007 as a Poker Player

Commander James Bond aka 007 is a totally different fictional hero from others. Most men can but envy his lifestyle of danger, action, beautiful women and fast cars – under pressure he is at his sharpest, totally focusing on the task at hand however badly the odds are stacked against him.

And the odds of winning a single table sit’n’go tournament against a table full of players like other agents and Monsieur Le Chiffre, a chess prodigy and a math genius who likes to play poker just to show off his talent, are not in your favour even if you’re the best poker player in the whole M16. Yet, somehow 007 nails this challenge in Casino Royale. Here’s how BeastsOfPoker analysed Mr. Bond’s poker player capabilities:

007 relies skill rather than luck

Le Chiffre sets a trap to 007 by showing a fake tell that he is sure 007 will notice and try to exploit. This results in 007 losing his first 5 million USD buy-in in the game at quite an early stage. However, the actual hand was a total cooler, and Mr. Bond knows that he can beat Le Chiffre with skill now that Le Chiffre is out of tricks (besides the poisonous drink that makes 007 almost die by causing a cardiac arrest!). To ensure he can put his poker skills into play and make the best of it, 007 finds a new backer to start with a fresh stack and beat the other players. 007 trusted that by staying in the game, the best player can overcome the odds with a little help from luck on his side.

007 has mastered the psychology of games

Bond is on a mission to find out what Le Chiffre’s crime associate, Alex Dimitrios, is up to. While arriving the beach club, he immediately scans the environment on how to get closer to what he wants – the poker game presents a chance to do that since Alex is playing and there is one open seat. While it looks like Mr. Bond is focusing more on the arrival of the stunning Solange Dimitrios, the wife of Alex, Bond is playing 3 different games at once with a clear focus: 

1. He subtly makes sure Solange notices him at the table
2. He figures the strategy to take advantage of Alex’s arrogant style of character that makes him bet more than is wise in a single hand 
3. He focuses on not revealing the strength of his hand, flopped set of Aces, until it’s too late for Alex to back down.

The result? Winning a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 and Solange jumping on the front seat thinking she will learn more about this mysterious man full of charm, when in reality it’s Mr. Bond who will learn more about Alex through Solange.

007 is confident like a boss

When you play a hand in poker, you need to play it aggressively and be decisive in your strategy. 007 shines confidence in all the actions he takes during hands, which makes a player you don’t want to mess with if there are easier targets at the table. Besides being a great asset at the poker table, supreme confidence will get you more out of life’s other areas too. After all, who wouldn’t want appear as exciting, tough, humorous and calm as Mr. Bond?