Some may say that Hollywood movies can sometimes pose a false sense of reality and can mislead people’s perceptions of real life matters. However, I think that for gambling there are two movies that actually send a realistic and positive message to the audience.
I recommend that, if you have not, go watch ‘The Hustler’. This movie focuses on the psychology of gambling and in the plot one of the main characters loses a heads-up poker game. The reflection of the movie is about how the main character, Eddie, had never lost in his life and when he actually did he felt like the world ended and realized how little experience he had not only in gambling, but in life.
The character that defeats Eddie, Minnesota Fats, apparently has more character than Eddie due to more life experiences, and it is emphasized that it is what really matters in gambling and in life. The movie also goes into some technicalities of the game such as talent not really counting in long heads-up matches.
So, all in all, losing builds character. Most big gamblers have been broke at one point in their lives and have managed to climb back up the ladder.
The same concept is explored more philosophically in the movie ‘Rounders.’ The plot in this one is about the danger of always thinking you can climb back up the ladder because you believe yourself to be the very best gambler. The main character of the movie gets all of his money in when he thinks he has the best of it and ends up losing everything.
After this devastating loss, the character is pushed towards a new life journey that builds his character and learns more life lessons. However, some thoughts that may arise after watching this movie are if one must only put all the money in the pot when you are sure you are going to win? This would take out a lot of the fun in gambling and then the paradox, if character is built by risking great loss, then great gamblers would be willing to risk it all in one hand.
What are your thoughts on this? Have you seen any of the movies? Let us know!