Gambling, Expanded

The Old Stuff, for reference. See also Pyramid 3/59 Conspiracies "Straight to the Flush," pp.19-23.

The Basics

The point of these rules is to simplify “Vegas-style” gaming to some relatively-simple, quick dice contests, for use within a campaign or adventure. In general, use one “Game” check and Gambling check (if req.) per "round." Assume a round is one hour of play, if not otherwise determined.

Instead of modifying the gains/losses (per RAW), Gambling (B197) success grants a reroll of any one "game" die on a success, plus one additional per increment of 3 MoS (min 2 for Critical Success). On a failure, roll an additional "game" die and replace the "best," keeping the worse result. Critical Failure can also result in losing more than the intended bankroll (details?). A Games(Whatever) roll or "Cheating" may replace the Gambling check, or be treated as Complementary, @GMD.

Modifiers: +1 to +5 for familiarity with the game being played; -1 to -5 if the game is rigged against you; -3 for Killjoy (p. 140), since you don’t care if you win or lose.

• Alternate: Critical Success allows one die to be deliberately "set"
• In an "opposed" game, GM could decide whether the Gambling roll is independent of other players, or treated as a Quick Contest, where only the winner gains any benefit—in which case, only "actual" failures on the part of the losers should suffer the penalty-reroll.
• See Pyramid 3/59 Conspiracies "Straight to the Flush," pp.19-23, specifically for some possible treatments for "people skills" and "cheating" effects.

Option: Risk

Optionally, players can choose a Risk level, from -3 to +3 to the Gambling roll. Risk will be inversely applied as a multiplier or divisors of payouts. For example: Taking less risk (-2) would cut losses and gains in half, while taking more risk (+2) would double both gains and losses. Losses multiplied in this manner can exceed the "intended" bankroll, and incur debt, draw ire, or worse.

Games

Faro

Unopposed (House)

Game roll: 2×1d6, +1×1d6 "turn" optional; first die is the "loser," second is the "winner." Bets on the number of the winner win, and on the loser, lose. Reroll may be spent to "copper" (reverse winner/loser)

Bet Types & Payoff

Flat:       Bet a number; winner-match wins, loser-match loses, tie-match loses half	
Split:      Bet on two numbers; winner-matches-either wins, loser-matches-either loses, tie-match loses half, offset-matches break even	
High Card:  Bet winner/loser is higher; winner-true wins, loser-true loses, tie loses half	
Odd/Even:   Bet winner is even/odd; winner-true wins, loser-true loses, both true+matching loses half, both true+non-matching breaks even
Turn (separate optional bet): Bet number of "turn" die; match wins 400%, or lose 100%

Wins recover original bankroll plus indicated amount. Losses lose original bankroll (or half, as indicated).

Poker

Opposed (often Informal)

Game roll: "Yahtzee"-style "poker hand", 5×1d6 per participant; best "hand" wins. Alternatively, you could play one hand of Poker with real playing cards to determine the winner. Total the bankroll from all players in the game, into the "pot." Since poker is played against the other players instead of the house, the GM might opt to make the Gambling roll a Quick Contest between them.

"Hands" & Payoff

High "card"              1%
One pair                 2%
Two pairs                4%
Three of a kind          8%
Straight                16%
Full house (pair+3ok)   32%
Four of a kind          64%
"Five of a kind"       100%

At the end of the round, the overall winner gets his percentage of the pot first, then the next follows in turn, until all players have their percentage. In a situation where all the percentages have been taken from the pot but some remains, the remainder goes to the overall winner.

Roulette

Unopposed (House)

Game roll: 1×1d20 (and give it a good spin ;) ).

Bet Types & Payoff

Bet on specific number, range of numbers, or odd/even total

All Even/Odd                1%
All High/Low (1-10/11-20)   2%
Six numbers                 4%
Five numbers                8%
Four numbers               16%
Three numbers              32%
Two numbers                64%
One number                128%

Wins recover original bankroll plus indicated percentage of the original bankroll. Losses lose original bankroll.

Twenty-One (Blackjack/Baccarat)

Unopposed (House)

Game roll: player and GM(as house) roll 1×2d6; "stay" and keep the roll as-is, or roll an additional 1×1d6 to "hit," to a total of 12 (boxcars=blackjack); over 12 loses, closest to 12 wins, and exactly 12 before a hit wins automatically. Alternatively, you could play one hand of Blackjack with real playing cards to determine the winner. Gambling success rerolls count toward the last roll made—if used before the "hit," can trigger blackjack, otherwise it cannot.

Bets & Payoff

Win (any hand totaling higher than the dealer's but not over 12, unless the dealer has blackjack)	100%
Blackjack (12 on first roll)										150%

Wins recover original bankroll plus indicated percentage of the original bankroll. Losses lose original bankroll.

Craps

Unopposed (House) or Informal

Game roll: player rolls 1×2d6. Generally, 7 or 11 "wins"; 2, 3 or 12 "loses". For this game, Gambling success grants a further round of 2d6 as normal (rather than rerolling previous results); best result counts.

Bet Types & Payoff

Pass (Shooter Wins)				100%
Don't Pass (Shooter Loses)			100%
Place: 6 and 8 (rolled before a 7)		120%
Place: 5 and 9 (rolled before a 7)		140%
Place: 4 and 10 (rolled before a 7)		180%
Hard Way (4/6/8/10 rolled as doubles)		800%

Wins recover original bankroll plus indicated percentage of the original bankroll. Losses lose original bankroll.

Variant: Street Craps

An informal arrangement. Works basically the same way except the bets are between players/observers, not the house, and payouts are whatever is agreed upon at the moment and (usually) limited to cash-on-hand.

Betting on Events

Informal

Dogfighting, cockfighting, arm-wrestling, arena-battles, board-games, random street fights. Bet on win, lose, or draw, or specific results, as agreed upon at the moment. Game roll: "Rock, Paper, Scissors" in the absence of any existing mechanic governing the situation being observed: GM rolls 1d per team/participant, highest roll wins, ties re-rolled once only (considered a “draw” if second roll ties).

Bets & Payoff

See Social Engineering, below, for finding someone willing to take a counter-bet, or to "play for money." The payoff is whatever is agreed to at the moment the bet is placed. Payout is usually done on the "honor system" but can be enforced by "house rules," or some sort of local management, when appropriate—but that's a separate matter.

Modifiers: For the size of the bet being offered/matched, see "Bribery" (SE48) as a negative modifier; -5 to +5 for perceived odds/risk; +2 for previous Carousing success; include complementary results of a previous Influence attempt as appropriate. Resistance may be reduced by intoxication ("Afflictions," B428).

Social Engineering

Refer to Social Engineering, "Recreation" p.28 for getting a game going, or finding someone willing to bet on an event or outcome.

Other specific uses:

• Carousing/Fast-Talk as Influence: to keep someone playing, spend more or less, or otherwise hurry them into poor judgment. Buying drinks might lower their resistance ;)
• Characters with Compulsive Gambling may need to make a Frequency of Submission roll to stop playing, even if they're out of money.

Notes

• Currently not quite satisfied with "Craps" section. Craps is really complicated…
• This was intended for an "Old West" campaign, so games that didn't exist or weren't particularly popular at the time have not been described