Darren Elias, quadruple poker world champion, assesses poker scenes in films and television for realism.
Elias breaks down the realism of the Texas Hold ‘EM Games in films, such as the Casino poker game with high issues in “Casino Royale”, with Daniel Craig and Mads Mikkelsen; The underground poker scenes in “Rounders”, with Matt Damon; And “Molly’s Game”, with Jessica Chastain, Michael Cera and Jeremy Strong. He watches scenes featuring five cards prints as well as the basic rules of poker, such as the explanation of poker hand rankings and breed detection in “John Wick: Chapter 4” with Keanu Reeves and Donnie Yen; and cheat scenes in “Ocean’s Eleven”, with Brad Pitt and George Clooney; And “The Sting”, with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. He explains the realism of poker scenes in Western films, like the hand of the man who died in “Ballad of Buster of Scruggs”, with Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco and Liam Neeson; And the living room poker game in “Maverick”, with Mel Gibson and Jodi Foster. He also looks at the online poker scene in “The Simpsons” S24E4 (2012), the World Series of Poker tournament in “Lucky You”, with Eric Bana and Robert Duvall, and the Blackjack cards counting scenes in “21.”
Elias holds the record for most titles in the world of poker, with four. He also participated in online poker tournaments, winning two online poker championships and a full title of the online poker series. He has been a Betmgm poker ambassador since 2021.
You can follow Darren on X or read his column online.
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