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Paul Newman and Robert Redford are among the most beloved actors of their generations. Both stars are people whose entrepreneurial prowess has developed almost as notable a reputation as their acting abilities. Born in 1925, Newman began acting in the 1950s. He was known for roles in films such as The Hustler and The Verdict, and won an Oscar for Best Actor for The Color of Money. In 1982, he founded the food company Newman’s Own, which makes a variety of products including salad dressing and cookies. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 83.
Now 88 years old, Redford is still alive and working today. Like Newman, he began his acting career many decades ago and won one Oscar, in his case for his behind-the-scenes role directing Ordinary People. Redford is also known for founding the Sundance Institute in 1981, which still runs the now mega-popular independent film festival, the Sundance Film Festival. In 1973, Newman and Redford were in a poker film together, whose accuracy is now under the evaluation of an expert.
The Sting Is Fairly Accurate
It Shows Cheating In Cards
The Sting gets an accuracy rating from a card playing professional. The 1973 crime caper is about a duo of grifters who team together to execute a huge con. In addition to Redford and Newman, the film features a leading cast including Charles Durning, Robert Shaw, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, and Harold Gould. The film won multiple Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, and Best Original Score. The movie also did really well at the box office, making $156 million on an estimated $5.5 million budget.
In an interview with Insider, poker pro Darren Elias evaluates the accuracy of The Sting. While Elias admitted that “cheating can happen” in games that 5-card draw, which the characters are playing in The Sting, he took issue with other mechanics. For example, a character says “I’ll call you 500, and raise you another thousand,” which would technically be an illegal move called string betting. Overall, Elias gave The Sting a 7 out of 10 for accuracy. Check out his full quote below:
Going to sneak in the cold deck here. So looks like we’re playing 5 card draw here, again. Which is common in these older movies in the Westerns, to be playing 5 card draw. So this is pre-draw. So we see Paul Newman has three of a kind.
I will say that this method of betting, you see it a lot in movies, ‘I’ll call you 500, and raise you another thousand,’ or ‘call your thousand, and raise you more money.’ That is technically illegal, that’s string betting. Where as soon as you say ‘I call the bet’ and you put your money in the middle, then you’re not allowed to raise. So, if you are going to raise, your first action needs to be to raise. In reality it would just be ‘raise to $2,000 or something like that.’
So a bit of a cheating, cheaterverse cheater scenario here. Where the player with the four nines had kind of set up the deck or had it rigged, and Paul Newman would have four 3s. And then Paul Newman pulled a fast one here and somehow switched in four jacks. A little unrealistic because cheaters are usually very attuned to what’s going on, and catching other players cheating, because there so used to doing it themselves. I would give this a 7 out of 10, just because the cheating can happen.
What This Means For The Sting
The Sting Has Stood The Test Of Time
The Sting was not the highest-rated cards movie in Elias’ eyes. The poker professional thought higher of the 2008 based-on-a-true-story drama 21, which he gave a 9 out of 10 for accuracy. Released in 1973, The Sting was put out during a time when audiences were not as easily able to fact-check content, perhaps encouraging some of the slight inaccuracies. That ultimately did not harm the film’s impact or legacy, as it won many awards and is a key part of the careers of two great actors.
Source: Insider / YouTube
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