5 great gambling movies to watch on Netflix

What do the NFL playoffs and the Academy Awards have in common? Well, aside from unnecessary roughness needing to be enforced, the answer is gambling. These are some of the most gambled-on events in a given year. Everyone thinks they can predict who is going to win best actor or director and everyone is suddenly a sports analyst when the playoffs roll around. So much so that people are willing to put their own money at risk for the thrill of being right.  

Sure, there is a great payout that comes with being right, but talk to most gamblers and they will tell you half the fun in gambling is the wave of intensity that sweeps over them when their money is on the line.

The phrase “the house always wins” is an almost universally known phrase, yet Vegas is one of the fastest-growing cities in America with new patrons lining up to cast their money into the slot machines for the mere idea of what if they are the one to beat it. No, the reality is that if it was all about the money then we would see more millionaires whose story was they gambled their way to the top at casinos and on Fanduel.

So what is it about the gambling thrill that makes it just so irresistible? 

I’m not much of a gambler so I don’t have an answer from experience. However, through the power of cinema, anyone can experience the rollercoaster that is placing your life savings on a Lakers game in hopes of winning money so that you can pay off the loan shark you owe money to because you bluffed too hard in poker. 

So, here are five great films streaming on Netflix that you should watch before you parley the 49ers in the Super Bowl and Christopher Nolan for best director.