1/12/2024 0 Comments Rounders pathological gambling![]() Even the dean of the law school (Martin Landau) seems to be condoning Mike’s leaving law school to pursue poker playing, as he says, “We can’t run from who we are our destiny chooses us.” The subsequent physical beating they both suffer when Worm is caught is not enough to discourage either from future play, however.Īlthough Rounders does show some of the consequences of gambling debt, poker playing is presented as glamorous and exciting, an acceptable occupational choice. Mike is winning through his technical skill Worm joins the game and immediately starts to cheat, dealing from the bottom of the deck to ensure that Mike wins. The contrast between Worm and Mike is clear when they are playing poker with policemen. It is the sheer excitement of conning the other players. Humorously, he has an ace tattooed on his forearm – an ace “up his sleeve.” Worm is less affected by the money, or the loss thereof, than is Mike. A card “mechanic,” he is skilled at sleight of hand and clever cheating. He’s not a technical player, nor is he patient and conservative. In contrast, there is Mike’s friend, Worm (Edward Norton), who is released from prison and immediately returns to poker playing. For him, poker playing is a source of extra income, nothing more. As in the Kenny Rogers’ song, he “knows when to hold them, knows when to fold them.” Knish does not feel the lure of going for a big win and is as successful as he needs to be. He pays his bills and supports his family by patience and consistency in poker play. Mike’s friend and poker mentor, Joey Knish (John Turturro), is such a player. Having a good understanding of the odds of winning and playing conservatively can lead to success, but rarely to a big payoff. These players “make the rounds” to various high stakes games, hence their being called “rounders.”Įven for the most skilled players, however, poker remains a game of chance. As Mike points out, “If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker”. In the world of poker, the skilled players are known to one another, each having a sense of the others’ skill levels. He has developed a skill in reading other players’ faces and behaviors, in knowing how they would react to his own actions. We are shown that he has been training himself to play poker, such as reading the book Super System by poker legend Doyle Brunson. Through voiceovers in the film, we hear Mike’s mind working as he constantly analyzes the other players. The movie begins with Mike’s losing his total savings, $30,000, on one poker hand to the Russian known as “Teddy KGB,” played beautifully by John Malkovitch. Rounders tells the story of New York City resident Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), who is paying for his law school tuition by winning at poker. The element of chance is better portrayed by James Caan in The Gambler (1974). In the movie Rounders(1998) we see examples of these first three methods of seeking gambling success. ![]() There are varied paths to gambling success: through skill mastery through patience and consistency through cheating and clever trickery and, through sheer luck. (From the Turkish electronic publication Psinema 2008 Issue 3.) Rounders and the Gambler: Portrayals of Pathological Gambling in the Movies
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