Rounders (1998)

Damon plays law student Mike McDermott, who ends up losing all his life savings to a Russian mobster when playing the high stakes game of Texas Hold 'Em, winner takes all poker. So after that he wants to go straight and leaves the game to concentrate on becoming a lawyer. But when his buddy Worm gets out of prison, he ends up luring Mike back to the seductive world of card playing. It doesn't help that Worm owes a lot of money back to the same Russian mobster that Mike lost all his money to. Great acting in an underrated film; this film is mostly centered around Damon's character, but I think Norton really stole the show as Mike's sleazy, cheating pal. Starring Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Malkovich, John Turturro, Gretchen Mol, Famke Janssen, Martin Landau, Michael Rispoli, Melina Kanakaredes 7/10