Ask The Wizard

In this week's edition, our guest contributor Anne Larson resumes her exploration of Casino Royale .

Continuing the Wizard's analysis of casino sequences from James Bond films, I'll delve into the first of three YouTube clips showcasing the concluding poker tournament scenes from the 2006 adaptation of Casino Royale. This clip was previously introduced in our last newsletter, and now we revisit it. About Us Moreover, I will adopt the same approach utilized by the Wizard in his discussion of Chemin de Fer (the game analyzed in earlier James Bond installments) by addressing specific positions and bets with capital letters (like 'the Button position' and 'the Small Blind'), while using lowercase letters when mentioning the players in those positions (for example, 'the person in middle position' and 'one of the blinds').

This clip kicks off with a representative from the casino alongside the banker, who is managing the funds, introducing the game of no-limit hold 'em to the ten players gathered. The officials also explain the process for holding the players' stakes and how any additional funds will transition to and from the escrow account.

At 1:04, the players are seated, and the game begins as they draw cards to establish the button position. The initial betting round features blinds of $5,000 and $10,000. The small blind contributes one green chip while the big blind stakes two green chips, thereby posting their respective blinds.

From the gameplay actions observed in this clip, I can determine the current values of the chips in play:

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I also want to point out that each participant has an unusually large number of starting chips and high-value plaques before them. I'm specifically referencing the quantity in front of each player, rather than their monetary worth. In a standard poker tournament, players typically begin with enough chips to form a singular stack—usually around 20 chips or fewer. The impressive amount of chips in front of every player appears to be exaggerated, likely for dramatic Hollywood effect, making the high-stakes atmosphere seem even more intense.

As the hand progresses, the footage shifts to the 1:43 mark where the dealer begins collecting all the bets in what I refer to as the initial hand. The dealer reveals that there are four players involved in this pot, including Le Chiffre (the antagonist introduced in our previous newsletter) and Bond, with Bond holding a positional advantage over his competitors. A closer look at the chips from the fourth seat suggests that someone raised to $30,000 before the flop, which the other three players called. It appears that seat four had six $5,000 chips in play, and although it may be a minor detail, viewers might not notice that the dealer pulled in a total of just six green chips from the small and big blinds combined, instead of the expected seven—one from the small blind folding and six from the big blind calling. This minor oversight is a small Hollywood blunder. The pot now stands at $120,000, with no required ante, comprising each player's contribution of $30,000.

As the dealer puts out the flop, which includes a 9, an 8, and a 5 of hearts, the first two players opt to check. Le Chiffre, acting third, decides to bet $50,000, which is nearly half of the pot. As Bond considers his next move, we are treated to an extreme close-up of Le Chiffre's face showing signs of tension as he touches his face with his finger on his temple. The focus shifts to Bond, who is watching Le Chiffre closely, and subsequently decides to call the bet after the two other players fold, bringing the pot to $220,000.

At the 2:27 mark, the dealer announces that the action is now heads-up and burns the next card, revealing a 9 of clubs on the turn, which pairs the board. The dealer reminds Le Chiffre that he is the first to act, and he places a bet of $100,000. At that moment, Bond's companion, Vesper Lynd, his undercover partner, enters the room, approaches Bond to kiss him on the cheek, and wishes him luck. Bond quietly comments on how he expected her entrance to be more strategically distracting for the other participants, as discussed in an earlier scene of the movie. Once she departs, the dealer prompts Bond for his action, and after confirming the amount of Le Chiffre's bet, Bond calls, raising the pot to $420,000.

The game continues, and at the 3:30 mark, following the burning of the final card, the dealer reveals a 2 of hearts on the river and informs Le Chiffre that he is first to act. Le Chiffre bets $200,000, roughly half the pot, prompting Bond to call. The dealer then reminds Le Chiffre that his bet has been called and instructs him to reveal his cards.

In a typical tournament setting, the dealer would wait at this stage, allowing players to show their cards first to win the pot, only intervening if neither decides to reveal. According to standard Poker Tournament Directors Association (TDA) guidelines, the dealer would then ask the last player to have acted on the river (the last one to bet or raise) to present their cards face up.

However, the dealer in this film prematurely asks Le Chiffre to unveil his cards. Le Chiffre reveals that he holds pocket twos (a 2 of spades and a 2 of clubs), leading the dealer to declare that he has a full house, highlighting the board's 9's and 2's to showcase Le Chiffre's five-card combination. At this point, Bond chooses to muck his hand, allowing Le Chiffre to claim the pot. The scene shifts to Lynd's disappointed expression, where she expresses her dissatisfaction to Bond for his loss during this hand, admonishing him for his risky tactics and reminding him of the considerable sum the British government allocated for his participation in this tournament and the need for better strategy. Bond defends his actions, stating that he deliberately played this hand to read Le Chiffre's tells (the subtle physical or verbal cues) and noted how he observed Le Chiffre's eye twitching, intending to use that knowledge for his strategy in the later stages of the tournament.

There's a possibility, although not very likely, that Bond possessed a stronger hand than Le Chiffre’s deuces full of 9’s based on the board's showing (like a superior full house, quad 9’s, or a straight flush). Generally, in optimal poker play, calling someone consistently through the river indicates you're likely ahead compared to someone betting their pocket twos throughout. Regardless, the relevance of whether Bond held the winning hand seems overshadowed by his clarification that his intention was to analyze Le Chiffre's tells during this hand.

In the next newsletter, we will continue our exploration, analyzing the remaining clips from this tension-filled poker tournament.

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