Blackjack Films: Our Top 3

Blackjack is the most popular card game played on the planet today. It’s hugely popular because it’s a game that people can simply pick up and play, without actually having any experience or real plan. There are of course players who take the game a lot more seriously, devising strategies in order to increase their chances of not only winning but winning big. Over the years we have seen plenty of films that have contained great blackjack scenes, with some of them actually being based on the game itself.

Here are our top 3 blackjack films…

21

21 really is the ultimate blackjack film. The fact that it is based on real life events only serves to make it even better. The film tells the story of when a team of MIT students set about taking on some of Las Vegas’ finest casinos, using card counting skills amongst others. Ben Campbell is the main character and like many other students he wants a place at Harvard, but simply can’t afford the $300,000 fees. His maths teacher, Micky Rosa, introduces him to a secret group of people who he has taught how to count cards. This is where the journey really begins as the group head out to the casinos looking to win big. Even though Ben sets out just to get enough to pay his Harvard fees, he ends up experiencing some great highs as well as some dramatic lows along the way.

Rain Man

Most people will have heard of the film Rain Man. It’s a great film which tells a story of two brothers who are extremely different. Charlie is a dealer, a hustler who’s extremely self-centred and always looking out for number one. When his father dies he’s horrified to realise that he’s not due any of the $3M that he has left. Instead it is going to someone else and that person is Charlie’s brother Raymond, who he is unaware of at the time. Raymond is an autistic maths genius and Charlie takes him out of the institute where he lives in order to put his skills to work in Las Vegas casinos, in an attempt win big. Raymond can process calculations, problem solve and count cards at an unbelievable speed; and Charlie feels he’s onto a winner.

Casino

Casino is an all-time classic film starring some huge names such as Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci that has received great reviews. While this film isn’t strictly about blackjack, it is about a casino as you’d expect from the title. There’s also a truly unforgettable blackjack scene in the movie too that people often mention as one of the best they’ve ever seen. The film by and large is about the Tangiers Casino and the characters played by De Niro and Pesci, Ace and Nicky. Both are friends but both are very different people. Ace wants to run the casino correctly and all above board, while Nicky, the tough guy, is influenced by the mob and his out of control lifestyle. The blackjack scene sees Nicky at the table, drunk and aggressive, using the casino’s money to play with.