Not that there isn’t a healthy slice of romance cake to be had (please don’t think too hard about the ingredients of romance cake). It’s a wonderful pairing and a big reason why Rounders is not just a brochure for the romance of poker. So how are they going to turn a few hundred dollars into twenty five grand? I really hope I don’t have to tell you.Įven at this relatively early stage in his career, Damon had nailed the naive good guy schtick and Edward Norton possessed a penchant for coming across all tragic and loveable. A snafu parade winds up in Mike and Worm both being liable for the money, with five days to pay before mobster Grama (Michael Rispoli) makes card protectors out of their skulls. Not to mention the $25,000 debt he acquired before his stint in the slammer. He borrows money against Mike’s name, cheats constantly and generally ruins every situation he burrows his way into. Which would be great, were it not for Worm’s destructive tendencies. McDermott’s respectable tendons straining against the inexorable attraction of a night spent winning other people’s money. That all changes when Worm is released from jail and, quicker than you can say “busted flush draw”, they’re back on the game. A man who won’t even touch the warm felt of a poker table lest he spiral back into the condition that compelled him blow $30,000 to mobster Tony KGB (John Malkovich). Mike begins the movie as a reformed character.

Poker rounders