Aaron Sorkin clearly did his homework, and what the film captures especially well is the psychology of the recreational whales who sustain those games.

The players who lose the most are often the ones least equipped emotionally to handle loss, and Molly’s Game shows that dynamic with real authenticity. If you have ever wondered what the biggest private games in the world actually feel like, this film gives you the closest approximation that cinema has produced.

#3 – The Cincinnati Kid

Released In: 1965
Director: Norman Jewison, Sam Peckinpah
Starring: Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret, Edward G. Robinson
IMDB Score: 7.2/10

The Cincinnati Kid is a classic from the ’60s that may not depict poker in the most realistic of lights, but it paints a reasonable picture of how a poker player’s lifestyle might look in that day and age.

The film pits “The Kid” against “The Man” in a symbolic fight between a new-school card player and the old guard in a high-stakes game of 5-card stud, something we have all had a chance to see in real-time during the era of the Poker Boom and beyond.

The players back then were a little different, as was the perception of the whole game of poker, but the essence remains more or less the same.

The Cincinnati Kid is a spectacle definitely worth watching, with a slight warning for those poker fans who might have a problem with watching older movies, as The Cincinnati Kid was filmed some 60 years ago, and the audio-visual quality is nothing close to the likes of Molly’s Game.

The Cincinnati Kid holds up better than many expect from a 1965 film if you approach it as a character study rather than a strategy guide. The game depicted is five-card stud, and the climactic final hand famously does not reflect realistic poker probabilities. But the psychological dynamic between The Kid and The Man is timeless: the story of a young player convinced of his own genius running up against a veteran who has seen every play before. That dynamic plays out at poker tables around the world every single day.

But the psychological dynamic between The Kid and The Man is timeless: the story of a young player convinced of his own genius running up against a veteran who has seen every play before. That dynamic plays out at poker tables around the world every single day.

#4 – Lucky You

Released In: 2007
Director: Curtis Hanson
Starring: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall
IMDB Score: 5.9 /10

A fantastic cross-section between the real world of high-stakes poker and fantasy, Lucky You came out in the years of the Poker Boom, and it definitely shows.

The film tells the story of a young, brash up-and-comer in poker circles who is looking to make a name for himself and qualify for the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Action follows Huck (the main protagonist) everywhere he goes, and he never backs out from it, whether at the table or in real life.

However, while his poker game is sharp, his life skills are often lacking, as he continually fails to create lasting relationships.

On his way to his dream, Huck encounters love, disappointment, success, and failure, and must go up against his father, who is a legend in poker circles.

The movie features numerous legendary poker players from the real world, including Sammy Farha, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Hellmuth, and is an absolute must-watch for any poker fan.

Lucky You received harsh reviews, but I think poker players should give it a second look. The World Series sequences are authentic and several real professionals appear in significant roles, which gives the film a grounding that more polished Hollywood productions often lack.

The love story subplot is where the film struggles, but the poker content itself is solid for a mainstream film from the Boom era. If you can overlook the predictable romantic arc, there is a genuine picture of what the 2003-2007 poker world felt like.

#5 – Mississippi Grind

Released In: 2015
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Ben Mendelsohn, Ryan Reynolds, Yvonne Landry
IMDB Score: 6.4/10

Mississippi Grind somehow managed to be a complete miss at the Box Office, but the movie received plenty of kind reviews from both professional critics and the general audience.

It follows the story of two gamblers who travel the American South in pursuit of gambling action and with the goal of ridding one of them of his gambling debts.

Starring none other than Ryan Reynolds, Mississippi Grind is a great story for poker players and everyone else, as it is not as poker-centric as some of the other films on this list.

Still, Mississippi Grind has to be one of the best poker movies out there, as it tells a story all too familiar to many of us in the gambling world.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Mississippi Grind just yet, it’s definitely one you should add to your watch list and get to as soon as possible.

Mississippi Grind is the film I recommend most often to poker players who want something emotionally honest about the gambling life. Ryan Reynolds is excellent, but Ben Mendelsohn’s portrayal of a losing poker player rationalizing his decisions is almost uncomfortably accurate.

Anyone who has gone through a serious downswing will recognize Gerry immediately. The film does not glamorize poker or gambling, which is precisely why it resonates so deeply with people who have actually experienced what it describes.

#6 – Casino Royale

Released In: 2006
Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench
IMDB Score: 8.0/10

Probably the poker movie that was seen by the widest mainstream audience is Casino Royale, and the reason lies in the fact it’s a James Bond movie.

The 2006 version of James Bond follows the legendary Agent 007, played by Daniel Craig, as he plays high-stakes poker against the film’s villains and brings his unmatched charisma and cool to the tables.

As is usually the case in James Bond movies, Casino Royale includes much more fighting action than poker hands, but there is just enough card action thrown in to make this a perfect film for any poker fan.

One thing to note is that the poker hands played in Casino Royale are anything but realistic, and if you have a problem with massive coolers, set-ups, and completely ignoring things like pot odds, this movie might make you cringe at times.

Casino Royale contains the most famous poker scene in mainstream cinema, but I should be direct: the climactic final hand is not realistic from a probability standpoint. What the film does capture accurately is the psychological dimension of high-stakes poker.

The read that Bond makes at the end of the film, picking up on a tell that changes everything, is the kind of moment that poker players spend years developing the ability to execute. The film is not a poker tutorial, but it is a compelling portrait of the mental game.

#7 – Maverick

Released In: 1994
Director: Richard Donner
Starring: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner
IMDB Score: 7.0/10

If you think the whole Old West card shark and gambler lifestyle doesn’t sound realistic and is a bit of a joke, Maverick is the best movie for you, as it is a comedy revolving around this exact topic.

Maverick follows a poker player in a fictional city of the American West in the 1850s as he tries to raise enough money to enter a poker tournament.

Along the way, Maverick (played by none other than Mel Gibson) comes across countless obstacles and looks for innovative ways to get around them, often in a very comical way.

Maverick is a very lighthearted film, and we can guarantee you will have fun watching the action unfold before your eyes, as every sentence out of Maverick’s mouth is likely to make you cackle.

Maverick is pure entertainment, and it knows it. I would not watch Maverick for poker strategy insights, but I would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand how poker was romanticized in popular culture during the Old West era.

The film is genuinely funny, the poker sequences are entertaining, and Mel Gibson’s performance as a charming con artist captures something true about the social dynamics of a poker table, even if the game itself bears no resemblance to modern strategy.

#8 – All In: The Poker Movie

Released In: 2009
Director: Douglas Tirola
Starring: Karen Abbott, Peter Alson, Nick Brancato
IMDB Score: 6.6/10

Do you want to see a poker movie based on real-world poker that has a more documentary feel? Then All In: The Poker Movie is the right film for you.

Released in 2009, All In: The Poker Movie looks at the events of the so-called “Moneymaker Boom” and follows the development of the game in the early 2000s.

In the movie, you will see interviews with the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson, and many others.

While the game has changed dramatically since those days, All In: The Poker Movie remains one of the best poker movies of all time and an important part of poker history.

All In: The Poker Movie is essential viewing for understanding the Moneymaker Boom and how the game transformed in the early 2000s. I lived through that era and watched poker explode from a game played in the back of card rooms to a mainstream television spectacle, and this documentary captures the atmosphere of that moment accurately.

For younger players who did not experience the Boom firsthand, this film explains why so many of their older opponents play the way they do.

#9 – High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story

Released In: 2003
Director: A.W. Vidmer
Starring: Al Bernstein, Andrew N.S. Glazer, Michael Imperioli
IMDB Score: 6.0/10

If you have never heard of Stu Ungar, you are probably not much of a student of poker history, but there is plenty of time to become one.

Ungar is widely considered to be one of the best poker players who ever played the game, as well as the very best gin rummy player in all of history.

High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story follows the life of Stu Ungar from his youngest age to his untimely death and portrays the life of one of the greatest gamblers ever.

From his birth in New York, through his early years hustling in gin rummy games and being associated with the mafia, to the great triumphs he had in Las Vegas, this movie will take you on one hell of a journey.

At the same time, the movie is a cautionary tale, teaching us about the bad things that led to Ungar’s untimely death and the traps that the gambling life carries.

I consider High Roller required viewing for any serious poker student. Stu Ungar’s story is simultaneously the most inspiring and the most cautionary tale in poker history. His technical ability at the card table was simply unmatched in his era, and the film does full justice to that ability while being completely honest about the personal decisions that cut his career and his life short.

The lesson I take from Ungar’s story is one I share with students often: talent at the table means nothing without the discipline to manage what happens away from it.

#10 – Kid Poker

Released In: 2015
Director: Gary Davis, Francine Watson
Starring: Daniel Negreanu, Mike Negreanu, Oren Farkash
IMDB Score: 6.7/10

If you want a look into the real world of poker, Kid Poker is a documentary movie you should definitely watch, as it tells the story of one of the greatest poker players of all time, Daniel Negreanu.

Released in 2016 by PokerStars, Kid Poker offers a unique insight into the life and career of Daniel Negreanu, from his early days in Toronto to his high-roller success in Las Vegas and beyond.

As one of the most popular poker players in the world, Daniel Negreanu is a name both poker fans and those outside the poker community often recognize and speak of in awe.

Whether you are looking for some inspiration to play poker or want to learn more about how Daniel got to where he is today, Kid Poker is a documentary you don’t want to miss.

Kid Poker gives a unique window into what early dedication to poker looks like at the highest level. Daniel Negreanu’s journey from Toronto home games to world-class Las Vegas competition reflects a commitment to the game that most players aspire to but few actually achieve.

What I find most valuable in this documentary is the section on how Daniel approached learning the game, which remains relevant regardless of how much the strategic landscape has changed since his early career.

Also Worth Watching: California Split (1974)

Released In: 1974
Director: Robert Altman
Starring: George Segal, Elliott Gould, Ann Prentiss
IMDB Score: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%

California Split is a film that most modern poker players overlook, but it deserves a place on any serious list of the best poker movies ever made. Directed by Robert Altman and starring George Segal and Elliott Gould as two gamblers on an extended run through the American gambling world, the film is deceptively light on the surface and devastating underneath.

Roger Ebert wrote that Altman had made something far deeper than a comedy about gambling, and I agree completely. California Split is the most psychologically honest film ever made about what it feels like to be a compulsive gambler who cannot stop, regardless of whether he is winning or losing.

For poker players, the film raises a question worth sitting with: What is the difference between a disciplined player and someone who simply cannot walk away?

The film features a cameo by poker legend Amarillo Slim Preston and is available on Amazon Prime to rent or buy.

Where to Watch the Best Poker Movies

Movie	Netflix	Amazon Prime	Other
Rounders (1998)	No	Yes (rent/buy)	Vudu, AppleTV, YouTube
Molly’s Game (2017)	No	Yes	Google Play, AppleTV, YouTube
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)	No	Yes (rent/buy)	Vudu, AppleTV
Lucky You (2007)	No	Yes (rent/buy)	Vudu, AppleTV
Mississippi Grind (2015)	No	Yes (rent/buy)	Vudu, AppleTV, YouTube
Casino Royale (2006)	No	Yes (rent/buy)	Google Play, AppleTV
Maverick (1994)	No	Yes (rent/buy)	Vudu, AppleTV
All In: The Poker Movie (2009)	No	Yes (rent/buy)	Vudu
High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story (2003)	No	Yes (rent/buy)	Vudu
Kid Poker (2015)	No	Limited	YouTube, PokerStars
California Split (1974)	No	Yes (rent/buy)	Vudu, AppleTV

Streaming availability changes frequently. Check each platform for current availability in your region.

Frequently Asked Questions About Poker Movies

What is the best poker movie of all time?

Rounders (1998) is widely considered the best poker movie ever made, and my view is the same. The film accurately portrays the psychology of the underground game world, the weight of bankroll decisions, and the internal conflict between discipline and the pull of the game. It holds up completely after nearly 30 years.

Is Rounders based on a true story?

Rounders is not based on a single true story, but screenwriters David Levien and Brian Koppelman drew on real experiences in the New York underground poker scene to create the world of the film. The character of Mike McDermott is fictional, but the culture and atmosphere he navigates are drawn from real life.

What poker movie is based on a true story?

Molly’s Game (2017) is the most prominent poker movie based directly on real events. It tells the story of Molly Bloom, who ran exclusive high-stakes private games in Hollywood and New York, as recounted in her book of the same name. All In: The Poker Movie (2009) and Kid Poker (2015) are documentaries drawn entirely from real events and real players.

What is the most realistic poker movie?

Mississippi Grind (2015) and Rounders (1998) are considered the most realistic poker films. Mississippi Grind is praised by poker players for its accurate depiction of how a losing poker player thinks and rationalizes. Rounders is credited for accurately portraying underground game culture and the psychological demands of the game.

Is Rounders on Netflix?

No, Rounders is not currently available on Netflix. It can be rented or purchased on Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, AppleTV, and YouTube.

What was the first major poker movie?

The Cincinnati Kid (1965) is widely considered the first major Hollywood film to place poker at the center of its story. It predates the World Series of Poker and depicts a high-stakes five-card stud game in Depression-era New Orleans. Earlier films such as A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966) also featured prominent poker plots.