Interested in poker? 3 documentaries you need to watch
When you combine things for the first time, no one is 100% sure what will happen. Remember the time you introduced your best mate from school to your best mate from work expecting fireworks and all you got was a sluggish sponge? As equations go, two greats don’t necessarily make something greater – for example Jose Mourinho and Manchester United just didn’t work. However, the beauty of poker combined with the ease of a documentary certainly makes for good viewing.
Documentaries were already growing in popularity in the pre-Netflix era; in 2004, Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 became the first documentary to win the Cannes Palm D’or. But as the cost of filmmaking has reduced, production has increased across professionals to hobbyists. This, coupled with the snowball growth of Netflix, means we are now spoilt for choice when it comes to documentaries covering everything from viewing gorillas in Africa to a real life murder trial. And with poker’s rapid growth this century it is hardly surprising that you can find a host of poker documentaries to feast on. Here are our top 3!
All in: The Poker Movie
This documentary takes a deep dive into what made poker go from a game played only in casinos and dark murky rooms into a game which global celebrities want to align themselves with. Released on 11 June 2009, it plotted poker’s journey over the previous years to a modern superpower and explored why it had become a worldwide success, how we all now know the Texas Hold’em rules and why, for some Americans, it was a way to chase the American Dream. Directed by Douglas Tirola and running for 100 minutes, All in: The Poker Movie featured Chris Moneymaker – the first person to become a world champion after qualifying through an online poker site – as well as Matt Damon, who discussed the game’s appeal whilst referencing the cult poker film Rounders he starred in, and innovation through TV and the internet.
Why do we love it? We all love a rags-to-riches tale!
Jennifer Harman: Poker Queen
At first glance you might think that we’ve just added this to our top 3 to tick some kind of inclusivity box and to ensure that we don’t get tarred with the sexist brush. Sure, this explores the career of one of the most successful female poker players in a male dominated industry and quite rightly salutes Jennifer’s consistency. But what makes this particularly compelling is that it looks into the generational clash between old-time poker players and the new generation whose formative poker years were exclusively online. Over the 42 minutes of the documentary, Poker Queen highlights the problems that some of the most successful old school players have when playing against players they’ve never previously played against – a new online generation well and truly causing waves!
Why do we love it? Modern content, modern format, released in 2015: a documentary of its age.
Anything to Win: Amarillo Slim
We should always know, understand and respect the history of whatever game we play and poker is no different. In the same way that every cricket enthusiast knows about Sir Donald Bradman’s final test innings from the previous century, it is good to have an appreciation of poker from a different time. Released in 2006, Kev Stovall provides an insight into the life of Amarillo Slim, a well-known tournament player who toured the United States during the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s looking for gambling action, finding it and winning! Not only does this give you a vivid picture of society in the 1960s, it also provides an insight into the development of poker in Las Vegas.
Why do we love it? A genuine character full of hustling, Vegas and personal stories!
Picking the top 3 of anything is always harsh on anyone or anything which come a very creditable 4th, 5th or anywhere of note. Poker documentaries are no different and you could do far worse than watch and compile your own top 100. YouTube, Netflix etc. are awash with fantastic poker content all of which can add that little bit more context to the next hand of poker you play. So next time you’re considering which boxset to binge on, or watch on a pyjama day, think poker documentaries.