Rounder - Doyle's Definition

I am curious to know why Doyle Brunson's definition of a rounder is a Pro Poker player that "makes the rounds" to various games. That part is fine, but then he says they are a lower class player. Why is this?

Probably ought to ask Doyle.

BrentD22 said:

I am curious to know why Doyle Brunson's definition of a rounder is a Pro Poker player that "makes the rounds" to various games. That part is fine, but then he says they are a lower class player. Why is this?

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I didn't ask Doyle, but as I understand it...

Back when this term was first used, it referred to the way that he made his living, on the road. Driving from one underground poker game to the next was their routine, and being a rounder meant you were generally operating on at least the edge of the law, if not completely under it.

They were considered "lower class" by the few people at the time that made their living at the "legal" games or casinos.

who cares what doyle says, he's so old and outdated

Doyle is still one the best IMO. For all the rudeness I recieved I was asking because Doyle says that a "rounder" is lower class than a gambler (in Super System). I am just surprised that a well respected player like Doyle Brunson would bad mouth players tha make a living off of a game that made him millions! I was trying to figure out if the definition in the book was uncomplete.

I'm not sure that he's bad-mouthing anyone as much as trying to reflect what public opinion was. While neither profession was well received back then, at least the gamblers might be regarded with some amount of respect, where the rounders generally weren't given any respect at all (outside of their own circle).

The closest thing I can come up with as a "modern day" parallel is the difference between someone who shoots dice in an alley vs. someone who plays craps in a casino.

TY

I don't think this was an issue of public perception/respect in society in general (although I would have to go back and read SS).

Rather, I believe DB himself thinks that a "gambler" (one willing to take risks) is better than a "rounder," which I think he uses more in the terms of what we might call a "grinder" today. In other words, a rounder is a leather-ass conservative rock, not a risk taker, but someone just grinding out a living without motivation for moving up in stakes.

As KenFischer said, a "Rounder" was one who sought out games. Most of these games were illegal and you had to do a lot of traveling and deal with seedy characters and situations. So making the rounds was risky and illegal.

The other type of professional gamble would have been the riverboat pro, or the casino pro, who pretty much stays in the same place and plays legal games. They didn't have to hide their activity, and the legal status of their game kept them in contact with better characters.

It's not like it is now, where you can find legal games all over the place.