Music isn't only the food of love, it's also one of the most effective ways of focusing your mind.
Lemmy, Elvis, Madonna, ABBA, and many more musicians know the importance of focus when you're gambling and they've used this as the inspiration to write some of the finest songs to listen to when you're placing a bet.
Whether you’re seeking a playlist while playing at an online casino, or pining for some great tunes while you’re at a land casino, these are the best gambling and poker songs – according to Online Casinos.
Ace Of Spades by Motörhead
It features one of the most recognisable bass and guitar intros in rock, helped invent thrash metal, and is an anthem for whiskey-and-coke-soaked debauchery (nine parts Jack, one part coke).
But that’s not the only reason to adore Ace Of Spades – as the name suggests, it’s one of the finest gambling and poker songs in history. Why because as the lead singer Lemmy sings “you win some you lose some, it’s all the same to me,” namely, the main thing to remember when you’re gambling is that you have fun.
Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley
He’s ‘The King’ – the owner of the finest quiff in history, snake hips in music, and a voice that few would fail to recognise. Elvis Presley can also lay claim to one of the finest casino songs you’ll ever hear – Viva Las Vegas.
It’s delightfully paced and features shaking percussion to perfectly soundtrack dice being tossed onto a craps table – special mention goes to San Francisco punk icons Dead Kennedys for their brilliant cover of the track.
Angeles by Elliott Smith
The crown prince of indie-folk and Portland’s answer to Kurt Cobain (despite being born in Texas), Elliott Smith’s lyrics are better-known for self evisceration than gambling tropes – However, Angeles is where the two meet.
The song is a musing on the gamble of playing the music industry, one where the suits hold all the aces and when you “add up all the cards [you have] left to play” you’re left with “zero” – words that show the best casino songs must recognise the losses from gambling as keenly as the winnings.
The Winner Takes It All by ABBA
You can take your Moomins, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and Bluetooth and file them under the category of honourable losers – ABBA are Scandinavia’s greatest contribution to humanity, fact (we’re not prepared to have any further discussion on the topic).
A bigger hit factory than Muhammed Ali’s right fist, The Winner Takes It All is a gritty ditty on how the dying embers of romance suck the warmth from your life – when you’ve “played all my cards” and have “no more ace to play,” words that hold resonance for gamblers and make this one of the finest casino songs.
Roll Of The Dice by Bruce Springsteen
Is there any topic ‘The Boss’ can’t cover as a songwriter? Nope, not a single one. Bruce Springsteen opens by revealing that he’s been a “losin' gambler/just throwin' snake eyes” – Brucey, it happens to the best of us.
But, ever the romantic, Roll Of The Dice sees The Boss gambling on winning back a lover’s affections. Did the dice come up for Bruce? Who knows. But what’s certain is that this is a song that wouldn’t be out of place in any casino.
Gambler by Madonna
We’ll admit, Gambler might not be on the musical radar of anyone beyond the hardest of hardcore Madonna fans – guilty, as charged – but that takes nothing away from its quality, as one of the best casino songs.
Its opening line, “I'm a gambler, and I will take you by surprise,” is one that poker players will emphasise with – it’s the situation you want to be in when the river card drops, so that you can stack your opponent.
Poker Face by Lady Gaga
If Madonna was pop’s great female gambler of the 80s and 90s, Lady Gaga is the queen who has picked the crown from Madge’s bonce in the second millenium. And, as she shows in her breakthrough song, she can be trusted to write one of the best casino songs.
The title of Poker Face tells you everything you need to know about its connection to gambling – it’s the ability to stare down your opponent and convince them that you’re stronger than they are, whether you hold all the cards or if you’re simply playing a great big, stinkin’ bluff.
Big Casino by Jimmy Eat World
Emo stalwarts Jimmy Eat World hail from Arizona, a state that shares a border with the spiritual home of casinos – Nevada, the residence of Las Vegas. It makes sense then that Jimmy Eat World would have it in them to write one of the best casino songs you’ll ever hear.
Big Casino opens the band’s sixth studio album, Chase This Light. It features the chugging riffs and achingly catchy hooks that have given Jimmy Eat World a career lasting over a quarter of a century. And the lyrics? It’s about taking success with good grace (“I'll accept with poise with grace/When they draw my name from the lottery”), something it’s good to remember when you’re in a casino!
Frankly, there are too many great gambling songs to fit happily into one article. While you might not agree with some of our picks (after all, music is a matter of opinion), Online Casinos think these are all worthy to be classed among the best casino songs you’ll ever hear.
