The team here at Fair Go casino love their movies, as does Kev the Koala. In case you couldn’t guess, our favourite genre of movie is anything to do with gambling and casinos. Often these films are fast paced, high stakes and full of action… just like many of our online pokies. When we watch them, we’re instantly inspired to take our favourite online casino games for a spin. For this reason, we thought we’d share 5 of the best gambling movies according to the team at Australia’s favourite online casino.

1. Rounders (1998)

Rounders is about a handsome young gambler called Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), who is asked by a friend to help him pay off some circling loan sharks, all the while juggling a girlfriend and his studies at law school. What could go wrong? Turns out… a lot.

The only way Mike can help out his friend is by heading back to the table for a game of high stakes poker. The thing about that is, Mike is a reformed gambler, which means he’d have to give up his self-imposed ban on playing cards in order to assist his pal. Given how close he is to his buddy though, this becomes only a slight inconvenience for the once-rehabilitated Mike. So with renewed determination and, rather fortunately, years of savant-level card playing skills, he begins playing rounds of poker for money.

There are thrills and excitement and Mike clearly feels alive at the table. All of this action then invariably leads to a final showdown with a winner takes all stake. We’re not going to spoil the end of the movie for you here in case you haven’t seen it. But what we can say is that it’s worth watching till the end just to feel the heat from the final game.

2. Casino Royale (2006)

If you were a lifelong fan of James Bond leading into 2006 and believed there was no way the franchise could get any better, you were very, very wrong. Casino Royale is without question one of the best 007 movies ever made and it definitely ranks as one of the more accurate films when it comes to gambling. Grossing nearly $600 million dollars worldwide, this impressive movie was supported by the performances of Daniel Craig and Eva Green, who play James Bond and Vesper Lynd.

As for the storyline, Casino Royale begins with a fast-paced chase scene somewhere in Africa and doesn’t really drop below the redline from there. Recently promoted to “00” status, Bond now has a licence to kill and the means to thrill with the entire MI6 agency behind him. His first mission? Engage with a shady banker and suspected terrorist by the name of Le Chiffre over a poker game and take him out. Unexpected plot twists and witty dialogue ensues, making Casino Royale another classic Bond film.

3. The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

Based on a novel by Richard Jessup, The Cincinnati Kid is about a red hot New Orleans poker player called Eric Stoner or The Kid (Steve McQueen) who is looking to match himself up with the big boys, most noticeably a reigning poker champ who just rolled into town by the name of The Man (Edward G. Robinson).

A game is arranged between The Kid and The Man by another pro called The Shooter. All seems to be in order, until The Kid discovers that one of The Man’s old foes plans on fixing their game in order to ruin him once and for all. The Kid then objects to the scheme, presumably because he believes he can win fair and square.

The poker game continues and during the final hand, The Kid is beaten with a queen-high straight flush. The Kid then turns over his cards and reveals a full house, aces full of tens. A Rocky-style come from behind victory story this ain’t, The Kid is devastated that he’s just lost all of his money. The Man mocks him and tells him that he’ll only ever be “second best”, prompting The Kid to leave the table in disgrace.

Once outside, he proceeds to lose a penny pitch to a shoe shine boy he’d beaten at the same game during the film's opening scenes. So even though The Kid doesn’t actually win any money, at least the one person in the film who actually needed cash comes away with something.

4. Ocean's 11 (2001)

With Julia Roberts, George Clooney and Brad Pitt, Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s 11 was always going to be a massive hit. Pity though it never really lived up to its hype at the box office, making only roughly $450 million in total. That being said, Ocean’s 11 has since become something of a cult classic. With an exciting storyline and final twist that’s a bonafide “ah-ha” moment.

Before we get to the movie’s hair-raising final moments though, there’s plenty of action to keep us entertained. It all begins when Daniel Ocean, who’s already in prison in New Jersey, begins to plan his next casino heist… or should we say casinos. Yep, apparently just hitting one joint isn’t enough. And it turns out Daniel actually wants to rob The Bellagio, The Mirage, and the MGM Grand. Sounds like it might be too much for one man to handle.

Luckily, Daniel has a motley crew of thieves, bandits and otherwise mischievous individuals from around the country to help him out. A card magician, Chinese acrobat, an embittered millionaire, a crafty firebug and a talented pickpocket are just some of the members. By bringing them all together as one team, he’s able to plan and execute the perfect casino robbery. How does he do it and get away with it though? You’ll just have to watch Ocean’s 11 to find out.

5. Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians (2011)

They say the Good Lord is everyone… but did you ever stop to think he was at the blackjack table next to you? Well, the stars of this inspired by real events movie certainly thought so. Essentially, churchgoers in the States formed a team that excelled in counting cards at the blackjack table. Operating from 2005 till 2011, “The Church Team” as they called themselves, succeeded in taking millions from casinos during their reign.

The movie goes on to report that while they were based in Seattle, they had players all over America in states such as California, New York, Oregon and of course Nevada. This allowed them to target a wide range of casinos and betting establishments and stay under the radar of authorities.

Regarded as being one of the most well-funded card counting teams in America, their group included 30 investors, 40 players in addition to different managers and trainers. All of whom at their highest point were playing with $1.2 million dollars’ worth of investors’ money. Winning in excess of $3 million dollars in the process. Most of which never found its way to the church donation basket on Sundays.