[3] Jeff Ryce of HipHopDX gave high praise to Trice for having more of a presence on his own record to display his improved lyricism, vocal delivery and choice in beats, writing: "these days everyone likes to think that every respectable artist has one "classic" in their catalogue.

[7] Brendan Frederick of XXL praised Trice and Eminem for having "superb attention to visual details and calculated rhyme structure" and an "expanded production palate" throughout the album to deliver in telling "bleak oratories of Detroit's streets" but also highlighted Rotem's contributions on "Mama" and "Obie Story" for allowing Trice to show "historical context to his struggles", concluding with: "filled with unflinching street tales and dense lyrical couplets, Second Round should be sipped slowly for full potency.

[13] AllMusic's editor wrote: "Leaning heavily on a mid-paced, paranoid gangsta rap production style, evidenced on tracks like "They Wanna Kill Me" and "Snitch", Trice stakes his claim as a tough, swaggering performer whose self-awareness never undermines his hard, ghetto edge".

[8] Peter Relic of Rolling Stone wrote: "full of creepy, minor-key themes and powered by homicidal mania, Second Round is wholly lacking in the playfulness that made his debut, Cheers, a varied delight".

[11] In his negative review for PopMatters, Mike Joseph gave credit to Trice for having a "solid" flow, but criticised the "tired, predictable subject matter" throughout the track listing and Eminem's production feeling "agonisingly predictable" and "substandard" to distract listeners from the hate-filled material, concluding that: "Second Round's on Me just emphasises everything that's wrong with gangsta rap, which started out as admirable street reporting and has regressed into wanton violence which should be viewed as a cartoon, but a generation of urban youth has unfortunately come to accept as gospel".