Its ****. The story's ****. The characters are ****. The sets are ****. Its just total **** from start to finish.But don't let that stop you from watching this blockbuster. Especially if you like poker like myself. There's a lot to learn. Ever wondered why poker tables are all pretty much the standard one size? This film will put your mind at rest in that department. No more sleepless nights. The table used in this film must have been picked up from the skip round the back of Buckingham Palace. The f***ing thing probably doubled up as a green screen.Any then there's the story. Its the same old usual story. Man loses money. Man steals money to cover his losses. Man gets chased for said money by a guy with heavy socks. Man finds out his girlfriend once shagged his boss. Man somehow squeezes his way out of trouble by talking ****.Then to top it off the final battle. The ultimate showdown. The big game.....20 chips no limit. I was on the edge of my f***ing seat at this point. The noose was around my neck and I was just about to jump and then BOOOOM the final hand. The only hand. With absolutely **** all on the line. The intensity. Then everyone gets shot. Standard.In all honesty I was fully erect throughout. Worth a watch. Peace.

A few yeas ago I used to play a lot of poker, online and otherwise, so I may have a different take on this movie than most. To start off, I liked the movie overall. I'm not too sure what all the negative reviews are about.Let's start with the lead actor, Stefano Gallo. He plays Bobby, a down on his luck player who just can't seen to do anything right. He steal from his sick mother in order to play more poker. He is an unlikable character, but guess what, there are plenty of unlikable people in the gambling world. Not all movies characters have to be likable. If Paul Rudd was in the lead this would probably be a different film.And Gallo does an admirable job; it is really hard to root for his character because he plays a bastard so well.Next, let's talk about the plot. Yes, it is similar to many other "gambling films" that have come out in the past. Rounders, 21, Runner Runner, etc; they all have similar plots. What Cold Deck does not have is their budget. For a small budget film director, Zack Bernbaum, does a solid job. Paul Sorvino delivers a great performance as Chips, the "kingpin" of this particular group of lowlifes. He is essentially playing the Teddy KGB role in this film.Nearly all gambling films share many of the same plot points so aspects of this film will seem familiar. The only difference between Cold Deck and the others is the budget. So, I will recommend this film for those of us who like gambling stories and who like seeing character who are flawed but still human.

Honestly I was really expecting at least something decent from the initial ratings and the various comments/reviews that I read through here, but probably they were just the effort of the relatives of the actors that participated, cause I really don't understand how would someone express praise for such flat movie, with uninspiring typical plot full of naivety and such mediocre performances. There's really nothing worthwhile in it, something that would make it stand out of the countless other movies with similar theme, not even the abs of the protagonist that would had surely dazzled every female adolescent out there, thus explaining the high rating.The scenario was full of holes and everything, from the production to the directing and the dialogue, seemed poorly made, while the acting was far from adequate.3/10 and that because I'm feeling generous.

I had to edit this review at my absolute disgust at the IMDb rating of 8 out of 10 given to this lacklustre, clichéd movie. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) got 8.3/10 -a masterpiece. It is disgraceful that people are blatantly lying on this website and falsely boosting the ratings to make people think this is some poker genre masterpiece. I have changed my rating to one, to express my annoyance. First off, I was pleased and thanked God this movie only ran for 80 minutes, it was an extremely flimsy attempt at cashing in on the whole poker genre.The story line was extremely weak with no substance. Similar to the movie The Gambler, we are introduced to a complete loser, a loser so bad, he steals his mother's life savings in order to play in a high stakes poker game. He loses of course to the owner of a gambling club where he has lost all his money. This guy (Paul Sorvino) wins $250,000 that night, is a rich man, but somehow persuades the loser to break into the game later and steal the $250,000 on offer, for which he will get $100,000. Are you getting this ? You take all the risk, break the law, risk getting killed or arrested and then after, hand over $150,000 to somebody who suggested you should do a robbery ! No sense at all. This loser has a smoking hot blonde babe girlfriend ,who loves him despite being a total loser, a mum who forgives him. A deceased dad who was a loser gambler as well. The finale was ridiculous in so many ways, somehow everyone dies, and he just escapes scot free from the situation in order to reform himself and suddenly decide to enrol in college and do a degree in electrical engineering or something. No questions about his debts, his mother's huge medical bills and nursing costs. No, just one big happy ending. Personally, I would have been happier to see the guy die. As before I give this movie 1/10 for the blatant lies of reviewers trying to boost this movies ratings.