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James Bond’s Poker Skills – Are They Really Any Good?

James Bond is almost synonymous with bedding hot women, the Walther PPK and gambling at the casino. For over 60 years, we've watched him at the casino gaming tables. His favourite game is baccarat, yet we have seen him try his hand at poker. But the question is, was he any good at it? In Casino Royale, he plays head-to-head at Texas hold'em with the evil Le Chiffre. The game is really just a plot point, with little seen of the gameplay. But Bond does win, even if only by being reckless.

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Do James Bond’s Poker Skills Have Merit?

There are three major elements to Ian Fleming’s character, James Bond. The first is that he is smooth. The second is that he is deadly. And the third is it is a good poker player. In fact, over the years, there have been several Bond movies which make a point of showing off 007’s skills at the casino gaming tables. Of course, we’re talking about a fictional character taking part in scripted games. But still, James Bond’s poker-playing skills precede him and are legendary.

However, in spite of the glowing reputation, we have to ask ourselves if James Bond is really a good poker player. Or have we all simply been taken in by the Hollywood narrative? Here at Jackpotfinder.com we thought we’d take a deeper dive to find out the types of poker and poker-playing strategies that you too can you use when playing at online casinos.

What Poker Games Does James Bond Play?

They have been over a dozen films where James Bond has put his casino gaming skills to the test. And during this time we have seen him play everything from craps to Texas hold’em poker. In truth, the game most associated with 007 is baccarat. For over four decades or more, we have seen Bond’s gambling skills on display. Below we have listed his favourite games:

Baccarat (Chemin de Fer)
Craps
Sic Bo
Gin Rummy
Backgammon
Blackjack
Texas Hold’em

Of the above list, only Texas hold’em qualifies as a legitimate poker game. Some might argue that baccarat should be included because it has similar gameplay to poker. Probably the most popular game 007 has played is Chemin de fer which has appeared in his movies at least five times.

James Bond’s Poker Skills in Action

James Bond’s poker skills have been on display in a number of movies of his franchise. Below we’ve listed some of the most memorable casino gaming moments.

Dr. No (1962)

The first movie adaptation of James Bond was Dr No. Its star is probably the most famous Bond, Sean Connery. Many fans still remember Connery’s portrayal of the suave secret agent. It was during a pivotal part of the film that Bond’s baccarat skills were put to the test. The scene introduces us to the first-ever bond girl, Sylvia Trench. We also witness first-hand just how suave and cool James Bond can be. During the card-playing scene, we can see just how skilled Bond is when it comes to playing baccarat.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

For Your Eyes Only features a classic casino scene with the legendary Roger Moore taking the protagonist part. Here we see James Bond clear out his opponent with just a couple of hands. Even more spectacular, he was playing against the odds. Rather than stick with 5 points, he decides to hit and manages to land a four. Bond cooly comments that he doesn’t believe in playing the odds.

Casino Royale (2006)

Casino Royale introduces us to Daniel Craig’s version of the stoic secret agent character. His poker playing skills are tested in a game of Texas hold’em against Le Chiffre who’s played by Mads Mikkelsen. The initial game doesn’t last so long due to the fact that the Le Chiffre has poisoned Bond. But after being saved by Vesper Lynd, he’s able to challenge Le Chiffre to another round of poker. Of course, it must help considerably if your bankroll comes from the British taxpayer, as opposed to utilising your own funds.

Which James Bond Gambled the Most?

The Bond franchise has been regularly producing movies for over 60 years, and many famous actors have been through the role. So let’s have a look and see which actor gambled the most.

Sean Connery

Sean Connery was the first actor to bring James Bond to the big screen. All in all, he played the role 7 times starting with Dr No in 1962 and ending in 1983 with Never Say Never Again. As you can imagine, the character spent a great deal of time at the casino gaming tables. In fact, we can see him gambling in four different Bond films. Though it’s true that he is mainly stuck with the game of baccarat, we can see him playing craps in the 1971 movie, Diamonds Are Forever.

Roger Moore

Ignoring the single appearance by George Lazenby as Bond, we can move on to Roger Moore. Realistically, he’s really seen as the true successor to Sean Connery. Roger Moore appeared in more than six Bond movies beginning in 1973 with Live And Let Die. Moore can be seen gambling in three different films with three completely different games. In The Man With The Golden Gun, we can see that he plays craps. Then it’s over to the baccarat table for Your Eyes Only. Finally, in Octopussy we find Bond playing backgammon.

Pierce Brosnan

In 1995 Pierce Brosnan took over the role of Bond in the film GoldenEye. Compared with the previous actors, he only played Bond four times. Nevertheless, he can be seen gambling twice. Firstly, he played Chemin de fer in Goldeneye. Then he hit up the blackjack tables in The World Is Not Enough. Bond does go to a casino in Tomorrow Never Dies, but he does no gambling there.

Daniel Craig

The current Bond, Daniel Craig has played the character in five films, beginning with Casino Royale. However, we only see his Bond gamble twice. As previously mentioned, he plays Texas hold’em in Casino Royale. In Skyfall, Daniel Craig turns his hand to Sic Bo, which is only the second time the game has ever been featured in the franchise.

Only two other actors have played James Bond with one being George Lazenby and the other Timothy Dalton. Lazenby only appeared in one movie, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, though he did play baccarat. Dalton appeared in Licence To Kill in which he played blackjack at the casino.

So Are James Bond’s Poker Skills Up To The Hype?

Now we come to the six million-dollar question, as to whether Bonds’ poker skills are really worth the hype. To start with, we should say that Bond is a successful gambler. Time and again we’ve watched him hold his own against the high rollers. Having said that, we’ve never seen him try his luck against professional players. On another more serious point, you hardly ever see Bond playing poker. That’s simply because Bond’s preferred game is baccarat. Though this in itself is a great casino game, it hardly falls under the heading of poker.

We have seen Bond play poker just once in Casino Royale. Yet in this movie we only see him play a few hands. As you’re probably aware, the first round is cut short when he’s poisoned. Yet in the second game virtually all the players push in very quickly. Bond wins the hand with a straight flush, which tends to be pointing to luck, as opposed to any skill. Nevertheless, we like to consider that Bond is a great poker player. That’s because it’s fair to deduce that the skills gained from other casino games can be utilised in playing poker.