Released in 2005, Two For The Money is a drama directed by Daniel John ‘D.J.’ Caruso and starring

Matthew McConaughey, Al Pacino and Rene Russo. Former college football star Brandon Lang (McConaughey) suffers a career-ending knee injury and is reduced to handicapping football matches. However, his in-depth knowledge of the game stands him in good stead and his success at doing so soon attracts the attention of big-name sports betting consultant, or tout, Walter Abrams (Pacino).

Abrams recruits Lang, with no little success and, with the aid of his wife, Toni (Russo), a hair stylist, transforms him into ‘John Anthony’. Billed as ‘Your Million Dollar Man’, Anthony becomes the star of Abrams’ cable television show, ‘The Sports Advisors’, much to the annoyance of resident expert Jeff Sykes (Jeremy Piven). Lang, though, becomes complacent and his newfound lavish lifestyle does not last long. That lifestyle, of course, goes hand in hand with his ability to pick winners and, having lost his touch, he is physically assaulted by a disgruntled client, C.M. Novian (Armand Assante), and his heavyweight associate while riding his bicycle through Central Park.

The previously amiable, almost paternal, relationship between Abrams and Lang sours. Abrams, who has a weak heart and has a history of addiction, including alcohol and gaming, starts to come unhinged. Toni Abrams, who knows her husband only too well, tells Lang, ‘ You could win a hundred games in a row, but it wouldn’t be enough. He will ride you into the ground. You have to go.’ He takes her advice and is flying home to Las Vegas from New York when his final picks, made by tossing a coin in the bathroom, he claims, both win. He takes a job coaching junior league football.

Released in 1986, The Color of Money is a sports drama directed by Martin Scorsese, with a screenplay by Richard Price, adapted from the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. It is, in fact, a belated sequel to The Hustler, which was released in 1961, with Paul Newman reprising his role as pool hustler ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson.

Now retired from competition, Felson (Newman) makes a living from selling liquor and by acting as a financial backer, or stakehorse, for other nine-ball pool players. Those players include Julian (John Turturro), who is put firmly in his place by the young, talented and charismatic Vincent Lauria (Tom Cruise). Recognising the hustling potential of the new kid on the block, Felson invites Lauria and his girlfriend, Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), on a six-week road trip, culminating in a tournament.

Offering a valuable ‘Balabushka’ pool cue as an incentive, Felson attempts to teach Lauria the tricks of the trade, but is repeatedly frustrated by his unwillingness to play anything other than his best game. Finally, at a pool hall run by an old friend, Orvis (Bill Cobbs), Felson despairs and leaves. On his return, he finds Lauria showboating against the best player in typical fashion, leading to a frank discussion between the pair about what the future holds.

Lauria subsequently manages to lose, but only just, against the celebrated Grady Seasons, as instructed by Felson. At that point, Felson starts playing pool again but, humiliated by a young hustler called Amos (Forest Whitaker), he leaves his travelling companions and takes the Balabushka with him. Felson prepares for the Atlantic City tournament by practising, swimming to improve his fitness and acquiring a pair of corrective spectacles.

In the tournament itself, Felson plays and beats Lauria, only to discover that Lauria deliberately lost, or ‘dumped’, the match. Lauria pays him his ‘cut’ of $8,000 but, unhappy, Felson forfeits his next match and returns the money. With newfound confidence, Felson faces Lauria in a private match for the contents of the envelope and asked why he is sure that he will win, sooner or later, he declares, ‘I’m back!’ as he strikes his break-off shot.

Set during the Great Depression, The Cincinnati Kid is a 1965 drama directed by Norman Jewison and starring Steve McQueen – who was, in fact, 35 years old at the time of release – in the title role. In the Thirties, Eric Stoner (McQueen), a.k.a. ‘The Cincinnati Kid’, is a promising young poker player in New Orleans. His quest to garner a reputation as the best player around leads him to challenge the ruthless Lancey ‘The Man’ Howard (Edward G. Robinson) and, ultimately, a climactic showdown with his nemesis.

Stoner is aided and abetted by his friend Shooter (Karl Malden), who thought he was the best five-card stud player in the world before his own encounter with Howard. Indeed, at the home of William Slade (Rip Torn) – a wealthy, corrupt and arrogant businessman, who has already lost heavily to Howard – the host blackmails Shooter to cheat in favour of Stoner by way of revenge.

Six players start the final game, but over a matter of hours, the field is whittled down to just Howard and Stoner. Heads-up, Shooter does, in fact, cheat in favour of Stoner but, after a series of unlikely winning hands, Stoner calls him out and refuses to continue, despite threats from Slade and his menacing associate. Lady Fingers (Joan Blondell) takes over the dealing, on the pretence that Shooter is ill, but Stoner continues to prosper.

However, in a far-fetched final hand, Stoner turns up a full house, aces full of tens, only to be denied by Howard, who turns up a queen-high straight flush; to put matters in perspective, the odds against both those hands occurring in heads-up play are 332,000,000,000/1. Nevertheless, the fanciful outcome costs Stoner all his money, plus an additional $5,000 raise, and he is ridiculed by Howard and Slade as he leaves the table. Outside, he loses a game of pitch and toss to the same show shine boy that he beat at the same game at the start of the film.

Reminiscent, in many ways, of the Robert Altman classic ‘California Split’, which was released in 1974, Mississippi Grind is a 2015 comedy-drama written and directed by acclaimed filmmakers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden. The main protagonists, Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) and Curtis (Ryan Reynolds), are compulsive gamblers who strike up a friendship while playing poker, and drinking heavily, in a casino in Dubuque, Iowa. Player on wolfwinner.net and the like and bound to understand this ccasino connection.

Middle-aged divorcee Gerry, who owes tens of thousands of dollars to the local loan shark (Alfre Woodard), convinces himself that the younger, more energetic Curtis is a good luck charm and insists on accompanying him to a high-stakes poker tournament in New Orleans, Louisiana. Thus, the newfound friends embark on a road trip down the Mississippi River, stopping off at second-rate casinos and racetracks off the beaten track along the way. Like California Split, which culminates in Reno, Nevada, Mississippi Grind deliberately shies away from the glitz and glamour of more familiar gambling destinations, such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, in favour of more humble surroundings.

Mississipi Grind paints a vivid, if not always altogether pleasant, picture of gambling addiction, but does so with empathy and humour. Both men have obvious character flaws; Gerry is antagonistic, manipulative and a pathological liar and Curtis is essentially a devil-may-care transient. Neverless, during the course of the film, they forge a deep, meaningful and lasting friendship. Despite numerous reverses, the film ends on a buoyant, upbeat note, with the pair winning $500,000 between them in a casino in the ‘Big Easy’. Hopefully your experiences on machine à sous en argent réel will echo this!

Washington Post movie critic Ann Hornaday wrote, ‘Mississippi Grind winds up being an improbably satisfying, even heartwarming character study. Neither morality tale nor decadent road picture, it’s an unlikely bromance between two Peter Pans who, when faced with the choice of whether to stay safely on terra firma, can’t help but take flight – even if it means they’ll crash and burn.’