Rounders – 3 bits of interesting information

1) Worm was originally supposed to smoke but avid nonsmoker Edward Norton refused.

2) Matt Damon and Edward Norton played the $10,000 buy-in Texas Hold ‘Em championship event at the 1998 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. During the first of four days, Matt Damon had pocket Kings and was knocked out by former world champion and poker legend Doyle Brunson who held pocket Aces.

3) According to a Howard Stern Interview, the film is partially based on comedian/actor Norm MacDonald.

Genre

The genre of Rounders is difficult to categorize because it has pieces of multiple genres. I think definitively it is a drama, which is defined as, “serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction” based on AMC film genres. The main character, Mike, finds himself taking on a large gambling debt and tries to use his poker skills to pay it off. As per the drama genre requirement, the film portrays realistic characters in life situations. In addition, one could probably give the film a “crime” genre as well, as all the poker playing is underground, illegal games.

Here is my video portraying the two genres: