# Talk me through that scene in "Rounders" where Matt Damon loses all his money **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319 "2005-04-01T22:55:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trillionaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Trillionaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trillionaire)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/1 "2005-04-01T22:55:59Z")
There’s a scene in the 1998 movie _Rounders_ where Matt Damon plays a game of Texas Hold 'Em vs John Malkovich. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie and for some reason I’ve been trying to remember the details of that hand. I believe that Damon is holding something like pocket A7, he hits a full house on the turn, goes all in thinking Malkovich has a flush, then loses when Malkovich’s aces full of sevens beat his sevens full of aces. Am I close? ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/2 "2005-04-01T23:13:55Z")
And how about that Cafe Society thread with movie spoilers in the thread title? ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/3 "2005-04-01T23:39:23Z")
That’s the first scene of the movie. Damon’s character’s defeat (and how he deals with it) is the premise, not a spoiler. ---
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/4 "2005-04-01T23:48:21Z")
Wouldn’t that make five 7’s and five A’s in one deck? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/5 "2005-04-01T23:59:47Z")
No, that adds up in that form of poker. Each player has his own two hole cards and then makes the best hand he can out of the next five cards in common. So if Matt Damon has a pocket Ace and seven (i.e. those are his own cards) and he ends up with a full house of sevens over aces while Malkovich has aces over sevens, then Malkovich had to be holding a pocket pair of aces. Then the five cards turned over would have contained the fourth ace, two sevens, and two other cards. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/6 "2005-04-02T00:10:00Z")
> [@YellowTail](#): > > Wouldn’t that make five 7’s and five A’s in one deck? :dubious: Teddy KGB could have had bullets and Damon with his A7, with A,7, \ on the flop and another 7 on the turn. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, though. I do remember in the last hand Damon where Damon busted KGB he got 8,9 suited and flopped 8,7, 10, then checked KGB into going all in. “He byeeet me. Pay heeem. Pay thees man heees mahnee.” ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/7 "2005-04-02T00:11:07Z")
Dammit. Make that 6, 7, 10 on the flop. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/8 "2005-04-02T01:21:45Z")
In the scene you are referring to, Matt Damon has Ace-9, and the board ends up with an Ace and 2 9s on it for the full house (nines over Aces). Matt of course goes all in. However, Teddy KGB slowly unscrews an Oreo (his tell) and turns over his pocket Aces, thus beating Matt with his higher full house (Aces over nines.) Matt loses all his money. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/9 "2005-04-02T01:26:36Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > However, Teddy KGB slowly unscrews an Oreo (his tell) and turns over his pocket Aces, thus beating Matt with his higher full house (Aces over nines.) Matt loses all his money. ☹ Nitpick: IIRC his tell was eating one half after unscrewing the Oreo. If he didn’t eat it, he didn’t have it. In the final match when Damon noticed it, KGB unscrewed the Oreo but didn’t eat, then said “Take eet down.” (The most annoying aspect of the movie for me. No way that guy has such an obvious tell). ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/10 "2005-04-02T02:42:42Z")
I think I get it…but it still doesn’t explain how Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd bankrupted the two old guys… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/11 "2005-04-02T03:56:22Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > Each player has his own two hole cards and then makes the best hand he can out of the next five cards in common. Sure!!! Make me look like an idiot! :smack: I knew that. I really did. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/12 "2005-04-02T04:23:10Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > In the scene you are referring to, Matt Damon has Ace-9 See, if it’d been me I’d never have lost my bankroll because I know better than to play A9, for it is the DEATH HAND! > [@Dooku](#): > > (The most annoying aspect of the movie for me. No way that guy has such an obvious tell) See, I took it as just meaning that KGB’s not as good as he thinks he is. Either that or he never read Caro’s book. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-me-through-that-scene-in-rounders-where-matt-damon-loses-all-his-money/297319/13 "2005-04-02T16:52:59Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > Nitpick: IIRC his tell was eating one half after unscrewing the Oreo. If he didn’t eat it, he didn’t have it. In the final match when Damon noticed it, KGB unscrewed the Oreo but didn’t eat, then said “Take eet down.” > > (The most annoying aspect of the movie for me. No way that guy has such an obvious tell). It’s been a while, but I thought the tell was the result of the unscrewing. When he has it, the Oreo breaks cleanly because he’s confident in his hand. When he doesn’t have it, that touch of nervousness results in an unclean break.