Rounders fizzled in theaters, but is now a poker bible

CNN ^ | Posted: Tuesday May 24, 2005 3:43PM; Updated: Wednesday May 25, 2005 1:37PM | By John Walters, SI.com

[.cnI redruM]

Rounders was born too soon. When the film debuted in September of 1998, televised poker was a once-a-year, one-hour proposition on ESPN. Online gambling sites virtually didn't exist. College students were still gambling on sporting events or in fantasy leagues. And so Rounders, starring Damon as a law student whose real talent is poker, never became a zeitgeist film. It never did for poker what Saturday Night Fever did for disco.

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Ebert, a casual poker player himself, astutely observed that Rounders is anything but a cautionary tale. "If this movie was about alcoholism," he wrote, "the hero would regain consciousness after the DTs and order another double."

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But this is the age of DVD. And on home video Rounders has found, if not a massive audience, then at least a fiercely loyal one among college-aged men. And why not? While the film's plot is rote, the characters and the feel of Jonathan Dahl's film is genuine.

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And so, seven years after its initial release, Rounders is more popular than ever. It may be the most influential recruiting film to hit college campuses since Top Gun.

[.cnI redruM]

"Listen, here's the thing: If you can't spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker."

-- Opening line from the film Rounders, as spoken by Mike McDermott (Matt Damon)

I played too often myself when I wore the BDUs. The worst experience I ever had in poker is the night I won and kept on winning. This guy I had been buddies first started talking about how poor his wife and kids were and then started looking at me like he intended to kill me. It almost got too real. That was it for myself and Texas No Limit Hold 'Em.

[JimSEA]

I guess I am showing my age because to me the only memory is of Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda in ROUNDERS -- Howdy, Howdy.

[Phantom Lord]

I think its a wonderful movie.

Regarding your comments about the "poor" guy and his losing money, my friend is also not the wealthiest guy around and he has a young daughter and a new born son. 4 days after his son was born we were playing at his brother in laws house. After taking several large pots down that he was the only caller to the river I said, "your baby needs a new pair of shoes, but not tonight."

He laughed it off and knew it was a joke.

There are NO FRIENDS at the table. NONE. I will take your last penny and feel no guilt about it. And if you take my last penny, you should feel no guilt.

All of us know that after the chit chat stops and the cards are dealt we are all enemies.

The games are friendly, the ball busting and sarcasm is non-stop, but the play is as serious as it gets.

[.cnI redruM]

I guess I just wondered whether the game was going to end when we all went home that night. After that experience, I decided you never really knew what someone would do if you did take more than they could afford.

I didn't always get cards like I did that night, but I also didn't want to end up a homicide victim for playing a game too well.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I don't play cards for money because I feel bad when I lose and I feel bad when I win.

I feel good if I don't play though.

[AppyPappy]

I will take your last penny and feel no guilt about it.

You see a man's weakness and you exploit it for your own gain, hiding behind the facade of "the game".

[Phantom Lord]

Your right. It depends heavily on who you are playing with and what their ability to seperate real life and the game is like.

And that is one of the things I love about No Limit Hold Em. You don't need cards! I have had some of my best tournament finishes when I have gotten squat for cards. And there is nothing like catching a full house on the river when you were forced to go all-in in the big blind with 2-7 off suit. I have done that once and the guy I was in the pot against about exploded when the 7 hit on the river for me to beat his trips.

I won't tell the whole story, but I once took down a $48,000 pot in a tournament with 9-5 offsuit. Caught four 9s and had two full houses betting into me!

[Phantom Lord]

You see a man's weakness and you exploit it for your own gain, hiding behind the facade of "the game"

Not at all. Every player at the table knows he has a chance of leaving with nothing long before they ever sit down.

[.cnI redruM]

>>>>>I love about No Limit Hold Em. You don't need cards!

Unless your opponent is really good at doing math in his head, and the game has no wilds, you pretty much don't need cards to win most poker games. I think a lot of it is having a dominant air about yourself. You look like a winner and the losers all run from you before they make you have to prove it.

[Phantom Lord]

I don't know if they have it in your area. And if they don't see if you can get some bars to join.

World Tavern Poker Tour

Play in No Limit Texas Hold 'Em evets at your favorite tavern for free.

[Phantom Lord]

A players reputation is his greatest weapon.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Play in No Limit Texas Hold 'Em evets at your favorite tavern for free.

I'd rather mow the lawn.

[Phantom Lord]

I rather play cards and drink beer than do yard work. Your one screwed up guy! LOL!

[1Old Pro]

but I also didn't want to end up a homicide victim for playing a game too well.

Then play for pennies a game.

[.cnI redruM]

In retrospect, I think some people were putting most of their paycheck on the line every two weeks....

If you don't put more in the Stock Market than you can afford to lose, you sure don't put it on a card table.

[Ignatz]

Some poker observations:

• Poker money ain't got no home.
• Texas Hold 'Em is more about the betting than it is about the cards.
• It's 90% odds and 10% luck - but that 10% can sting like the dickens!

[ladtx]

[ThinkDifferent]

A players reputation is his greatest weapon

Indeed. I have an ultra-tight image among the guys I play with, which is generally correct, but it often lets me win pots with bluffs at critical moments.

[AppyPappy]

After WWW2, my father became a professional gambler. He gambled for a living for several years. If the pot got too low, he sold a car for his dad and salted the pot with it. He always told me "Never gamble with more than you can afford to lose" and "Never gamble with a man that you know is losing too much".

My dad quit when men started throwing their marriage licenses into the pot. For the rest of his life, he only gambled little amounts at Gin Rummy or Poker in the locker room of the Country Club. And he did it everyday until the brain tumor took away the ability to play.

The guy across the table is your friend. You can play against him but he is still your friend. If you ever forget that, it's no longer a game.

[MarkL]

Something I learned long ago is that you announce BEFORE YOU START PLAYING what time you're going to be leaving the table.

There's nothing worse than holding everyone elses' money and saying, "well, I guess it's time for me to leave."

Mark