Rounders Training Prompted Worm and Mike to Cheat Weinstein Brothers

Edward Norton (Worm) and Matt Damon (Mike McDermott) learned a lot about the game of poker while starring in the movie "Rounders" two decades ago, including how to cheat.

The two movie stars had a bit of fun with their newly-gained knowledge about how to play as partners and signal their hands to each other at the table. The pair took their cheating skills to a real-life poker game hosted by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the producers of the film. 

Harvey Weinstein, as most already know, has made headlines for months for allegedly using his influence as a producer to sexually assault a number of young ladies. Some insist that the entire #MeToo movement began due to victims of Weinstein coming forward and telling their stories of his lewd and unwanted sexual advances and assaults.

20 Years and Counting

Weinstein will apparently get his comeuppance some day in a court of law, as he should. In the meantime, Norton and the rest of the principals involved in making Rounders are celebrating the film's 20th anniversary. The celebration was highlighted by a story in The Ringer in which Norton detailed how he and Damon fleeced their tablemates at the Weinstein poker game.

"We played that night doing sort of Mike and Worm’s signaling system," Norton said. “And it worked enormously well. Matt was sort of getting the cards, so then I was like pumping up the bets, and seeing what he had, then folding out. And we went out when it was all over and chopped it up.”

The signaling centered around the way that Damon and Norton positioned their chips on their hole cards while protecting their hands.

No Debate Over Film's Influence

While some may criticize the pair of actors for cheating, others may applaud them for immersing themselves in their roles for the film, going so far as to try out the cheating techniques in a real life situation.

Opinions may vary regarding the behavior of Norton and Damon, but there is virtually no discrepancy among serious poker players over the status of Rounders. The cult classic is generally considered as the best poker movie ever made.