Rounders (1999, VHS)

There is no doubt that poker is experiencing a huge renaissance. ESPN just finished up with its 2004 World Series Of Poker coverage and the Travel Channel s World Poker Tour will be starting their third season soon. Both Bravo and Fox Sports have their own poker shows as well. With the star power of Matt Damon and Ed Norton and the focus of a growing sport, there is no doubt that if Rounders was released today, it would be a huge hit. Unfortunately, it was released about five years too early, which is unusual because Hollywood usually follows the trends rather than creating them. Regardless,..

I really don t care what anyone says, poker is a game of skill. I ve spent countless hours in front of five cent keno machines waiting to hit 9 out of 10 or even 7 out of 7. It may happen once in a very great while, but not very often. It requires absolutely no skill whatsoever, and it just requires that luck may hit your numbers. However, poker is a different story. Even if you play video poker, you have to have a certain skill set or know what you re doing, because you have to know when to hold em and know when to fold em. Tres cliche I know, and there are parts of Rounders that are fairly..

The last big poker movie to be released in the United States was Rounders, which some of my friends tell me is a popular topic of conversation among poker players, while other friends don t even mention it. In fact, most people don t even mention it. So I gather that it s not really so popular a topic. I don t see how you could really hold a long, drawn-out conversation about this film. It is indeed a good movie: You see it, you like it, and then you mostly forget about it, only remembering a few scenes that you particularly liked. Works like that. And what do we call these types of movies,...

Mike McDermott is a grinder. A poker player that takes his time at the tables, going for one big hand an hour when he has the cards, and protecting his cards all other times. His playing style is to slowly grind out the hands, taking his time, and playing with the goal being to just come out ahead at the end of the night. This is what he professes to be, but the habit puts him in a risky situation right as the film opens, as we find him sitting at a table with some Russians who don't mess around at the tables. Damon serves as the narrator, explaining how he has worked hard playing poker to...