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.

-----snip-----

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."

-----snip-----

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.

-----snip-----

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.

[ThanhPhero]

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

That is how poker is played. People who can't do that lose when they sit down.Anyone without that attitude should limit himself to canasta and do his gambling solely on the scoresheet.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

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

It's also why I don't have as many X-wives as you.

BWAAA-HAAA-HAAA-HAAA!!!!

[Phantom Lord]

I have no ex-wives, but have a wife available cheap.

[Phantom Lord]

We normally start playing at 7:30. One of the regulars has to get up at 4 AM for work. It is well known that 10 PM is his quitting time.

Nothing is worse than the case you state, but what annoys me even more is players who get up a good amount and then stop playing. They throw away solid hands and sacrafice their blinds just so they don't lose what they have won.

[Phantom Lord]

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.

In our friendly home games, yes. In tournaments where a friend ends up at my table, no. And in tournaments where I don't know anyone, or only casually know them from playing, no. In home games I am invited to for my reputation to give action, no. I want nothing more than to destroy them. Pound them and take their chips until they have none. Period. End of story.

[Gunrunner2]

>>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.<<

Well said.