High stakes, big money, luxurious life and unforgettable emotions - that's what poker can give to players and viewers. Even for townspeople, this game is of genuine interest: the history of the game and its apparent simplicity spur to make a small stitch and try to beat the opponent with his pair of deuces. Here, we'll talk about movies that are devoted to poker, and gambling in general.

Jessica Chastain in Molly's GameJessica Chastain in Molly's Game

Let's start with Molly's Game, a recently released biopic. It's all about about Molly Bloom. The director is Aaron Sorkin, known for such films as Social Network, Steve Jobs, News Service and West Wing. We can talk a long time about how successful his work and the acting of Jessica Chastain was, but it's better to pay attention to the storyline. Molly Bloom is a skier dreaming of a brilliant performance at the Olympic Games and training under the pressure of a harsh father who treats her daughter fairly strictly. Before preparing for the 2002 Winter Olympics, she is injured and because of that she can no longer continue her sports career.

After a while, Molly goes to Los Angeles, where she meets an unlucky but ambitious programmer Dean, who introduces her to the world of illegal poker, which involves celebrities, financial sharks and other rich people. Molly begins to earn more and more, which starts to anger Dean, who subsequently fires her. Then Molly decides to create her own club to work on her own. With many influential people she is already familiar, so there were no difficulties.

Subsequently, Molly faces a series of problems and charges from the FBI. Then she is offered a deal, under which she must give hard drives with data in exchange for money. Molly makes a difficult moral choice and refuses, because the information is too serious to make it public.

After watching the movie, you can draw several conclusions. The main one is that gambling, be it an online casino or an underground poker club, boosts adrenaline.

But even mediocre films about casino or poker stars arouse genuine interest among many viewers. This is due to the fact that the life of a common man lacks risk and is usually not saturated with acute emotions. To compensate, people watch such films. In addition, many people enjoy the aesthetics and mathematics of poker. The game is interesting to them from the "scientific" point of view.

This side of the game is well revealed by the film of Shuler, shot as much as 20 years ago, but it does not lose its relevance to this day. It tells the story of a guy who dreams of winning the poker championship, but the whole thing does not work out right away. He is faced with the fact that it is difficult to live out your dream, because it requires considerable effort. In addition, the protagonist's friend leaves the prison, making the situation even more complicated. The fact that he promised his girlfriend not to touch the cards makes this even worse. It is clear that he breaks his promise to train and earn a living.

This film, like many others, proves that gambling is an occupation for experienced and emotionally stable people who are ready to put at risk a large sum.