If you’re a fan of mystery and mayhem, or just a lover of martinis, then we’re sure you’ve settled down to watch a James Bond film on more than one occasion. And, if you fancy yourself as a potential candidate to play the role of the next 007, then you might want to establish yourself on the online casino UK scene and get in a little practice. Why? Well, because the illusive Bond is known for his love of all thing’s casino, not to mention that he also loves a bit of high-tension drama!
For those of you that need to brush up on your Bond franchise knowledge, read on as we take you down memory lane with some of the most iconic casino scenes, and give you a little background on the featured games.
Poker in Casino Royale
In 2006, Daniel Craig emerged as the new James Bond, making his debut in Casino Royale. A lot of the action in this film takes place at the casino, with the longest scene being set at the Poker table. Bond takes on his enemy with a game of Texas Hold’em – one of the most popular forms of Poker – throwing a few punches in between each round.
With all players shooting for that handsome prize pot, they must use their best skills and sweet talk lady luck into being on their side. Texas Hold-em Poker is a favourite amongst a lot of players, and always ensures that you’ll be in for an interesting game, due to the demand for “bluffing”. Bluffing is when you pretend to have a better hand than you do, imploring your fellow players to keep increasing their stake, or even fold, for fear of what you may be holding. This technique can allow you to get to the top, whilst holding cards of almost no value!
If bluffing and mind games aren’t really your style, then you’ll want to aim for the strongest five-card hand possible. In each game you’ll be given two cards, referred to as the “hole” and have the choice of up to three of the five community cards, which are dealt into the middle of the table for any players to use.
The best hands to aim for are as follows:
- A Royal Flush: Ace, King, Queen, Joker, 10; all of the same suit
- A Straight flush: Value in numerical order and of the same suit
- Four of a Kind: Four of the same value, but varying suits
Baccarat and Bond
Throughout many of the older James Bond films, the suave agent has been indulging in an older version of Baccarat, called Chemin De Fer. The game features in all of the following classic Bond films:
- Dr. No in 1962
- Thunderball in 1965
- Goldeneye in 1995
The basic rules of Baccarat dictate that the cards from two to nine in each suit will be worth face value, whereas the 10, Jack, Queen and King will count as zero. The ace will be taken at a one-point value and the Joker won’t be used. Just to add a little more confusion into the mix – when a hand’s total reaches double figures, the second digit will be the recognised total, e.g., a hand consisting of six and seven will be worth a total of three, despite the numerical total being 13. Because of this unusual rule, the highest possible hand in this game will be nine.
The game is used to lead James Bond and his rival villains into swanky casinos, and ramp up the tension between them. And of course, as well as winning the game, Bond must also win the heart of a glamorous woman!
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