Newsmaker

Gambling is one of the more popular activities for adults. This is why it is often depicted in movies. There are films that are completely centered around gambling or going to a casino and there are some that use this as a backdrop in one or two scenes. Either way, it has earned a prominent place within the film industry.

Unfortunately, not every depiction presented in movies is accurate. In fact, many of them are quite far-fetched, almost absurd in how they present them. Here are six examples of common misconceptions about gambling that are often depicted within movies.

Gambling Tends To Lead To Problems
There is this weird perception that every gambler is somewhat addicted to gambling that can't or doesn't want to stop playing their favorite games. This is just not true. While there are some people like that those people usually are a fairly small percentage of gamblers.

The fact is that playing online is a very popular choice for gamblers. There are the same incredible table games, slot machines, and other options at an online casino that you would find at a land-based one. Plus, many find that it is much more enjoyable to play online where they do not have all of the distractions that come with going to the casino. No smoke-filled room, loud noises, or bothering some people.

There were also those who do not have the opportunity to visit a land-based casino because they are not available in their country or region where they live. In Pakistan, for example, online gambling is the only available option. People tend to use online platforms, since only those sites are legal in the country, and based on our research online-gambling.com/pakistan/ seems to be the most popular site for Pakistani players looking to gamble safely.

The Mafia Is Always Involved
This is the most common misconception presented in filmс. It always seems like there is some large syndicate operating the casino behind the scenes like in the movie Casino. The sad part is that it does not matter where the film is created. This always seems to be the standard depiction of casinos.

What many people do not realize is that there are stringent laws governing gambling in every country or region you visit. The vast majority of these countries thoroughly vet any operator seeking to earn a license to operate a casino. A license is required. Therefore, background checks are taken to ensure that there is no link to criminal activity at all.

What you will find is that operators and CEOs who are accused of any kind of malfeasance are often barred from continuing to run and operate these facilities. Government agencies do not want even the slightest hint of illegal activity going on in an industry that seems ripe for corruption. Therefore, they take the greatest of action to prevent this from occurring. This is why you should not buy into the Hollywood hype regarding gangsters and casinos.

The Big Pot Poker Hands
It does not matter whether you are watching a James Bond movie, an old western, or even a comedy, there always seems to be a big pot involved in the action. Hollywood loves the poker game where the pot is tens of thousands of dollars, maybe even millions of dollars.

The truth is that this is a complete myth. While there have been games that have had large pots, the truth is that most of these play for several thousand dollars at most. Even at high stakes tables, there is very rarely ever winning hands that earned a player hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This only happens at tables with the highest stakes and where there are a select group of players who have tens of thousands of dollars to waste. That is a rarity, something that may happen at any casino three times a year.

You Have to Be a Savant to Count Cards
Rain Man created one of the worst myths regarding gambling. That is that it takes some kind of super intelligence or brain abnormality that allows a person to be able to count cards. It is perceived as something so incredibly difficult that only a super genius can successfully accomplish.

That is just not the case at all. The truth is that you have to have a good memory and have spent some time training your brain on how to count cards. There are some people who are not particularly smart who have become quite skilled at the art of card counting. In fact, two well-known Hollywood actors have gotten especially good at this technique to the point where they are barred from most casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

The reason they are so good at this is they are used to remembering hundreds of lines. They know how to process information in their minds quickly to remember what cards have been played and what is still available. It is not that they are particularly intelligent. It is that they have good memories. That is often all you need to be successful. That being said, counting cards is illegal in most places and casino owners can and will kick you out of the casino if they have suspicions that you are counting the cards.

Counters Always Win
Another really bad misconception is that card counters always win. This is simply not true. Consider the fact that decks are reshuffled continuously, maybe even after every hand. In fact, in online casinos they are shuffled after every hand. That means that a player's card counting skills are negated. It makes for a nice movie scene, but it simply is not reality.

Goons Take You Out When You Win
Everyone has seen this before. A guy is doing particularly well at a table and the next thing you know he is being hauled out and dropped in a river or beaten up severely. First of all, the casino owners or president are not sitting at a screen watching people play all day long. They have other things to do, including running a successful casino. Therefore, they are not waiting to see who wins so they can take their money away from them.

Secondly, casinos are expected to run legal operations where people have the opportunity to win money. There are no goons waiting to rough someone up. There are security staff to prevent theft and robberies, but they are not there to stop people from winning money.

Keep in mind that these make for nice stories and movies. People like to think that there is a seedy side to gambling, but these are businesses. They are licensed and operate under a code of conduct. Sorry to ruin the myths for you.