Cold Deck Movie Review – A Sticky Gambling Situation

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of gambling films out there. Producing the next Cincinnati Kid movie proved to be quite the challenge. That’s why creating such a film isn’t an easy task; there are many classic films about gamblers that are casting their shadows upon all-new productions from the same genre. Did the Cold Deck movie manage to walk in the shoes of the timeless classics? You shall find the answer to this question in our paragraphs below. Let’s dive in!

Cold Deck Movie (2015) – Plot Summary and Trailer

The scene has its spotlight on the main character, Bobby (Stéfano Gallo), a young compulsive gambler who works in a factory and takes care of his ill mother, Audrey (Kate Trotter). Bobby’s mother disapproves of her son’s tendency for putting his money at stake because his father’s life was ruined by gambling. During one of his workdays, Bobby’s friend and co-worker, Ben (Kjartan Hewitt), told him about a secret high-stakes poker table that is hosted by a wealthy man named Turk (Robert Knepper).

Ben informs Bobby that the players who participate in such secret high-stakes poker games are easy prey because they’re ordinary businessmen and bankers. The main character decides to steal his ill mother’s savings and have a go at winning big cash. When Bobby enters the tournament, he finds another good poker player named Chips (Paul Sorvino), who he has met before. Turk, the man who organised the game, shows up with a suitcase that contains $250,000. However, Bobby notices that the case is unguarded, and he could easily steal it if he wanted to.

When the game starts, Bobby and Chips quickly eliminate all of the other players from the competition. However, as the game goes, the main character starts losing. During their last hand, Chips comes out as the winner without even looking at his cards. Eventually, Bobby loses all of his money against Chips.

Broken and in disgust, Bobby goes home only to see that his mom found out about the money he has stolen, and she kicks him out of the house. Desperate, the main character moves in to live with his girlfriend, Kim (Jessica Sipos), who works as a waitress in Chips’ gaming hall, where he spends most of his time in poker games. Later, Bobby receives a proposal from Chips, the man he lost against in poker, and his offer was to rob Turk.

Bobby immediately declines, but his friend, Ben, later manages to change his mind. The main character decides that he should involve his co-worker in the heist so they could both find a way out of their dead-end jobs. During the next secret high-stakes poker game, Bobby and Ben storm the building with weapons and tear gas and get Turk’s case. Later, when they meet Chips, he tells them he is rather unhappy with how they handled the situation unprofessionally. In the end, both Bobby and Ben each get $50,000.

Bobby quickly returns the money to his mom, settles his debts, and upgrades her care and medicine. When Kim finds out what Bobby did, she warns him about Chips and tells him that he once cheated the main character’s father out of a huge win. Eventually, Bobby confronts Chips, and he decides to retaliate, turning Ben in and having him killed. Enraged, Bobby decides to team up with Turk and have one last game against Chips, who turned out to be the real antagonist. To avoid giving out the most prominent spoiler, we’d recommend actually watching the movie.

Cold Deck Film – Cast, Ratings, and More

Just like every movie ever made, the cast is again the main ingredient for the recipe of success. However, The actors in this particular film weren’t precisely A-list celebrities. Even though the movie was quite famous among gamblers, it didn’t reach global success. That’s why the Cold Deck film didn’t receive any awards nor nominations. Some of the actors, such as the main character himself, were relatively new to the big screen, but their performances were excellent. In the table below, you’ll find more details about the movie.

As you might have noticed, the ratings that the movie has been receiving are either average or below average. The critics from Rotten Tomatoes were merciless. They called the movie bland, lame, repetitive, and anticlimactic. However, during the research for our Cold Deck film review, we also found a lot of positive reviews and comments from viewers. It seems that people liked the fact that the movie and its plot seemed realistic and that there are plenty of platforms where you can watch the Cold Deck movie online.

Types of Gambling in the Cold Deck Film

The Cold Deck movie’s name is essentially a card game term, which means that a deck has been fixed with the intent of cheating. Just by knowing what the term means, you could have a great guess of what the Cold Deck plot would be. As you might have figured, the film is all about Texas Hold’em Poker. Even though there have been quite a few movies that involve cheating in poker, the Cold Deck trailer and film definitely make an exciting story out of it.

Such high-stakes poker tables are no secret nowadays. Even though it’s likely that rich people like to enjoy playing their favourite card game in secrecy, there are plenty of top gambling sites in the UK that have poker tables dedicated to high rollers. However, if you’re new to the game, our best advice would be to stay away from such tables until you gain enough confidence and experience. As they say in the Rounders movie from 1998 – “If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half-hour at the table, then you are the sucker.”

Where to Watch the Cold Deck Movie?

Nowadays, there is a plethora of subscription-based platforms where you can enjoy movies. You can literally find the film you’re looking for in a matter of minutes. Even though the Cold Deck film wasn’t as successful as other gambling movies, you can still rent or watch the flick with platforms like DIRECTV, Reelgood, Amazon, Netflix, and many others. However, we would recommend checking which one has the best prices.

The current streaming services for movies are pretty advanced. You can watch the Cold Deck movie at its highest quality. However, as we mentioned, there are either rental or subscription fees that you need to be aware of. Additionally, certain platforms don’t accept visitors from specific countries. That’s why, if you’re from the UK, you might have trouble watching particular movies. If you happen to enjoy gambling flicks and have a Netflix subscription, you should definitely consider the top 10 gambling movies on Netflix.

Final Verdict – Is the Cold Deck Movie Worth Watching?

As our Cold Deck film review is coming to an end, it’s time for our final verdict. Even though there are plenty of negative comments and reviews by critics about the movie, we believe it’s definitely worth watching. The story conveys quite a few fantastic life lessons that you can benefit from, and the film can easily motivate you to have a go at the best poker sites in the UK.

Besides that, the Cold Deck trailer is one of the most fascinating and thrilling pieces from the production. Perhaps it’s the reason why the critics’ and moviegoers’ expectations were so high. However, taking everything into account, we would still gladly recommend checking the movie and not letting negative comments ruin your experience!

Frequently Asked Questions About the Cold Deck Movie

At the end of our Cold Deck film review, we’ve decided to create an additional section dedicated to the most frequently asked questions. During the research for this guide, we came across quite a few commonly raised queries by moviegoers, and we had our experts answer all of them for you. Let’s dive into the action.