rounders

Director: john dahl

Actor: matt damon,edward norton,gretchen mol,john malkovich

Data Published: Fri Sep 11 1998

Genres: Crime,Drama

Key Words: poker,gambling,gambling debt,blonde,lingerie

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0128442/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rounders_(film)

Description: Rounders is a movie starring Matt Damon, Edward Norton, and Gretchen Mol. A young, reformed gambler must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks, while balancing his relationship with his girlfriend...

Plot: Gifted poker player and law student Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) dreams of playing in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. To do so, Mike moves up in stakes, risking his entire $30,000 bankroll while playing Texas hold 'em at an underground poker room, run by Teddy "KGB" (John Malkovich), a Russian mobster. Distracted by his dreams of playing in Vegas, an overconfident Mike loses his entire bankroll in a hand against KGB when Mike goes all-in and KGB instantly calls the bet (Mike's full house of 9's over Aces loses to KGB's higher full house of Aces over 9's). Shaken and distraught, Mike decides to quit poker and decides to concentrate on law school, while promising his girlfriend and fellow law student Jo (Gretchen Mol) that he will no longer play. Mentor and fellow rounder Joey Knish (John Turturro) offers to stake Mike to help rebuild his bankroll; Mike declines and instead accepts a part-time job driving a delivery truck for Knish to make ends meet. Mike focuses on school and work until his childhood friend Lester "Worm" Murphy (Edward Norton) is released from prison. While Mike is an honest card player who believes he can win playing straight, Worm is a hustler who often cheats to win and is unapologetic about it. Mike learns that Worm owes an outstanding debt that he incurred before his incarceration. In order to help Worm, Mike sets Worm up with a variety of poker games to play in across town, while Mike reluctantly plays in one game, which interferes with Mike's studies and hurts his relationship with Jo. Mike sets Worm up at the Chesterfield Club, in order to build a bankroll to pay his debt, and allows Worm to play on Mike's credit. Worm borrows $2,000 on Mike's credit and eventually wins $8,000; however, as he's cashing out, Worm takes the full $10,000 (including the $2,000 borrowed on Mike's credit), which begins a tab on Mike's name, accruing interest. Later, Worm runs into Grama (Michael Rispoli), a former colleague and a dangerous pimp, at a strip club. Worm finds out that Grama bought up his outstanding debt and that Worm now owes $25,000 directly to Grama. Worm dismisses Grama's power, until Grama reveals that he is working with KGB to collect the debt. After a brief hassle from Worm, Grama takes the $10,000 from Worm before beating him up and threatening to do more if Worm does not pay the rest in a timely matter. As a result of Mike returning to his poker lifestyle and friends, and worried that Mike will lose everything a second time, Jo ends her relationship with Mike, refusing to go through that turmoil again. Mike and Worm get into an argument when Mike finds out from Petra (Famke Janssen), one of the workers at the Chesterfield, that Worm has been playing at the Chesterfield often under Mike's credit, which results in Worm going on a losing streak and getting Mike into a $6,000 debt. While in Atlantic City, Mike also finds out from Worm about Worm's remaining $15,000 debt to Grama. Mike and Worm go to Grama's to negotiate Worm's debt. Mike tries to get Grama to give Worm leniency on the time to pay the debt, with Mike proposing that Worm pay $5,000 a week with the "juice" (interest) running until the debt is paid, calling it a "business decision" on Grama's part. Grama begins to consider Mike's proposal; however, when Grama begins to belittle Worm, an offended Worm mouths off, which results in an angry Grama giving Worm and Mike (who has now vouched for Worm) five days to pay the remaining $15,000 on the debt or face serious harm. Mike angrily reprimands Worm for allowing his ego to get the best of him and putting the both of them at risk. Mike decides to help Worm pay off his debt, with the plan being Worm scouts out games for Mike to play at and win. Worm wants to cheat to do it, but Mike insists on winning it straight at several card games around New York City. Mike begins to go on a run over several locations around town, winning several big pots and eventually the two make $7,200 in three days, needing to double that amount in 48 hours to pay the debt. Mike goes with Worm to an out-of-town game hosted by a group of New York State Troopers, where Mike plays in. At one point during the game, Mike is up $4,200 and almost having the full $15,000 where Worm eventually arrives and plays in Mike's game, with Worm base-dealing to give Mike the advantage to win. Eventually, Worm is caught base-dealing by one of the officers at the table when Worm catches a "hanger". When it is discovered that Worm's tactics benefitted Mike's hand, they are both beaten and relieved of their entire bankroll. Mike and Worm begin arguing outside, with Mike chastising Worm for Worm's stubborn insistence to always gain an edge to win while Worm reminds Mike that Mike's noble style of play to play smart and to win straight up also resulted in Mike losing his bankroll in one hand. Mike asks Worm to talk to Grama to get him out of the debt; however, Worm comes clean and advises Mike that Grama is working for KGB. Fully aware that their lives are in danger, Worm decides to flee; however, Mike decides to go back into the city to face the consequences and square the debt, cutting ties with Worm. Mike decides to return to New York to deal with his situation. He meets with Grama to try and get an extension on the deadline. Grama reprimands Mike for vouching for Worm in the first place. Mike chastises Grama for working with KGB. Grama advises Mike to either take it up with KGB, pay the remaining amount, or face a potentially fatal fate. Mike tries to ask Knish for the money, before Knish refuses out of principle. Mike tells a story to Knish about a time in Atlantic City where Mike beat Johnny Chan in a hand of poker, which resulted in Mike making a run at KGB's place in the beginning of the movie. Remembering an earlier conversation Mike has with his law school professor Petrovsky (Martin Landau), Mike goes to Petrovsky's office to ask for the money as a loan. Unable to give Mike the full $15,000, Petrovsky give Mike $10,000 to help him get out of trouble. Mike cashes the check from Petrovsky, and challenges KGB to a second game of heads-up, No-Limit Texas Hold'em for the remaining amount, with winner-take-all stakes, which KGB accepts. Mike beats KGB in the first session, winning $20,000. As Mike is content with his winnings, he decides to leave when KGB summons Grama to collect the $15,000 to square the debt. KGB offers Mike to let his winnings "ride" and continue playing. With enough money to pay off his and Worm's debt and half of the $10,000 loan from Petrovsky, Mike decides to leave the game. As he is about to leave, KGB taunts Mike, pointing out that KGB is still up $20,000 that Mike lost previously in the first game, goading Mike to continue. Mike hesitates; then decides to continue playing, doubling the blinds at the risk of losing a second time, and possibly his life, to Grama and KGB. As the night wears on, Mike is on the verge of losing to KGB. While in a hand, he spots a tell, a repeated behavior that allows him to know the value of KGB's hand (which is discovered to be the Oreo's that KGB eats as he's playing). Mike folds a hand, stating that KGB has a better winning hand. A befuddled KGB is irate that Mike folded the hand that KGB should've won and gotten paid for. Furious that Mike folded that hand and Mike potentially discovered his tell, KGB angrily tosses the Oreo's and begins to play on "tilt", visibly shaken that Mike has now gotten the best of him. KGB becomes frustrated that Mike won't be defeated and that Mike is getting the better of him. In the final hand, KGB taunts Mike as Mike slow-plays his hand (8 and 9 of spades) and allows a boastful KGB to emotionally bet and eventually go all-in. Mike calls, revealing that Mike flopped a nut straight (6 to the 10) to defeat KGB. KGB angrily throws a tantrum and becomes unhinged at the way Mike played him in the second game, trapping KGB into a mistake. Grama urges KGB to continue; however, completely rattled, KGB states that he is done for the night. When KGB's goons go to beat up Mike, KGB calls them off and after admitting that Mike defeated him fairly, allows him to leave with his winnings. Mike narrarates that he won over $60,000 as a result of the second game with KGB. Mike settles the remaining $15,000 of Worm's debt (calling his personal issue with Worm now "even"), he pays back $6,000 to the Chesterfield, repays the $10,000 loan to Petrovsky, and restores his original bankroll of "three stacks of high society." Mike drops out of law school, says goodbye to Jo, and leaves New York headed for Las Vegas with dreams of winning the World Series of Poker.