I don’t think this claim is too much of a stretch, really, and perhaps further underscores the historical importance of the movie as one that not only influenced a lot of players, but also the producers of televised poker over the last decade-plus. In fact, at one point in our discussion I pointed out that it was likely the case that a lot of poker on TV that has been produced since Rounders was probably influenced in certain ways by the way the poker is shown in the film. And I’m sure there were those among them who preferred the more familiar-seeming vibe of the production, at least when compared to something like Robert Altman’s much more challenging (even experimental) California Split. I know for some of the students they were simply glad finally to see some hold’em on screen.

I also thought the students would probably enjoy Rounders more than the older films, which indeed turned out to be the case. I included Rounders among our required viewings mostly because having shown a couple of older films ( The Cincinnati Kid and California Split ), I wanted to provide a bit of contrast by showing something relatively contemporary. Yesterday in class we discussed the last of our scheduled films, Rounders (1998). That was the event in which Jose “Nacho” Barbero won his second straight LAPT title.Īs a result, I have been taking care of various tasks before I go, among them finishing up the film unit in my “ Poker in American Film and Culture” class before giving them a short break here prior to semester’s end.

It’s a return trip for me, in fact, as I was there last June, the last time the tour touched down on the west coast of South America at Lima. Pauly cover the LAPT event happening there this week for the PokerStars blog.

Later on this evening I’ll be flying to Peru where I’ll be helping Dr.

Rounders poker game