We also met with Mike Caro to talk about strategy and tells.” Then I ordered and read between 50 and 100 poker books. As per Brian’s comments in an interview: “The biggest job we did was continually going to Mayfair and other clubs to feel the atmosphere and meet the characters of that world. And Joey Knish was based on the player Joel “Bagels” Rosenberg, who passed away in 2014.īefore sitting down to write the script, Brian and David did some fieldwork. Mike was named after the singer with the same first and last name. One of them was Teddy KGB, a Russian with the same nickname who was asked for authorization to use it. Many of the characters in the film were based on real people. Regular players in that club included Steve Zolotow, Stu Ungar, Howard Lederer, Dan Harrington, Erik Seidel, Jason Lester and Paul Magriel. After spending several months playing there and meeting interesting characters, he called his friend David Levien to tell him that they had to make a movie to reveal this world that few knew about.

To pay tribute to the film on its anniversary, we bring you 25 fun facts about the film and we’re sure you’ll be surprised by many of them.īrian Koppelman came up with the idea for the film while playing poker at the Mayfair Club in New York. Septemis a special date for poker and movie lovers, as it marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Rounders, which is still considered the best poker movie of all time.