Rounders Page #5

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Snapping sound gave it away.

I didn't know him,

I might not have noticed.

I turn around, and I see him

with the mechanic's grip, I know.

- You want one?

- Did you give him the office?

I tried to warn him, but

he looked right through me.

- All right, I'll go get him.

- No, no, no. He's okay now.

Most of those Georges are at the tail

end of a 36-hour session.

They can't see straight.

Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee.

But if he's still there

when Roman and Maurice start their game,

he's gonna wish he was

still inside.

I'm gonna go get him.

[Mike Narrating]

Amarillo Slim, the greatest

proposition gambler of all time,

held to his father's maxim...

"You can shear a sheep many times,

but skin him only once."

Gotta bet my jacks.

This is a lesson

Worm's never bothered to learn.

- [Speaking Russian]

- Hey, guys.

English only at the table,

no Russian.

- What are you talking about?

- What am I talking about?

If you want to see

this seventh card, you're gonna

stop speaking f***in' Sputnik.

- Oh, da, motherf***er.

- You're worried we might work together.

I'm sure you're just talking

about perogies...

and snow and sh*t, but let's

cut it out, all right?

There's the river,

down and dirty.

I think you got that ace,

Roman, but I'm gonna pay for it.

Okay, well,

I got the jacks. Come on.

- Ace.

- Oh, you got it.

- And six.

Wow, two pair.

But I got sevens, too, though.

- With my jacks.

- Motherf***er, slow rolling me

like that.

You said just jacks.

But you made me for the sevens,

Maurice. You're a player.

- F***!

- Hey, come on! Don't be a f***in' baby.

- Hey, Maurice.

- [Together] Hey.

Hey, Mike, you here to play?

Come on, we need some new blood.

They're putting a f***ing bracelet

on me tomorrow for four months.

- I already stuck two racks.

- Well, have a good rest, man.

Can I talk to you

for a second, Cosmonaut?

No, man, I'm on a roll.

This is a very emotional game.

Gotta do it.

- [Speaking In Russian]

- I counted these.

Leave it.

It's fine.

[Speaking In Russian]

- What's going on?

- Where are you at?

I was pumped up eight G's. I was ready

to go on a run when you came along.

- All right, listen.

- Hey, wait, I want a hot dog.

You're in town for five f***in' minutes,

you already got a sign on your back.

Oh, what, that f***in' Knish

rat me out?

You gotta stop listening

to that guy, man.

He sees all the angles, but

he doesn't have the balls to play one.

Hey, that guy hasn't had to

work in 15 years, Worm.

You don't think that's work,

what he does?

Grinding it out on his f***in'

leather ass? No, thank you.

I thought so, too, all right?

Now I know what real work is.

Speaking of which,

are you even gonna get a job?

Or are you just gonna go back

to printing those credit cards?

- Huh? You gonna go away again?

- I wasn't printing.

I was distributing. Distributing.

It's different, okay?

Second of all, I'm never

going back there.

Stop worrying

so much, okay?

Come here.

I just want you to think

long term, all right? Be smart.

Every place in Manhattan,

they all keep books, all right?

If you get listed as a mechanic,

then not only are you gonna

get the sh*t kicked out of you,

you're not gonna get a f***in' game

anywhere in New York.

It's stupid.

It's just bad business.

Look, this is what I love about you...

you think about the big picture.

That's great, okay?

But it's not me.

I don't play the game straight up,

and then if I lose,

go get some real work

or something, okay?

I see a mark,

I take him down.

That's what I do.

That's the way I live.

I know. Listen, you're the guy

who taught me all the angles.

- But I'm not the guy

with my nose open right now.

- Aw, come on.

I'm not gonna preach to you, but those

two guys in there, they're not rabbits.

Roman and Maurice?

They're Russian outfit guys.

Not as bad as KGB, but you don't want

to be f***in' with those guys.

With those fake

Versace shirts and sh*t? Jesus.

Look, you still got time.

Just go back in there, right?

Lose their f***in' money

back to 'em, all right?

Just make it look good.

Just catch a run of real shitty cards.

- Give it back to 'em.

- I can't. I can't.

I gotta put some scratch together, man.

I gotta get somethin' going.

Then go out to suburbia, man. Play

in a f***in' dentist's game, okay?

- Go to Swan Meadow,

play in the golf pro game.

- That's an idea.

I'll definitely do that,

but I can't dump to these guys.

You got to.

All right,

whatever, whatever.

Meet me at Stromboli's

in half an hour, all right?

I can't, I gotta go.

I have a meeting.

And then I gotta go to f***in' Queens.

I gotta load the truck.

Jesus, man, you're such

a f***in' workin' man now.

I'm never gonna see you.

- Make it look good.

I mean it, make it look good.

- You know me.

- So, how'd you do?

- Ah, so-so.

Six thousand,

two thousand.

Oh, hold on.

Two more.

All right, so it's

ten grand total,

take back the two we lent you,

give you the white meat.

You know what?

Why don't you give me

all of it?

Usually, credit players

only leave with their profit.

Otherwise, the juice starts

five points a week on Mike.

Oh, okay.

We'll owe you.

[Sighs]

Hey. I've been looking

all over for you.

Didn't want to

be found.

You know, Petrovsky waited and waited.

So did the rest of the group.

- Jo, look, I missed one meeting.

- It's not about the meeting.

I don't care about the meeting. Do

you even know why I left this morning?

- I found that gangster's roll

in your pocket.

- It's not what you think.

- It's not what you think.

- Who do you think I am?

You lie right to my face?

Look, old days at least

you never lied.

You lost everything,

but at least you never lied.

Jo, this wasn't even a real game.

This was like Wiffle Ball.

- Can you lose your rent

playing Wiffle Ball?

- No, I couldn't lose.

- That's the point.

- No, Mike, you can lose.

I watched you, I stood by you while

you lost everything before.

- I don't think I can go

through that with you again.

- Jo, I wasn't gonna lose!

Why does this still seem

like gambling to you?

Why do you think the same five guys

make it to the final table...

at the World Series of Poker

every single year?

What are they, the luckiest guys

in Las Vegas?

- It's a skill game, Jo.

- Great. So why'd you

have to lie to me?

- Because I knew you wouldn't understand.

- Understand what?

Last night, I sat down

at this card table.

I felt alive for the first time since

I got busted at KGB's joint, okay?

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