James Bond’s Casino Royale and a game of poker!

We’re talking films this weekend! James Bond starrer ‘Casino Royale‘ is a 2006 spy film. The plot has Bond on an assignment to bankrupt terrorist financier Le Chiffre in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro.

This film is not entirely about poker, but the game is undoubtedly an important part of the plot. From one of the legendary series of James Bond, this film is all about him playing poker to stop terrorists from financing their operations, with a $10.000.000 buy-in and a foe he has to crush on the table. Here’s a snippet from the film, that would help you visualize the scene:

In the first half, there’s a series of bluffing and heated game play between the terrorist and Bond. While looking at it like any other filmgoer, you would absolutely love the look, the style and the way with which the game is played in the film. In the latter half, there is yet again a series of preflop rounds and eventually the showdown where Bond finishes in style. Here’s a video of the latter half of the game:

What does the film tell you? Is that how a live poker game takes place? A real life poker game would never unfold in this manner.

Bond has a tussle with the terrorist at multiple times. The fact that Bond notices even a small hand movement of the opponent is a little exaggerated.
The stakes in a live poker game never goes upto millions. Not till $120 millions for sure!
Surprisingly, even the fact that all players had such strong hole cards was itself very improbable. In Texas Hold’em, the probability of drawing a flush – is about 3%. This goes down to 2.6% for a full house, and 0.027% for a straight flush – which Bond had.

Though there was not much realism in the game, it was purely entertaining. A Bond film is known to have such hypes and also a sense of heroism to highlight his character. What we absolutely loved were the elements that meticulously conveyed the game in every scene and ofcourse Bond! To read more such articles, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com.

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Manthra Koliyer

Manthra Koliyer is a writer at Gutshot Magazine. She has an affinity for seeing the world through people’s eyes. With a bubbly fun personality, you can always catch her chatting with anyone she comes across. Holding an English Literature degree from Wilson College, Mumbai, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Asian College of Journalism, this pop culture fanatic is ready to take on the world with a pen, paper, and microphone. She also actively works on her personal blog called namasteyconvict.blogspot.com, where for a moment she lets you into her drama-filled world.

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