Gambling? I'm in!

[Chernobyl]

Hi All,

A few of my players want to try their hand at gambling. I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping you can help answer.

Specifically:
Regular play: The Profession (Gambler) skill allows you to earn 1/2 your check result in gold pieces per week of dedicated play. What if you're playing with marked cards or loaded dice, or regularly using things like Sleight of Hand, the Secret Stash deed, Mage Hand, etc.? How do these affect your result? How do you factor in the chance of getting caught?

Individual games: The Gamemastry Guide says that "luck should rule the day." It goes on to say that "cheating is the only way to change your luck in a game of chance. If someone at the table wants to cheat, Sleight of Hand is the most useful skill, but Disable Device might also be allowed. In addition, magic can be quite useful for cheating. Spells like mage hand, silent image, and modify memory can turn bad results into good results. Getting caught, however, can turn these good results into much, much worse outcomes." Again, how would cheating affect the result, and how do you factor in the chance of getting caught?

Thanks,
Chernobyl

[Dalebert]

In most house gambling games, it's true that it's pure chance with a slight house advantage that means you'll lose money the longer you play. Blackjack is remotely tweak-able by counting cards but that depends on how many decks are used. Poker is a game of skill though, some games more so than others. Texas Hold-em, for instance, is very high skill. I personally know a couple of guys who made their living by playing so well.

Here's a thought I just had, inspired by your thread. Have a poker night where people play as their characters. They put up money out of their character's stash, you play with the chips, and then adjust their money accordingly at the end of the night. It's a great way for people to enjoy the game, get better at it, and have an actual stake but that isn't IRL money. It's a little safer. The DM could potentially play as an NPC and your group might even make a little money.

[Milo v3]

I would say loaded dice and marked cards would count as masterwork tools, granting +2 competence bonus to Profession (Gambling) to anyone that knows of their cheating nature.

[Seffbasilisk]

As someone who's used this skill in life, let me tell you, rigging the game is as good as a guaranteed loss. You might be able to get over on a sleight of hand check to past post, but you generally won't get many if you do it regularly. People who offer casino games take security pretty seriously.

I'd see a Profession Gambler check as someone who would be especially adept at counting cards (number of decks matters less than manner of shuffle), who'd have the veritable swiss army skillset to handle themselves in Poker, as well as the knack for noticing and riding trends.

For the magic angle, consider how cheap Detect Magic is. Likely magic would be barred from a casino, and magical items in some sort of lead lockbox for the patrons perhaps? Collateral in highstakes isn't so uncommon.

I'd second the rigged items as Masterwork tools.

As a closing note? Profession skills are usually off-camera, passing time skills. If you're using marked cards, or otherwise setting up a situation like that, it's certainly an encounter. How it falls out, would probably be determined by Spot, Forgery, or Sense Motive, and then...well. There's a reason most movies follow a casino heist with a chase scene.