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''Rounders'' is a 1998 American drama film about the underground world of high-stakes poker, directed by John Dahl, and starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton. The film follows two friends who need to quickly earn enough cash playing poker to pay off a large debt. The term "rounder" refers to a person travelling around from city to city seeking high-stakes cash games. ''Rounders'' opened to mixed reviews and earned only a modest box office. With the growing popularity of Texas hold 'em and other poker games, the film became a cult hit. == Plot == Gifted poker player Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) loses his entire $30,000 bankroll in a hand of Texas hold'em against Teddy "KGB" (John Malkovich), a Russian mobster who runs an illegal underground poker room. Shaken, Mike decides to concentrate on law school while promising his girlfriend and fellow law student, Jo (Gretchen Mol) that he will not play poker anymore. Mentor and fellow rounder Joey Knish (John Turturro) offers him a part-time job driving a delivery truck to make ends meet. Time passes and Mike is true to his promise. He focuses on school and work until his childhood friend Lester "Worm" Murphy (Edward Norton) is released from prison. Worm is also a card player and hustler who owes an outstanding debt accumulated before his incarceration. His old friend, Grama, partnered with Teddy KGB and bought up his outstanding debt. At Worm's influence, Mike is soon rounding again, which interferes with his studies and hurts his relationship with Jo. When Worm is given a five-day deadline to pay off his debt, Mike joins him in a furious race to earn the money. Worm wants to cheat to win, but Mike insists on playing the game straight. Playing in several card games in and around New York City, the two nearly make the $15,000 needed. But at an out-of-town game hosted by New York State Troopers, Worm gets caught "base-dealing" (dealing favorable cards from the bottom of the deck). They are beaten up and their entire bankroll is taken. After this, Worm, not wanting to face his problems decides to leave New York City, and he advises Mike to do the same. Mike refuses to flee and instead, with the help of a $10,000 loan from his law school professor Petrovsky (Martin Landau), Mike challenges Teddy KGB to a second game of heads-up, No-Limit Texas Hold'em. Mike beats Teddy in the first session, and has enough to pay off Worm's debt, along with half of the $10,000 he'd borrowed from Petrovsky. As he is about to leave, KGB taunts Mike, and points out that Mike has really only won back some of the money he'd lost before. Mike hesitates before agreeing to play again, risking all of the money, and possibly his life, as losing would make him unable to pay Grama and KGB. As the night wears on, Mike is on the verge of having lost all of his chips. Mike suddenly spots a tell, a repeated behavior that allows him to know the value of Teddy's hand. He uses this tell to turn around his fortunes and is able to make a comeback and eventually beat KGB. Mike settles Worm's debt, repaying the $10,000 loan from his law professor, and restoring his original bankroll of "three stacks of high society." Mike drops out of law school, says goodbye to Jo, and makes his way to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker Main Event. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rounders (film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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