Math and odds are important parts of Texas Hold’em poker. James Bond knows this (of course). In the final hand of Casino Royale, four players move all-in on the river and Bond scoops the $115 million pot, thanks to smart play.

These were the cards on the board:

Ah-8s-6s-4s-As

Casino Royale Poker Game

And these were the players’ hands:

Player 1: Ks-Qs

Player 2: 8c-8d

Finally, the Casino Royale script is here for all you fans of the Daniel Craig James Bond movie. This puppy is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of the movie to get the dialogue. One of these scenes where he proved he could do this was the poker scene. There’s no doubt the Bond franchise has had a huge influence on platforms like high roller casino online and in this poker scene Bond had one job, and that was to get the attention of Le Chiffre, played brilliantly by Mad Mikkelsen. How difficult can it be to make a good poker scene in a movie? According to James Bond director Martin Campbell the ‘Casino Royale’ remake poker showdown was as elaborate as any stunt 007 was involved in! For poker fans, of course, seeing their beloved game depicted on the big screen is almost. BondMovies.com goes through the game scene by scene here, explaining how Bond ultimately won the game despite Le Chiffre's faked bluff, however improbable. And if you wish to know exactly how improbable Bond's victory was, casino-games-online.biz explains his odds of winning at the beginning and during the course of play, here. Below are five of the best poker scenes in the history of the movies. Widely regarded as the reboot of this iconic franchise, Casino Royale took us back to James Bond’s roots.

Le Chiffre: Ac-6h

James Bond: 7s-5s

As we can se, Bond had an unbeatable hand on the turn, but with the help of the odds calculator we can find out what his chances of winning the pot were before the flop and on the flop. This is the result:

Pre-flop:

Player 1: 34.51% chance of winning
Player 2: 30.87% chance of winning
Le Chiffre: 22.18% chance of winning
James Bond: 12.30% chance of winning.

As we can see, Bond had the by far worst hand before the flop. Even the evil Le Chiffre had a bigger chance of winning at this point, even though Ac-6h is a rather crappy hand, not worthy of a super-villain. .

On the flop:

Casino Royale Poker Scene

Player 1: 15.00% chance of winning
Player 2: 47.69% chance of winning
Le Chiffre: 9.02% chance of winning
James Bond: 28.29% chance of winning.

Bond’s chances improve greatly thanks to his open-ended straight flush draw. Le Chiffre is in a bad spot, but player 2 has the best hand with three eights.

The 4s on the turn was the perfect card for Bond, and he was cool enough to allow the other players to improve their hands on the river. The Ace was another perfect card as it made Bond’s three opponents move all-in for crazy amounts of money. Bond naturally knew that he had the best possible hand and he could just relax and collect all the chips.

So, what’s the lesson here? Probably none at all – you shouldn’t use James Bond movies as a source for poker strategy, even though gambling is a popular theme. But you can clearly see that the value of hands change dramatically throughput a Texas Hold’em hand. Bond took maximum advantage of this.

Please use the Poker Odds Calculator below and learn the odds for Bond’s hand and any other hands of poker.

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The James Bond movie ‘Casino Royale’ has one of the most highly regarded poker scenes in movie history. It expertly reflects the tension of high-stakes gambling, but its plausibility has often been called into question. Here we take a look at both the influence of the iconic scene and how far it pushes the boundaries of credibility with the audience.

Daniel Craig’s debut Bond film certainly had an impact in further popularising the casino industry with the character imbuing it with a sense of glamour and cool. Whilst the various locations featured in the film offered audiences a glimpse into the style and prestige provided by the casino environment. The film’s wider influence in keeping the industry current has also been apparent in the growth of the best casinos online, with slots like Mission Cash at LeoVegas incorporating a Bond-inspired spy theme.

Casino Royale Movie

The poker showdown in the exotic locale of the ‘One and Only Ocean Club’ in the Bahamas, is perhaps the most iconic scene in the film, and also the most effective in delivering a sense of the thrill and mystique which modern casinos can offer to the audience.

For context, Bond was taking part in a ‘winner-takes-all’ contest with nine other players including the film’s main villain Le Chiffre. The character, played by Mads Mikkelsen, is in dire need of victory having lost $100 million through a failed investment. Meanwhile, Bond has been entered into the tournament by MI6 as they felt defeat for Le Chiffre would force him to seek asylum with the British government in exchange for inside information on his terrorist clients.

Its controversy for poker enthusiasts and statistics nerds comes with the final hand where just four players remained. After the river is fully revealed as Ace (Hearts) – 8 (Spades) – 6 (Spades) – 4 (Spades) – Ace (Diamonds), the first two nameless characters both go all-in with respective hands of King-Queen (both Spades) and 8-8. This meant two extremely strong hands already with a flush and full house both in play, however, it was still well within the realms of plausibility.

Le Chiffre, however, had an even better hand than both of these men with an Ace-6 combination giving him the superior full house. Confident in his hand, the Albanian banker raised the stakes to $12 million only to see 007 go all-in with an enormous $40.5 million. Having started with a 7 and 5 of spades (which only gave him a 12.3% chance of winning before the flop) Bond knew that he had an unbeatable straight flush at his disposal.

This certainly brings the scene into the realm of the fantastical as a straight flush can be expected to occur around once every 37,260 hands. In tandem with three other players piling money in because of their particularly strong hands, more than a few movie-goers may have been struggling to suspend their disbelief. Bond wins the entire pot as the last man standing, before high-octane action hijinks follow.
In the scene’s defence, it does stay within the rules of Texas Hold ‘Em poker at all times and gives a dramatic but accurate representation of the game’s dynamism, as a weak hand transforms into something special. Some may feel it undermines the credibility of the movie to too great of an extent, but after all, this is a James Bond film, and it wouldn’t be complete without superhuman exploits and incredible luck. Perhaps the writers felt entitled to borrow Bond’s (artistic) license to kill.