"Rounders" Japanese Theatrical Poster
If you have a hobby that you’re passionate about, it can be good to watch a movie that focuses on the same interest. There’s a great film out there for all poker players that, even though it wasn’t a massive box office hit when it was released in 1998, has now gained something of a cult status amongst poker aficionados. The film is Rounders, starring Matt Damon, Ed Norton and John Malkovich, and it’s all about the world of underground poker.
Today, if you like playing poker, you can play whenever you want online – with no need to join illegal and risky games like those featured in Rounders. The introduction of online gaming into the world of gamers and the sheer diversity available online nullified many of the risk associated with gambling. Big multi-million dollar online casinos such as BGO, 32Red and 888 are offering many promotions and options from the safety of one’s home. Table poker and video poker features in the selection casino games at bgo and other online sites and there are lots of different poker varieties to choose from there. But in the world of Rounders, poker was a game played illegally and underground.
The film begins with Damon’s character Mike McDermott, a poker playing law student, losing his $30,000 bankroll to a Russian gangster called Teddy KGB (Malkovich). Rounding is when you move from city to city, playing illegal, high stakes poker games. As McDermott’s finances are wiped out by this loss, he promises his girlfriend he will quit poker and concentrate on his studies instead.
The plan changes, though, when McDermott’s childhood friend Lester ‘Worm’ Murphy (Norton) gets released from prison but only has five days to clear debts and wants McDermott to team up with him using ‘rounding’ as a way of getting the money together. McDermott agrees to help, but insists on not cheating, as Worm wants to do. Just as they almost reach the target amount, Worm is caught cheating (even though he agreed he would play straight) and does a runner, leaving his mate to deal with the consequences.
Of course, it turns out that the person Worm (and now McDermott) owes the money to is Teddy KGB, so McDermott again faces him in a showdown game of Texas Hold’em. This time he wins, not only paying off Worm’s debt but also getting back the original $30,000 that he lost. The film ends with McDermott leaving university and his girlfriend and heading off to the World Series of Poker main event in Vegas.
This leaves a perfect opening for a sequel and it’s been on the cards (excuse the pun!) for a while. Originally set for release in 2012, and then postponed to 2014, it seems that the project has been put on hold due to the fact that Miramax doesn’t think it will do well at the box office. Both Damon and Norton have been said to be keen to take part in a sequel, but it’s one of those where we’ll have to wait and see what happens. Until then, here’s the original trailer for the original Rounders.
