Movie Clips: Rounders (1998) ‘KGB: I Stick it in You!’

Source:Movie Clips– KGB, played by John Malkovich.

“After losing a heads-up game of poker, Teddy KGB (John Malkovich) tries to goad Mike (Matt Damon) into playing a re-match.”

Source:Movie Clips

One of the best scenes from Rounders, with Mike McDermott (played by Matt Damon) just beating his long time nemesis KGB. (Played by John Malkovich) And KGB obviously not feeling satisfied by that and trying to goad Mike into playing another around to get that money back. With Mike having two options: walk away and leave up from where he started and able to pay back his debts. Or get all of his money back and risk losing even more. Safe play obviously is to walk way, but like Mike said you can’t win what you don’t put in.

I’m not an expert on poker and gambling in general, but it obviously is gambling. And yes there’s skill involved and you need good skills at it to be successful and perhaps a little luck involved as well. But there’s gambling and there’s gambling and there are risks in doing anything really, especially professionally. And the good gamblers make calculated and educated risks. They just don’t walk away with money, leave owing money, because they had all the good hands at the game, or most of them. Or had almost none of the good hands.

Successful gamblers play their good hands and leave their bad ones without giving their opponents much if any idea when they have good hands and when they’re short. Which I think is the point that the Mike McDermott character played by Matt Damon was making, that gambling is not pure luck or about pure luck. But that you need good skills in it in order to be successful at it.

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Movie Clips: Rounders (1998) Atlantic City Suckers

Source:Movie Clips– Hollywood Goddess Famke Janssen.

“The rounders including Mike (Matt Damon), Petra (Famke Janssen), and Knish (John Turturro) dominate the card table against some unsuspecting tourists.

In this film, law-student Mike McDermott gives up gambling after losing his entire savings to Russian club owner Teddy KGB. His girlfriend Jo is concerned when Mike’s former gambling buddy Worm is released from prison. She has good reason to worry, since Worm draws Mike back into poker action.”

From Movie Clips

Pros vs suckers in poker: the suckers having no idea what they were up against and get taken for a ride as a result.

What I really like about Rounders is that it gives you a really good look at the world of professional poker. At least from the perspective of people who perhaps aren’t as good to play the tournaments for a living and make hundreds of thousands of dollars winning championships, or at least doing very well on those tournaments. But people who can literally earn their living from card games at clubs and people’s homes and going to Atlantic City and so-forth.

What you see in this scene, is literally people who do that who are full-time poker players and perhaps are good enough to play on the big stage, going up against players who do this for fun. Who go to Atlantic City on the weekend and see how good they are and if they can make some money. Who can afford to lose money and perhaps knows that ahead of time.

The pros are straight-faced the whole time never giving away anything. With the amateurs giving away all of their hands. Excited when they have a good hand and freaking out over bad hands and looking nervous. Setting themselves up for huge losses against the pros.

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YouTube Movies & TV: Rounders (1998) The Fifteenth Anniversary

Source:YouTube Movies & TV– left to right: John Turturo & Matt Damon.

“Academy Award(R) winner Matt Damon (GOOD WILL HUNTING, Best Original Screenplay, 1997; THE BOURNE SUPREMACY) and Edward Norton (THE ITALIAN JOB) star in this story of passion, risk, and the extreme price of friendship! After losing a high-stakes card game, Mike (Damon) gives up gambling for law school and a fresh start with his girlfriend (Gretchen Mol — CRADLE WILL ROCK). But then his best buddy (Norton) gets out of prison and in over his head with a ruthless card shark (John Malkovich — BEING JOHN MALKOVICH). From there, Mike’s strong sense of loyalty — and the lure of the game — draw him back to the tables in a game he cannot afford to lose! Also starring John Turturro (O BROTHER, WHERE ARE THOU?) and Oscar(R) winner Martin Landau (ED WOOD, Best Supporting Actor, 1994). 2011 Miramax”

Source: YouTube Movies & TV

The 15th anniversary of my favorite cards movie Rounders.

If you’re a true poker fan and have been a fan of it for a long time, or most of your life, or you just started getting into like ten years ago, or so when celebrities got into and it became cool, Rounders is a great movie for you.

This movie came out in 1998 about five years before Hollywood made card games cool thing to follow and be part of. When ESPN started putting so many poker tournaments on. (Even though poker is not an athletic sport) Not saying that Rounders is the cause for the celebrity exposure of poker and other card games in America, but it came out right before that fad.

Rounders is about two young borderline professional poker players who the only money they’ve ever made at this point is playing poker.

Mike McDermott (played by Matt Damon) is a recovering compulsive gambler who lost all of his money a few years back. And is now driving a truck trying to pay back his debts and get through law school.

Worm (played by Ed Norton) is a compulsive gambler and an ex-con who just got out of prison, small-time white-collar criminal. Who owes a lot of money to a loan shark (played by Michael Imperioli) and needs to win a lot of that money back quickly. And goes to his long time buddy Mike to help him win it back.

Rounders is a great movie about how very smart, street smart people who read people very well and can tell the real people from the fakers and people trying to be someone else, who have something to hide. Poker is not just about having good cards, but knowing what your opponent has as well by being able to read them so you know when to play and when to hold. Because you know when your opponents cards aren’t as good as yours.

Rounders shows you how good poker players are successful and why the wannabes leave games owing more money that they started with. It is also a movie with a lot of sarcasm and quick-witted humor. Ed Norton and John Malkovich are very funny in it. And it is one of my favorite movies.

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