Rounders (1998)
82 minutes
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About This Episode
Call, fold, or go all-in — this week the dads ante up with Rounders, the 1998 cult classic that made poker feel like high-stakes destiny. We’re talking Matt Damon at peak earnestness, Edward Norton in full wildcard mode, and John Malkovich chewing scenery (and Oreos) as the unforgettable Teddy KGB.
We unpack what made this movie the gateway drug for every early-2000s poker kid, relive our own amateur card shark phases, and debate whether the movie holds up in a post–Texas Hold ’Em world. There’s plenty of table talk: underground games, legal drama, loyalty, betrayal — and why no one in this film ever just goes to class.
Is Rounders a slick character study, a glorified gambling PSA, or just an excuse to wear hoodies in dimly lit rooms? We’ve got the chips and the hot takes.
Film Synopsis
Poker addict Mike McDermott knows the game inside out, but loses his money one night in a game to Russian-American gangster Teddy KGB. Promising his partner Jo he'll give up, he meets up with best friend Lester 'Worm' Murphy, just out of prison and owing lots of money to the wrong kind of people. McDermott becomes his co-guarantor and now there's only one way to raise the money, the pair have to get back into the game.
Cast & Crew
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Ratings
Host Ratings
Rotten Tomatoes
IMDB
Siskel & Ebert
Box Office
- Budget
- $12,000,000
- Box Office
- $23,000,000