Casino games, and more specifically their players, are often romanticised. Many films, including famous ones like those in the James Bond franchise, portray gambling with a cinematic perspective that plays well on screen.
Usually, your own gambling experience doesn’t give you enough insight into this industry and the people who try to survive in it. If you like to place bets at a casino on holiday or play online slots at a $1 deposit casino, you may be surprised at just how cruel the casino world can be.
While it’s no secret that all major industries are, by definition, tough, the documentaries featured below also show how gamblers perceive and treat the casino system. It’s anything but romantic, and it prompts the viewer to ask questions about the ethics and future of gambling establishments.
Bet Raise Fold
Looking for a comprehensive documentary on online poker in the 2000s? ‘Bet Raise Fold is a film not to be missed. It explores how online poker emerged and evolved over time, as well as the rise of new professional players. The documentary follows the lives of three poker players from different backgrounds: Danielle, Martin and Tony, and shows how young people get into poker.
With the meteoric rise of online gambling in the 2000s, it was easier than ever to join in, which attracted poker enthusiasts. The industry was unregulated and the freedom was unprecedented. ‘Bet Raise Fold’ shows how online poker came about, its development and the implications for today’s players.
As well as the personal views of various players on online poker, the documentary also looks at how a poker room works in the United States. The various confrontations and arguments between gambling clubs and the government are also discussed.
Out of Luck
‘Out of Luck’, a documentary released in 2015, instead offers a cinematic exploration that invites viewers to discover American lotteries. The documentary proposes the hypothesis that American lotteries act like giant casinos approved and regulated by the government.
The problem with these ‘casinos’ is that they are collective events where the poorest and least educated collectively lose a lot of money. Although it is stated that the lotteries give a large proportion of their income back to local communities and charities, this does not change the fact that people lose money by buying lottery tickets in the hope of winning a life-changing sum.
What’s worse is that people know that lotteries are regulated by the government. If ‘it’s all legal’, they think it’s fair and the chances of winning are high. But nothing could be further from the truth. American lotteries are among the most powerful and successful gambling systems, and gambling is never advantageous or profitable for the average gambler.
The Best of It
Released in 2016, this documentary reveals the secrets surrounding the lives of professional punters and their journey to success. It follows the stories of four sports punters: Boston, Dink, Banker and The Shrink. Rather than romanticising the lifestyle, the film depicts its advantages, disadvantages and obstacles, sometimes with brutal honesty.
In this documentary, viewers have the opportunity to follow the punters into the psychological dimensions of gambling. It is possible to understand what goes on in the mind of a professional gambler and how he thinks and perceives the world. A player’s state of mind and his ability to get through the ups and downs of the game are among the best elements of this documentary.
Cheating Las Vegas
‘Cheating Las Vegas’ offers an insight into the radical measures taken by some gamblers to foil the traps of casinos. If you’re still a bit of a romantic and think cheating in a casino is something innocent like counting cards or ‘interpreting’ the behaviour of opponents, prepare for a rude awakening. ‘Cheating Las Vegas is not your typical casino cheating story.
People use their imagination to make the most unexpected and original decisions in order to win money. In Las Vegas, you’ll meet skilled con artists and extremely cunning gamblers. Not only do they aim for a single win, but they also try to outwit the game and hack its code.
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