The core of this scene is that while Ocean is betting high, Ryan is insisting to everyone that he’s bluffing and doesn’t have anything worth talking about. While tells are rarely so dramatic, the scene where Mike finally realises what the tell is and keeps the game going in order to win is an excellent example of how people see poker.Īlmost the polar opposite to Rounders, Ocean’s Eleven features a scene where George Clooney, playing Danny Ocean and Brad Pitt, playing Rusty Ryan, are giving a lesson on how to play poker to some rich celebrities with a flawless example of a bluff.

Every hand, KGB (Mike’s nemesis) splits apart an oreo but minute details surrounding what he does next gives Mike the edge he needs to see through his nemesis and unsettle him enough to get in his head and eventually win the game. After losing an all-in once before, Mike finally notices his opponent’s tell – how he handles oreos. Mike vouches for his former best friend, Worm, and ends up on the hook for Worm’s massive debt that he’s accrued while in jail and has to attempt to win enough money to pay off the entire debt. With Matt Damon starring as Mike McDermott, a former poker star who doesn’t play any more who’s an excellent judge of tells and bluffs able to read his opponents and recognise what they have from it. If you look at some of the best poker scenes in movies, you’ll notice that they have similar elements that make them work as well as they do – In fact, two movies in particular stand out as representing perfectly two core elements of poker that you’d need to capture to make a compelling scene. You can see it for yourself by playing in games at sites like, there’s a lot of energy in the room and a concentrated effort to avoid being caught out. Particularly interesting is how the movies so accurately adapt the feelings of tension.

There’s something we can learn from movies that have really good poker scenes in them – either they encapsulate something about the game or something about the play that stands out to the audience and makes them feel more involved in the action.

Ocean's eleven casino poker tournaments