Let’s say you could take the best poker players from across film and have them all seated round for one big high stakes game – who would you want to have sitting at the table? Whether they’d be playing online at Paddy Power or around your mate’s kitchen table, there’s a few strong contenders we’d want to have at the felt.
James Bond
007 himself!
While the old school Bond was more of a Baccarat player who liked to live on the edge, the reboot of Casino Royale saw Bond as a master Poker Player who reads his opponents and bluffs masterfully (while inventing cocktails on the side as he plays). While he nearly met his match in Le Chiffre, Bond’s masterful play saw him through and would make him a brilliant person to play with. If nothing else, you know he’d have some great stories for you!
Mike McDermott
Matt Damon’s character in Rounders would be another good person to play with, if just to see if he can help you isolate your tells. With an almost supernatural ability to isolate and identify tells, McDermott can tell what every person at a table is holding in one scene of the movie. Such a feat would be brilliantly impressive to see done with other poker stars to see if any could out bluff such an insightful player.
Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan
They’d need to come as a pair (obviously) but the leads of Ocean’s 11 would be a brilliant double act to bounce off of 007 and McDermott’s focus – could two resolute con artists get one past players as sharp as that? It’d be fun to find out! If the early scene of the movie where Ryan’s teaching of a class is anything to go by, they’d have a good chance!
Bret Maverick
Mel Gibson’s character in the eponymous Maverick was pretty much the polar opposite to Bond in all regards save poker talent. He’s cheery, talkative and often plays the fool while continuing to play every hand to maximum effect – while Bond played the entire game straight, Maverick cheated at numerous junctions when he was playing in his own movie. It’d be interesting to see how each character would deal with their
Lancey “the Man” Howard
The antagonist of the Cincinnati Kid, the best poker player around, he’s confronted by the Kid himself who’s determined to win the right way despite efforts from outside to stack the deck in his favour. The Kid plays well but eventually loses and the Man gets to walk away, still the best in town. If there’s any famous fictional poker player to play against, the Man is the one to beat and while the Kid never managed it, it would be great to see someone finally knock him off his perch as the greatest. And if anyone could do it, this collection of stars could!
But what do you think? Who would you want for the ultimate poker game? Let us know in the comments!
