The trailer for the upcoming film “Runner Runner”was released recently, giving poker fans a peek at what Justin Timberlake looks like as an online poker player and how Ben Affleck portrays an evil, well-tanned online poker room owner. According to IMDB, it will be released on October 4.

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The film has been eagerly anticipated in the online poker community, not only because it revolves around the game so many of us love, but also because it was written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, the same duo who gave us the cult classic “Rounders.” Some were hoping for a “Rounders” sequel, but “Runner Runner” is not that. Instead, it is a totally separate tale of poker intrigue, this time focusing on the internet game.

In the trailer, we see Timberlake’s character, the gifted mathematics student Richie Furst, lamenting about how he can’t come close to paying his tuition without turning to online poker. A montage of him multi-tabling while his friends look on in awe follows this. Furst appears to be raking it in, but all of a sudden, he loses it all. With the help of a friend who showed him an analysis of the opponent who took his bankroll, Furst realized he was cheated.

At that point, the film almost seems like a re-enactment of the Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker cheating scandals. The win-rate of the cheater was discussed, just like it was when the real life cheating was discovered, and there was even a graph displayed on the friend’s computer that looked very much like the infamous POTRIPPER statistical outlier plot. After that, though, the film changes course and looks less like a poker movie and more like a kid-gets-involved-with-bad-guys-and-FBI-chases-them flick.

After a bridge clip in which a news anchor talks about the U.S. Department of Justice shutting down an online poker room and its kingpin, Ivan Block (Affleck, pictured), fleeing overseas, Furst flies to the tropical paradise to confront Block about what happened. Block acknowledges that company insiders have the ability to cheat and hands Furst a stack of cash to walk away. He gives him another option though: join up with the company and achieve riches beyond his wildest dreams.

From there, Furst gets caught up in a life of glamour, but is eventually nabbed by the FBI, which wants him to become an informant. The rest of the trailer shows how Furst becomes increasingly conflicted between wanting to continue traveling the path of fortune and his growing fear of Block, who has shown that he will do anything to maintain his power and lifestyle, including murder.

Reactions to the trailer in the poker community are about as mixed as can be. Many people, hoping for another “Rounder” or at least a film that stays true to the life of an online poker player, were disappointed. Comments on Two Plus Two included:

“Judging from the trailer, this will be one of the worst movies of the year. Yeeech.”

“Barf”

“Was hoping it was an online version of Rounders, not a gambling film that looks like it will end up like Fast and Furious or something.”

Others saw it for what it was, a thriller that uses poker as its vehicle. One poster wrote, “They have two things to draw people in, the poker/gambling aspect and the generic action flick with the FBI breathing down their necks. I think if it were all poker-based, no one else except hyped-up people on 2+2 would see it, so I think the balance of a generic action film while incorporating the story of poker is perfect.”

There were also the usual worries about how the film will impact society’s perception of online poker. Again, opinions differed, although one of the more thoughtful comments was the following: “I’m usually not one for any type of ‘X will be good/bad for the poker world’ analysis, but in a climate where the best case for legalizing online poker in the U.S. is based on portraying offshore sites as dirty, unregulated scum, a Hollywood movie starring J.T. (pictured) and Ben Affleck about a dirty, unregulated, scummy offshore poker site is probably a good thing.”

“Runner Runner” also stars Anthony Mackie (“The Adjustment Bureau”), Gemma Arterton(“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters”), and Ben Schwartz (“Parks and Recreation”). It is scheduled to hit theaters October 4.

What do you guys think of the movie? Will it be helpful or hurtful for online poker, or have no effect? Leave a comment below and let us know.

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