Movies like Rounders (1998)
The best movies like Rounders (1998) are The Grifters (1990), House of Games (1987) and 21 (2008). If Rounders hooked you with its drama and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCasino (1995)8.0/10 from 6,860 votes
- NewestBallad of a Small Player (2025)Released 2025
The Grifters (1990)
A small-time conman has his loyalties torn between his estranged mother and his new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Games (1987)
A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this21 (2008)
Ben Campbell is a young, highly intelligent student at M.I.T. who strives to succeed. Wanting a scholarship to transfer to Harvard School of Medicine to become a doctor, Ben learns that he cannot afford the $300,000 tuition as he comes from a poor, working-class background. But one evening, Ben is introduced by his unorthodox math professor to a small but secretive club of five students, Jill, Choi, Kianna, and Fisher, who are being trained by Professor Rosa to count cards at blackjack.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCroupier (1998)
Jack Manfred is an aspiring writer who to make ends meet, takes a job as a croupier. Jack remains an observer, knowing that everything in life is a gamble and that gamblers are born to lose. Inevitably, he gets sucked into the world of the casino which takes its toll on his relationships and the novel he is writing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard Eight (1997)
A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
Cosmo Vittelli, the proprietor of a sleazy, low-rent Hollywood cabaret, has a real affection for the women who strip in his peepshows and the staff who keep up his dingy establishment. He also has a major gambling problem that has gotten him in trouble before. When Cosmo loses big-time at an underground casino run by mobster Mort, he isn't able to pay up. Mort then offers Cosmo the chance to pay back his debt by knocking off a pesky, Mafia-protected bookie.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Spanish Prisoner (1997)
An inventor of a secret process suddenly finds himself alone as both his friends and the corporation he works for turn against him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gambler (2014)
Literature professor Jim Bennett leads a secret life as a high-stakes gambler. Always a risk-taker, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Staying one step ahead, he pits his creditor against the operator of an illicit gambling ring while garnering the attention of Frank, a paternalistic loan shark. As his relationship with a student deepens, Bennett must risk everything for a second chance.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Black Dahlia (2006)
In 1940s Los Angeles, two former boxers-turned-cops must grapple with corruption, narcissism, stag films and family madness as they pursue the killer of an aspiring young actress.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCalifornia Split (1974)
Carefree single guy Charlie Waters rooms with two lovely prostitutes, Barbara Miller and Susan Peters, and lives to gamble. Along with his glum betting buddy, Bill Denny, Charlie sets out on a gambling streak in search of the ever-elusive big payday. While Charlie and Bill have some lucky moments, they also have to contend with serious setbacks that threaten to derail their hedonistic betting binge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasino (1995)
In Las Vegas, two best friends-a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Color of Money (1986)
Former pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson decides he wants to return to the game by taking a pupil. He meets talented but green Vincent Lauria and proposes a partnership. As they tour pool halls, Eddie teaches Vincent the tricks of scamming, but he eventually grows frustrated with Vincent's showboat antics, leading to an argument and a falling-out. Eddie takes up playing again and soon crosses paths with Vincent as an opponent.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Underneath (1995)
A recovering gambling addict attempts to reconcile with his family and friends but finds trouble and temptation when caught between feelings for his ex-wife and her dangerous hoodlum boyfriend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gambler (1974)
New York City English professor Axel Freed outwardly seems like an upstanding citizen. But privately Freed is in the clutches of a severe gambling addiction that threatens to destroy him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMississippi Grind (2015)
Gerry is a talented but down-on-his-luck gambler whose fortunes begin to change when he meets Curtis, a younger, highly charismatic poker player. The two strike up an immediate friendship and Gerry quickly persuades his new friend to accompany him on a road trip to a legendary high stakes poker game in New Orleans. As they make their way down the Mississippi River, Gerry and Curtis manage to find themselves in just about every bar, racetrack, casino, and pool hall they can find, experiencing both incredible highs and dispiriting lows, but ultimately forging a deep and genuine bond that will stay with them long after their adventure is over.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMolly's Game (2017)
Molly Bloom, a young skier and former Olympic hopeful becomes a successful entrepreneur (and a target of an FBI investigation) when she establishes a high-stakes, international poker game.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTwo for the Money (2005)
A former college athlete joins forces with a sports consultant to handicap football games for high-rolling gamblers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBallad of a Small Player (2025)
Amid the glittering casinos of Macau, a gambler running from his past—and his debts—becomes fascinated by an enigmatic woman at the baccarat table.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRunner Runner (2013)
When a poor college student who cracks an online poker game goes bust, he arranges a face-to-face with the man he thinks cheated him, a sly offshore entrepreneur.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWinning Streak (2012)
Winning Streak is the astonishing story of a group of young down-and-outs who are presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; to change their luck and set off on the adventure of their lives. Thanks to an infallible method based on the roulette wheel’s imperfection, their lifestyle is about to become better than their wildest dreams, as they set out to break the banks at casinos around the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOwning Mahowny (2003)
Dan Mahowny was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At twenty-four he was assistant manager of a major branch in the heart of Toronto's financial district. To his colleagues he was a workaholic. To his customers, he was astute, decisive and helpful. To his friends, he was a quiet, but humorous man who enjoyed watching sports on television. To his girlfriend, he was shy but engaging. None of them knew the other side of Dan Mahowny--the side that executed the largest single-handed bank fraud in Canadian history, grossing over $10 million in eighteen months to feed his gambling obsession.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sting (1973)
A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCold Deck (2015)
When a poker player hits rock bottom he enlists his best friend to pull off a high-stakes heist.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Hustle (2013)
A conman and his seductive partner are forced to work for a wild FBI agent, who pushes them into a world of Jersey power-brokers and the Mafia.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cooler (2003)
Bernie works at a Las Vegas casino, where he uses his innate ability to bring about misfortune in those around him to jinx gamblers into losing. His imposing boss, Shelly Kaplow, is happy with the arrangement. But Bernie finds unexpected happiness when he begins dating attractive waitress Natalie Belisario.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Roller: The Stu Ungar Story (2003)
Based on the true story of the rise and fall of poker legend Stu "The Kid" Ungar.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Poolhall Junkies (2002)
A retired pool hustler is forced to pick up the stick again when his brother starts a game he can't finish.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlow (2001)
The story of how George Jung, together with the Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, established the billion-dollar cocaine empire in the United States in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Rounders?
The closest matches to Rounders are The Grifters (1990), House of Games (1987) and 21 (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Rounders?
People who watched Rounders most often go on to The Grifters (1990), House of Games (1987) and 21 (2008).
What is the highest-rated movie like Rounders?
Casino (1995), rated 8.0/10 by 6,860 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Rounders?
Ballad of a Small Player (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Rounders?
Yes: The Grifters (1990), House of Games (1987) and 21 (2008).
How are movies similar to Rounders chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Rounders, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.