How to learn to play in a casino thanks to films

It can be difficult to get to the bottom of a particular film, and sometimes you want someone to explain the meaning of the picture you just watched. But it is much more interesting to start seeing the implicit details of the work yourself.

You have the opportunity to learn this as well. Below we will describe the important points on how to watch movies correctly and which films will help you.

Cinema is part of the industry and a work of art, so you need to analyze the technical details, the artistic component and the context of the existence of the film. History (genre, direction, director, era) and theory (a set of approaches and tools for interpreting a film) are important. All this helps to get a three-dimensional picture and understand it better.

What you should pay attention to in the films

We publish a plan of what you need to pay attention to so that the discussion of the tapes is not reduced to a discussion of whether the film was liked or not.

Mounting. This is the language that cinema speaks, the combination of visual and sound into one whole. This is not just a mechanical gluing, but an increment of meaning. Dividing into frames is a technically difficult job, so you need to understand that what we see is a conscious choice of the director. Through him, you can understand what emotion and what meaning he wanted to convey to the viewer. If we notice a distance, a camera approach or focus, we need to think about why this was done, what the author wants to focus our attention on.

Time. It can stretch and shrink. Correspond to the real or cover years of life, depending on the purpose and purpose of the film. We often feel like the film is dragging on. In some cases, it’s the director’s fault. But if we are sure that the picture is good, it means that in this way they wanted to convey some idea to us. You need to think about how the film could be made shorter, what mood it can convey, what kind of storyline develops. Another option is when cinema develops dynamically. The most understandable but uninteresting example of this is action movies in which the hero has to defuse a bomb, and we are shown a timer.

Visual component. The first point is set design. It’s all the things, the cars, the architecture, the furniture, the decorations that form the film. The absence of such things where they should be (if we do not understand what time the plot refers to) suggests that the situation and characters could arise at any time, about the “eternity” of the plot. You need to pay attention to lighting and color symbolism, the appearance of characters, repetitive symbols.

Patterns of dramaturgy and the nature of the conflict. We are all familiar with the three-part structure of the work from school: the plot, the climax, the denouement. There are a few more components of a narrative film: prologue, exposition, plot (flash of interest, trigger), development of the action, ups and downs, climax (an obligatory scene in which everything is decided), denouement and epilogue. The ratio of parts sets the pace, shows the development of characters, tension. Action develops through conflict.

Conflict internal and external. There are interpersonal (there are in almost all films), impersonal (with the system, institutions, elements, circumstances) and existential (acute personality crisis, conflict with the world) conflicts. If in literature we are given a description of what the hero felt during a certain action, then in the cinema this cannot be done. Often, the internal conflict is also shown by the example of the external one. We need to think about how these conflicts are resolved, how they are arranged. Usually, how, in whose favor the conflict is resolved, speaks about the position of the author, about his worldview and message.

Ideology. That which gives rise to the most heated debate and makes the viewer try on the situation for himself.

What mistakes do we make when watching movies: we wait for believability, we do not accept otherness (or other way of resolving the conflict), we elevate art house and belittle mainstream cinema (in fact, art house is distinguished by the fact that it comes out in a limited release – the director gives himself report that not everyone will accept his work).

After you understand what to look for and what will help you in the game. We provide you with a selection of films about the casino. In them you will see from the sides how to play. The subtle psychology of the player. How to behave at the gaming table and even how to draw attention to yourself.

Movies about casino cards and gambling

“Casino Royale”

2006

An MI6 agent must be able not only to run fast and shoot well, but also to play poker. As a warm-up, Bond wins an Aston Martin in the Bahamas, and with it a girl, and then goes to a poker tournament at the Royal Casino to beat the criminal banker Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). There is, in general, such a profession – to defend the Motherland.

“Cincinnati Kid”

1965

The very case when the definition of “cult” easily replaces all explanations. A film dedicated to poker from the first to the last minute, and even with Steve McQueen in the role of Cincinnati, who lives poker as one. Describing the game is pointless – you have to look at it. We warn you right away, you are unlikely to break away.

The series Suits (“Force Majeure”)

Season 2, Episode 6, 2012

Drank, sat down to play poker, lost company. Approximately such a scenario can await those who have their own business, but Harvey Specter is not a lawyer. The latter, for the sake of the client, is ready to put on a tuxedo, and come to Atlantic City, and, of course, return the business back. However, this is not a reason to mortgage the company, especially if it costs 30 million.

“Cards, Money, Two Smoking Barrels”

1998

In Guy Ritchie’s first film, Eddie and three of his friends decided to earn extra money on Eddie’s ability to play poker, but the fact that crime bosses don’t do anything for nothing was not taken into account. According to the results of the game, which, by the way, takes place in the very center of the boxing ring, they owe Harry “Ax” Lonsdale half a million pounds, and after all, his name is Ax for a reason. In short, a real knockout. The fact that further in the story there is a war of all against all and a lot of papers with a portrait of the queen should not be surprising.

“Twenty-one”

2008

How to rob the best casinos in Vegas and stay in the shadows? That’s right, assemble a team of those who will do everything for you. This is what Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey) is doing, for nothing that he teaches higher mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where every student is a genius. For example, trying to save up for Harvard Ben (Jim Sturgess), whose head works better than a calculator. And the truth is, talents do not disappear.

“The Hangover”

2009

Silly Alan (Zach Galifianakis), due to whose fault the groom disappeared on the eve of the wedding and many other interesting things happened, read a book about playing blackjack all the way – and, as it turned out, for good reason: during the evening he easily raised 80 thousand to save that same groom. For such an occasion, he replaced the stained T-shirt with a decent suit, combed his hair – and now he became a man.

“The Scam”

1973

Paul Newman and Robert Redford pull off a scam with unscrupulous Chicago mob boss Lonnegan, and we get a classic of the genre with all the aesthetics due to America in the 1930s. For the plan to succeed, they need to beat the sharpie Lonnegan at poker. The task is not easy, given that he only plays with his deck and on his own territory – on the train. Well, to get rid of witnesses, if that.

Rounders

1998

Mike (Matt Damon) is a law student who plays Texas all-out poker at night in a place that doesn’t look like a fancy casino. He wants not only to earn money, but also – no more, no less – to win the World Poker Championship. Thinking with ambition instead of his head, Mike, quite expectedly, loses all his money, immediately ties up with poker and promises his bride not to touch the cards.

However, all promises go to hell as soon as the Worm (Edward Norton) is released from prison – Michael’s school friend, to whom he owes a lot. Why you should not expect anything good from the Worm, it is already clear from the stupid haircut and self-satisfied smirk.

“Ocean’s Eleven”

2001

Let Ocean and company rob the best casino in Vegas, poker is played in the back of the bar in the film – Rusty, the hero of Brad Pitt, teaches the game to local celebrities. Although, as Rusty tells them, the first rule of poker (not to be confused with the first rule of fight club) is to leave emotions at the door, it’s obvious from his own face. So Ocean shows up just in time to offer Rusty a really big win.

“Sin City 2”

2014

Poker is a gentlemen’s game, but it also has a place in Sin City, in the room behind the bar, at the table of Senator Roark, who has less to do with gentlemen than even the thug Marv (Mickey Rourke). Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a rookie who can beat a senator, but he can’t figure out why he shouldn’t. Rather, he understands something, but he is not going to stop. But in vain, because bending Roarke under him is clearly not the best solution.

“Gambler”

2014

Significantly thinner Mark Wahlberg leads a double life: during the day he teaches literature, and at night he spends all his money on cards. By the way, there was no money left for a long time, and there were plenty of problems and debts. So you have to find out what it really is worth. There are no rules in games like this.

If you liked these films, you can familiarize yourself with the rules of one famous Dice game.

Classic game rules

For this game, you need to have five dice. The number of players can be any. The goal of the game is to score 1000 points.

Basic concepts of the game

Any number of players can participate in the game (preferably up to 8, otherwise most will be bored), they move sequentially, one after the other. The sequence of the first move is played on the bones according to the principle of who has more.

Each turn begins with a roll of 5 dice at once. After the dice fall, the roll is analyzed for point combinations. Points are worth 1 (10 points) and 5 (5 points) dice, as well as 3 or more dice of the same value rolled in the current roll.

At the same time, 3 dice give points at the face value of the die multiplied by 10 (i.e. three fours will give 40 points, and three ones 100 (note that 1 in the whole game counts as 10 points), four by 20, five by 100:

  • 3 units – 100 points 4 units – 200 points 5 – 1000
  • 3 twos – 20, 4 twos – 40, 5 twos
  • 3 triplets – 30, 4 triplets – 60, 5 triplets – 300
  • 3 Fours – 40, 4 fours – 80, 5 fours – 400.
  • 3 Fives – 50, 4 fives – 100, 5 fives – 500.
  • 3 Sixes – 60, 4 – 120, 5 – 600.

Combination of rolled dice 1,2,3,4,5 , is 125 points and 2,3,4,5,6 is 250. The

dice are always stacked for the highest score combination.If this statement seems like a self-evident requirement, then play the game with the “open barrel” and sometimes you I would like it not to be so.

The remaining dice again.

Rollso way, performed with fewer dice, and thus less likely to bring points. At the same time, points for new combinations that have fallen out are summed up with previously scored ones.

Please note that if all five dice participated in a combination (for one or several consecutive rolls), then all five dice become available for the roll again, i.e. the player, theoretically, can score any number of points in one throw. In this case, the throw will need to be done!

If at the next throw a “zero” combination falls out, then the player receives 0 points and a “bolt” is entered for him (read more below), while all points scored for the current move are completely “burned out” (points scored earlier and recorded in the table, of course, remain ), and the turn automatically passes to the next player.

To avoid this, the player must say “enough”, he scored enough points. True, this is sometimes not allowed, because if the player has not yet “opened the game”, “sits in the pit” or on the “barrel”, then he has restrictions on the minimum amount of points. which he must collect