21 replies to this topic

[SecretAgent007]

It's not a major thing, but was anyone else kind of rolling their eyes with the way the hands in the card game played out?

I play a lot of Texas Hold'em and you never see flops and hands like that. I mean the way that last hand played out was nearly improbable, something like 1.5 million to 1 for everyone to have a piece of that hand with the cards they had. I wish they would have had more realistic poker play. Especially with how popular the game is (in the US anyway). Anyone that even casually watches it on TV would know how impossible that would have been. Look at Rounders. Much more realistic hands. That's my rant for the day

PS: anyone know if you can get those poker chips anywhere?

Edited by SecretAgent007, 22 November 2006 - 11:38 PM.

[stamper]

I don't play poker as I always lose, like 99% of the guys out there. So I don't care. Craig fakkin rules !

[SecretAgent007]

OK, but what does Craig's acting/persona have to do with anything I said? The rest of the movie is pretty grounded (for a Bond film anyway), so why have these insane hands play out?

[MarcAngeDraco]

It's not a major thing, but was anyone else kind of rolling their eyes with the way the hands in the card game played out?

I play a lot of Texas Hold'em and you never see flops and hands like that. I mean the way that last hand played out was nearly improbable, something like 1.5 million to 1 for everyone to have a piece of that hand with the cards they had. I wish they would have had more realistic poker play. Especially with how popular the game is (in the US anyway). Anyone that even casually watches it on TV would know how impossible that would have been. Look at Rounders. Much more realistic hands. That's my rant for the day

PS: anyone know if you can get those poker chips anywhere?

The final hand was definitely improbable (but not quite impossible)...

The other hands seemed relatively typical of good hands, but obviously they didn't show all of the nothing and near nothing hands that are the staple of most poker games.

To answer your question: yes you can get sets of the chips and cards from Carta Mundi (who made the chips and cards for the film). There are some on eBay. I haven't seen any of the plaques though, and I'd love to get some of those...

[SecretAgent007]

Thanks MarcAnge. I found the chip sets with cards on E-bay. I realize that they were not going to show dead hands, but did everyone in the last hand have to get a piece of the flop? For me, it was more comic relief than tension. I'm not saying the card game didn't have tension, just the way that last hand played out.

[Double-Oh Agent]

I know what you're saying SecretAgent007. And yes, while the frequency of the high quality of those hands was unrealistic, but it didn't hurt the suspense any--particularly in the last deal.

And while you could easily make the case that those hands would rarely, if ever happen, one could also just as easily point out all the stuff on cop and medical TV shows and movies (and even Bond films ) that are just as unlikely to happen in real life. I think it's just a case of the creative team thinking that the better the hand, the more exciting the game. I say just take the card game as entertainment and leave it at that.

[erniecureo]

Good points, all. I'll play devil's advocate though, and tell you about a hand I was in just a week or so ago. Me: Q-J of diamonds. I raise before the flop, and get two callers. Flop comes 9c-Kh-10s. As you see, I make the nut straight. I'm first to act and I check (to trap), the guy behind me bets, the second guy calls, and I re-raise. They BOTH still call.

Turn card is the 6s. I bet, they call.

River is the 3s. I bet, the guy behind raises, the third guy re-raises. WTF? I call, the first guy re-raises, second guy calls, I finally dump my straight--figuring one of them must have the spade flush, as unlikely as it seems.

They BOTH have spade flushes--and the guy on my left has the higher one. The guy on my left had 9s-Qs, and the other guy had 8s-4s. Neither one should have been in the hand after the flop and my check-raise, but there you go.

Regarding the film, I'm just glad the winning hand wasn't a royal flush, or quads. I REALLY hate that cliche...

[PeteShark]

Hi,

I just bought a Deluxe Poker Set and in addition some high value chips.

Does anybody know how to get the 500.000 or 1.000.000 Plaques ?? I really love to get one of these, but didn't find them yet anywhere.

Greetings, Peter

[stromberg]

Hi,

I just bought a Deluxe Poker Set and in addition some high value chips.

Does anybody know how to get the 500.000 or 1.000.000 Plaques ?? I really love to get one of these, but didn't find them yet anywhere.

Greetings, Peter

Nice to see you found your way over from the German forums to CBn.
Welcome!

The only place where I ever saw some of these up for sale was over at bondcollectibles.de, but at the price they were (several hundred Euros, being labelled as "screen used" props), you'd rather not use them to play but leave them in their frame.

It may happen that someon makes replicas of them one day, but as of now, I think your search is in vain.

[Judo chop]

Agree with all 3 points stated thus far.

1) The hands are a bit much to take. I don

[PeteShark]

Hi Stromberg,
thanks for the welcome. I'm looking now for weeks to find these Plaques anywhere. But I agree, that there is no chance at the moment. Probably in the future carta mundi will produse them.

Greetings, Peter

[JackWade]

Well I was playing on MSN Games last night and someone hit a royal flush, so a straight flush, dueling full houses, and trip kings vs. trip aces aren't all that improbable.

[Four Aces]

We had this talk a few months back. I can't seem to find the thread.

[dinovelvet]

Well sure the final hand is unrealistic, but this is Bond. Who wants to see him win with a pair of threes? Its gotta be an epic final game, the poker hand to end all poker hands. And it was!

[Boz Boorer]

And how about those Brosnan's X-Ray glasses? way realistic?

Edited by Boz Boorer, 22 May 2007 - 12:05 AM.

[Dr. Noah]

It didn't bother me that the hands were high since the game was taking place over a few days and we were just seeing the best hands.

The last hand was a little hard to believe, but they wanted a hand nobody was looking for to beat Le Chiffre's obviously great hand, so I liked it. It could happen, and it was very entertaining, so what's the problem? It'd be kinda' boring to win with a pair of eights over a busted flush.

[MHazard]

If any of you are interested, and at the risk of blowing my own horn, a little while ago I analyzed the poker game, by playing it out and comparing it with my amateur knowledge of poker strategy. On the thread which I started called "Poker Game Analyzed" there were a number of contributions by others regarding whether the strategy followed by the players, including Bond and LeChiffre actually made any sense. If you missed it, and at the risk of blowing my own horn, you might find it interesting, and more importantly, if you had any thoughts regarding it, I'd be interested.

[erniecureo]

Hey! Are you blowing your own horn?

If so, include a link... :-)

[RazorBlade]

As improbable as the hands may be, it makes for a boring movie to show "realistic" play. What is "realistic" play? Where you lose regardless of the strength of your hand and the house wins. If Le Chiffre was such a genius he would have owned the casino and played so that eveyone lost, like shooting fish in a barrel, pocketed the money and moved on. Same is true of the British government.

I won't go into what the American gov't would have done, as it's too silly and embarrassing to talk about.

Anyway none of the above makes for an exciting movie which is what we want. I would rather they played baccarat. Barry Nelson just explained how to play it and it sounds exciting.

If anyone finds the plaques please post a link.

[MHazard]

Hey! Are you blowing your own horn?

If so, include a link... :-)

Busted. I'm not technologically savvy enough to provide the link, but the thread was in this section "Casino Royale (2006)" and can still be found on page 2 and is entitled "Poker Game Analyzed-Does it Make Sense?" You guys might enjoy some of the observations, not just mine, particularly regarding Montenegrin rules.

[sgt-scream]

Would have been great if Bond won on a 10 high?

[marktmurphy]

Good points, all. I'll play devil's advocate though, and tell you about a hand I was in just a week or so ago. Me: Q-J of diamonds. I raise before the flop, and get two callers. Flop comes 9c-Kh-10s. As you see, I make the nut straight. I'm first to act and I check (to trap), the guy behind me bets, the second guy calls, and I re-raise. They BOTH still call.

Turn card is the 6s. I bet, they call.

River is the 3s. I bet, the guy behind raises, the third guy re-raises. WTF? I call, the first guy re-raises, second guy calls, I finally dump my straight--figuring one of them must have the spade flush, as unlikely as it seems.

They BOTH have spade flushes--and the guy on my left has the higher one. The guy on my left had 9s-Qs, and the other guy had 8s-4s. Neither one should have been in the hand after the flop and my check-raise, but there you go.

Ooh, well played- I think I probably would have stayed in! I'm a bit of a novice, myself!
I was watching the film the other day, and Bond's final hand is pretty clearly a possibility (although small) from the cards on the table- I was trying to think; is Le Chiffre mad to call him? I suppose that Bond's earlier recklessness could have swayed him, but it's a tricky thing to call as to whether he was acting stupidly.

Regarding the film, I'm just glad the winning hand wasn't a royal flush, or quads. I REALLY hate that cliche...

Oh yes- it's lovely, that. I like the way that they sort of 'hid' the cards Bond was going to use in his hand between some more stereotypically Hollywood friendly Aces or whatever they were!
Also very nice is the way that I think we only ever see the cards Bond is dealt before he plays them in one of the hands, which is unusual for films where the hero is playing cards- usually we play along with him; here we're watching him and are unsure of what he's going to do, which is sort of how the whole film plays out.