Lucky You
Filmfest 2008

Much more than in older forms of poker, Texas hold’em depends on reading the other players — getting into another guy’s head and, in effect, playing his hand... Curtis Hanson has mixed the actors together with poker studs familiar from ESPN, and the atmosphere around the tables feels right — the plug-uglies from all over the map with their dark glasses and Saturday-at-the-mall clothes, the muttered sarcasms and occasional grudging compliments, the wariness and, at the best moments, the nervy calculations. When the camera hovers at the edge of the table, the intricacies of the game take over, and the pace and tension of the play make for exciting entertainment.
David Denby, The New Yorker, 2007