As far back as the movies about poker go when it comes to gambling scenes more often than not it centers around someone cheating at the game of cards. In the old Western movies you could pretty well tell what was going to go down from these card scenes before it even happened. This sort of old hat type of movie made Kaleidoscope one of the best movies about gambling ever made.

One has to admit the plot to this movie was really innovative. Warren Beatty played the part of Barney Lincoln who came up with this wild idea to mark the plates that the card manufacturers were using to make the playing cards. This all came about after he discovered that all of the major Casinos purchased their cards from the same manufacturer. What a golden opportunity this was. Barney marks the cards and travels the world playing at places that use his kaleidoscope cards and bringing in tons of cash.

A Cheater Playing For His Life
Now comes the intriguing part of the story. It’s not long before Barney's secret is discovered. His girlfriend happens to be the daughter of a Scotland Yard detective. If one thinks the story ends there then you are in for a big surprise.

Throughout the course of the movie in order to save himself from ending up in jail, he must help the Inspector nab a criminal by the name of Harry Dominion. So as not to spoil the rest of the movie for those that didn't see let it be enough to say that one of the most high stakes poker games possible makes up the crux of this movie. It literally comes down to a life or death play. When it comes down to poker in movies, this is one of those poker films that really depict this intriguing game.