Feature Movie Description... continued.
Rounders - 1998
Want a simple explanation of No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em poker? Rounders gambler-turned-law student Mike McDermott (Damon) provides it in the movie's opening moments ... right before he demonstrates, in a devastating hand of poker, how easy and quick it is to lose $25,000 in one misread of a fellow player. Mike quickly vows that he's retired as a gambler, and takes a truck driving job to pay his tuition. Then along comes Worm (Norton), his childhood pal, who's sprung from jail and looking for Mike to help him pay off some hefty debts. It doesn't take a lot of persuasion before Mike is out of retirement and making the rounds of some high-stakes games. Though director John Dahl (The Last Seduction) doesn't skimp on showing the seedier elements of the professional-gambler lifestyle and of the dire circumstances a losing player can quickly find himself in, the movie's also somewhat refreshing. Ultimately, Mike is forced to admit that he's been turning his back on the game because other people have a problem with it. What Mike wants: to chuck law school and head off to Vegas for the World Series of Poker. The jackpot scene: Mike's $60,000 poker triumph over KGB (John Malkovich), who beat him in the movie's opening game. Damon, who prepared for the movie by playing in the World Series of Poker (where he lost to legend Doyle Brunson), conveys with a simple facial expression the exact second Mike knows he has KGB, and it's as thrilling and satisfying a moment as you'll find in any movie about poker.