What is the Card Game in James Bond?
James Bond is one of the most infamous movie characters in the movie scene. And, games like blackjack and baccarat have certainly become more popular in casinos thanks to the exposure it received from certain scenes in the series of movies that featured James Bond.
The fact that James Bond seemed to have mastered card games with such ease in the movies made players believe that they could reach that level of skill too.
Baccarat Chemin de Fer
James Bond can be credited with popularising a number of casino games. One of these games is Baccarat Chemin de Fer. He is seen playing this variation of Baccarat in the 2006 film Casino Royale. This version of baccarat is most popular in France then and currently. Read our online baccarat guide for more details about the game.
Perhaps the most famous casino scene featuring James Bond is in the 1962 movie Dr No. To our knowledge, this is the very first Bond movie ever created. And, to show just how big of a role the casino played in establishing the Bond demeanour, the movie directors chose to shoot the opening scene in a casino. This is where the audience gets a taste of who James Bond really is- a smooth, sophisticated gentleman dressed in a black and white tux drinking a dry martini (shaken, not stirred).
He is seated at a casino table among many other players enjoying a game of baccarat. Creators of the movie say choosing this particular game for the movie was a thoughtful choice. Baccarat is often seen as a game for high rollers, and people with expensive taste. This is exactly the kind of characteristics they are hoping the Bond character represents.
Bond Transitions to Poker
In the upcoming 2021 James Bond movie, No Time to Die, he reportedly makes a shift and leaves the baccarat table for a game of Poker instead. Daniel Craig, the 2021 Bond selectee is seen playing Texas Hold’em, a popular variation of Poker. Creators of the movie claim that poker has gained massive audiences in the last 20 years, and has cemented itself as one of the best table games to play today.
In earlier years poker wasn’t a good fit for James Bond because at the time, the game was most associated with cowboys and lower-level gamblers. This didn’t correspond with the kind of social status James Bond had. Poker has grown since and is now seen as a game that requires skill and professionalism.
