For many years now, poker has featured in blockbuster movies. Occasionally, it is even the pinnacle of movies, such as in Casino Royale (2006) and Maverick (1994). This got us thinking: are there celebrities out there who love playing poker in real life? Well, yes there is. In fact, there's a surprising amount of A-List celebs who love the game, four of which we've investigated below.

Ben Affleck

Although Ben Affleck may be the newest actor to join the legendary list of Batman actors, his love for poker suggests that he may have made a better James Bond. If only he was from the UK, right?

Our Oscar-winning actor and director is renowned throughout the celebrity world for his poker skills as well as his friendly demeanour during poker tournaments. In fact, Affleck has even waived his usual $1 million appearance fee in the past to attend a cruise ship big poker tournament, though unfortunately homeland security decided it was too difficult to helicopter him in. Still, when he does manage to attend a game he is apparently very amicable, at least according to Vanity Fair's Molly "Poker Princess" Bloom who hosted a Hollywood poker game a few years ago.

Tobey Maguire

While Batman may be a nice guy at the table, this Spiderman actor seems to be a bit of a shark at the table. Although, this is not necessarily in the same way poker pro Bruno Kawauti is regarded as a shark due to his cool, calm and yet predatory player style.

According to sources, while Maguire may have been a great player, he was quite a sore loser. Molly Bloom has stated in the past that she felt the need to mould entire poker games around Toby Maguire - who she referred to as Hannibal Lecter - as he was such an unpleasant participant. Even though he received one of the largest wins in the game, Maguire apparently pinched pennies, tipped way under the margin and even asked Bloom to climb the table and make seal noises for a $1,000 chip.

Michael Phelps

We hope Michael Phelps like jokes because we imagine he's heard more than a few around the poker table about him being a fish. Not only does the sensational swimmer have over 20 Olympic medals, it turns out he is also an avid poker player. He is even thought to be co-hosting a celebrity poker game after the 2017 Superbowl.

While his winnings may not be enormous (but do come to $7216), he can often be found at the World Series where he spends time with professional poker player Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari. In fact, it's thought that Phelps met many of his closest friends around a poker table.

Matt Damon

If you've seen this actor's movie Rounders (1998), then you probably won't be shocked to learn that he loves playing poker. Matt Damon took this starring role so seriously that he spent around $25,000 preparing by sitting in on many poker games. Since then, he has said on a few occasions that he enjoys playing poker and even did quite well in both the 2008 and 2010 World Series. As you'll see in the video above, he even played with his good friend and fellow poker player Ben Affleck in the 2009 Series.

Fortunately for fans of Damon, it is well known throughout the celebrity poker world that he is an extremely friendly player, which could be down to his nature or because he clearly regards poker as a hobby rather than a profession.