He lives out of two small suitcases and exclusively stays in motels, where he removes any decor and covers the furniture in plain sheets secured with twine.

Cirk knows Tell's true identity: PFC William Tillich, a soldier who was tried and convicted for his role in the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.

Cirk explains that his father, Roger, was also at Abu Ghraib; like Tell, he was dishonorably discharged and served time, but the experience led him to drug addiction and made him violently abusive.

Gordo trained Tillich and the elder Baufort in "enhanced interrogation techniques" but as he was involved as a "civilian consultant" avoided charges or culpability.

He expresses a desire to go on the World Series of Poker (WSOP) tour in order to win enough money to help Cirk cover his debts and start a new life, after which Tell will retire.

After early WSOP matches, Tell makes money but loses to Mr. USA, an obnoxious Ukrainian player who has taken on a jingoistic American persona.

He bonds with Cirk and feels a growing attraction to La Linda but avoids getting too close as he continues making money gambling.

[6][7] On March 16, 2020, production on the film was paused after an actor with a small role who had flown in from Los Angeles tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic.

[10] In July 2020, Focus Features acquired distribution rights to the film in the U.S., U.K., France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, China, Southeast Asia (excluding Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and television), Japan, South Korea, Latin America and worldwide airlines.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Led by Oscar Isaac's gripping performance, The Card Counter adds another weighty chapter to Paul Schrader's long inquiry into man's moral responsibility.

"[18] For The Atlantic, David Sims also praised the film as a compelling, impressive character study with larger implications as a metaphor for "America's struggle to overcome its grimmest failures.

"[19] In a three-star review for The Washington Post, Ann Hornaday had a mixed response to the film and criticized it for being occasionally perfunctory and tedious, overly schematic and missing polish.