Question: When Gondorf produces four Jacks as the winning poker hand, how does he know four Jacks will be good enough to win? The most likely way he can produce the four Jacks is that he has that hand hidden somewhere and can get to it anytime he needs it. Wouldn't it have been smarter to have four Kings or four Aces or a straight flush available?

The Sting (1973)
1 answered question since 4 Mar '25, 03:43
Directed by: George Roy Hill
Starring: Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Charles Durning, Robert Shaw, Dana Elcar, Robert Earl Jones
Factual error: When Hooker comes out of the diner there is a billboard advertisement to the right. It is for Ezra Brooks bourbon. Ezra Brooks brand wasn't created until 1957.
Doyle Lonnegan: Not only are you a cheat, you're a gutless cheat, as well.
Trivia: Even though it sets the mood for the film, Scott Joplin's ragtime music was no longer popular during the 1930s.
Question: What horse actually won the race that Lonigan bets on Lucky Dan to win?
Chosen answer: I watched this the other night and specifically listened for what horse won the race that Lucky Dan was running in. It is never revealed who the winner is, because while the fake announcer in the back room is calling the race, the F.B.I. agents raid the building. During the ensuing chaos, shouting, and gunfire, it is impossible to hear the broadcast over the noise.
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Answer: He knows (from intelligence gathered by JJ) that Lonnegan's go-to cheat is to stack a deck to give himself (Lonnegan) four nines and his opponent four threes. Therefore, he knows that giving himself four jacks will beat it.