Gambling

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Faith Augustin Champion
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Gambling

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Name: Gambling
Overview:
Gambling is, simply put, the ability to play games of chance and to bet on games of skill. It includes as part of it the ability to calculate the odds and play the game within the rules. It also allows the individual to work outside the rules and engage in that activity usually called "cheating". Either way, the character with this skill is able to make a living out of playing the odds, noticing form and counting cards.

Types of Games
There are a number of types of game throughout Idalos. Some are specific to races, cultures or cities and others are known across the land. The most common types of games include:
Dice
Cards
Races
Detection Games
Betting on Games of Skill
Fighting

There are a number of specific games throughout Idalos and those wishing for more information should look at the Creating the World forum and consider such as Suits.

Techniques Used In Gambling
There are many techniques used in order to be a professional, or amateur gambler. One thing which is certain is that the odds are always in favour of the house and so the more of these the gambler has, they more likely they are to beat those odds.

Instinct: It's said this can't be taught and, in many ways, that's true. The instinct for games of chance is as much knowing when to stop as it is skill.
Calculating Odds: Especially important when playing games with decks of cards, dice etc. Calculating the odds in games of chance is a vital skill.
Counting Cards: A good memory is vital and the ability to know which cards have been played, which ones are still to go etc are a real bonus.
Sleight of Hand / Hiding Cards: For those who wish to hide cards, perhaps in order to cheat, need this technique.
Following Form: The ability to observe those you are playing against and reading their unconscious gestures etc
Detecting / Following Movement: When playing games like 'find the ball under the cup', being able to follow movement is a true advantage.

Related Skills:
Acting
Deception
Detection
Discipline
Psychology
Mathematics

Skill Proficiency:
Novice: 0-25
A novice gambler is at the beginning of understanding games of chance and the skills involved in gambling. Still only slightly better than a talented amateur, the first thing the pc begins to learn is the rules of games they play; including nuances and loopholes, of course. Also, the beginning of all techniques is available, depending on the focus of the pc. However, the pc has a low skill level and is not easily able to keep up in large group games, or high speed ones. The pc with novice gambling is able to play most games, but is not yet able to break even or make much of a living from their skill as they are still a victim of chance.

Competent: 26-75
The competent gambler is just that ~ competent in their skill. Able to play all games of chance, and to quickly pick up rules of those unfamiliar ones, this person is able to make a reasonable living from being a gambler, so long as they play against the unskilled. It is when facing others with this skill where their weaknesses show, of course. The competent gambler is also, should they wish it, a competent cheat, but should be wary of those with a higher Detection skill.

Expert: 76-150
With expertise in gambling, the pc is able to more than make a living but may, now, devise their own games and win against very poor odds. With a full understanding of all the techniques of gambling, the pc is able to play fairly - or unfairly - in large stake games, fast paced or highly complex. They can apply all techniques with ease and are able to earn a very good wage, making a comfortable living.

Master: 151-250
Mastery of gambling is just that - the ability to play the odds, apparently even against them. With excellent judgement and the ability to predict their opponents' behavior with almost uncanny accuracy, the master of gambling is successful in each game they choose to play.

Credit:Faith
Last edited by Faith Augustin Champion on Wed Dec 26, 2018 11:56 pm, edited 5 times in total. word count: 701
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Genuvah
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Gambling

I like it :lol:

In all seriousness, good to see that this will get some love.

Does this extend to gaming as a whole or just games that include wagers. Games of chance and skill like cards, dice, etc? I'd like to see mentions to chess/checkers and so on. I used to write stories about people having games of chance, they can be pretty fun and suspenseful, depending on the setting.

Just some token comments, I'm looking forward to seeing this take shape.
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Faith Augustin Champion
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Gambling

Genuvah wrote:I like it :lol:

In all seriousness, good to see that this will get some love.

Does this extend to gaming as a whole or just games that include wagers. Games of chance and skill like cards, dice, etc? I'd like to see mentions to chess/checkers and so on. I used to write stories about people having games of chance, they can be pretty fun and suspenseful, depending on the setting.

Just some token comments, I'm looking forward to seeing this take shape.
Hmmm. Well. Is chess a game of chance? Not necessarily for the players -but defo for those watching / betting on it. And boxing and... omg. A WHOLE new bunch of stuff. Thank you thank you!!
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Genuvah
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Hmm, yeah I guess checkers/chess and similar games are covered more by tactics than guesswork. Love that gambling is gonna potentially be more of a thing. :D
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Hi Faith,

This is a quick heads up that there is currently a Gambling skill that is a WIP (click here). You may want to connect with Avrae Kyric on this to see if they're planning to continue their skill write-up. Please let me know if you would like me to reach out for you.

Thanks!
Ru
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Faith Augustin Champion
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Gambling

Have sent a pm and copied you in! Thanks for that, Ru!
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Egad!

There's whole new slug of stuff here I had not noticed!! :o

Anyway on gambling in particular, do NOT overlook the Acting and Deception skills required in not only fooling your opponent into NOT knowing when you have a good or bad position, but also to subtly goad him into betting recklessly when you do.

Oh yeah, don't forget my gambling contribution - "Suits".
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Faith Augustin Champion
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Gambling

have added those in and tidied it up a bit, Malt - but I can't access that link.

What kind of game is this?
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??????

Can't Access it?

The link doesn't go through??
Weird, it does for me.
It's in "Finished Projects" in the Lounge, Dev section.
But, just in case that still doesn't work, I will take the direct approach.


SUITS


Gambling on Idalos takes many forms. One of the popular new forms is the card game “Suits”. It uses a 60-card deck consisting of the numbers 1 – 10 in six different suits. These suits descend in tie-breaker priority in accordance with the relative height of the namesake for each suit from the surface of the world. So, the highest suit is “Stars”. Just below that is “Clouds”. Then come “Peaks”, “Kites”, "Trees" and “Stones”, in that order. Some cultures in mountainous lands insist that Peaks should trump Clouds, but the majority accept Clouds as being above Peaks.

The Basics of Game Play

Suits is a wagering game intended for three to six players. Basically, a number of cards are dealt to each player, who then take turns discarding any number of cards from their hands. These cards are placed face down in a discard pile, but are shown one time to all players when discarded. No additional cards are drawn during the course of a hand. Wagers are made on each player’s turn where cards are discarded. A player calls “Pass” when he chooses not to discard. Once passed, a player may not discard on any subsequent rounds during that hand. He may still initiate wagering however.

A three-player game has sixteen cards dealt to each player, leaving twelve cards unseen and out of play. With four players, each player receives twelve cards to begin. This also leaves twelve cards out of play. Five players can choose to receive nine or ten cards each to begin a hand, resulting in either ten or fifteen unseen cards. The maximum six players would each be dealt eight cards, again resulting in twelve cards left out of play. These unseen cards are what make it difficult to ensure the success of any strategy.

Some have tried playing “Suits” with seven players, the players getting seven cards each; or eight players, each getting six. Technically, there is no rule against such increases in the number of players. The only real effect is that, with fewer cards to start, more winners are decided by suit-based tie-breakers than the actual card numbers. But that does not make the payoffs any less rich. It is up to the gaming community to decide.

When an entire round of turns passes with no further discards, players show their remaining cards, resolution takes place, and the pot is divided by the winners. There are three winners, though there is no rule that it must be three different people. Often a player takes more than one part of the pot. The definitions of victory are called “Quantity”, “Quality” and “Quandary”.

The Three Conditions of Victory

“Quantity” is claimed by the player with the lowest numbered card in that suit with the highest number of cards still in play. For instance, if there are more total “Peaks” cards than any other suit, in all player’s hands combined, at resolution, then the player with the lowest “Peak” card wins this prize. If it should occur that players discard so many cards that there are no more than one card of any suit still in play, the player holding the card in the lowest suit wins.

“Quality” is claimed by the player with the highest number of cards in a run of consecutive numbers of a single suit. For instance, if among all the cards left in play, there is a seven, eight, nine, ten of “Clouds”, but a two, three, four, five, six of “Stones”, then the player with the “six of Stones” wins this prize. It does not matter that the cards in “Clouds’ were higher numbers. There were only four in a row, whereas there were five cards in a row in “Stones”. In ties, however, the pot goes to the highest suit.

Often, there are hands where the longest streak is only two cards. If players go on a real discard binge, there may be no streaks at all. In this case, the “Quality” pot is not claimed, and rolls over to be added to the next hand’s “Quality” pot.

“Quandary” is awarded to the player with the card whose number equals the total number of cards in play. Since there are frequently hands where there are more than ten cards left in play, the digits used to form a two-digit number are added together to form a single digit. For instance, if there are fifteen cards left in play the “one” and “five” are added to make “six”, which becomes the official “Quandary” number for that hand.

Since there may be more than one card of the same “Quandary” number, the player with that number in the highest suit wins. If it should occur that no one has a card of that number, the “Quandary” pot rolls over to be added to the next hand’s “Quandary” pot.

Dividing the Pot
It is not hard to keep the different pots separate, because they are kept separate throughout the game. This is done using one or more “Suit Stack” arrays. This is made up of a series of connected tubes, set side-by-side, on a base for stability. The standard game uses five tubes, but players can decide on using more. Most "Suit Stacks" are made to accommodate custom games. These tubes are wide enough to hold standard gambling chips. As wagers are made, the wagered chips are placed in the tubes in as equal proportion as possible; meaning that there must be a chip placed in each tube before a second can be placed in any of them.

There is still plenty of manipulation of the pots that can be accomplished. For even though a player cannot put, say, a fifth chip into one of the tubes until there are four in all of them, there is no rule as to the denomination of the chips as they are placed. All players must match the total amount of a given wager, but the placement of the wager does not need to be equalized in value among the three tubes. This means that players could always place gold chips in the same tube, while only putting coppers in the others, meaning there would be a rich payoff in only one of the three winning categories. This is because the three different categories only win certain tubes. “Quantity” always collects the coins in the two tubes on the dealer’s right. “Quality” always collects the two tubes on the dealer’s left. And “Quandary” collects the center tube. If players decide to use more than five tubes, they must agree beforehand how the additional tubes are to be divided among winning pots.
When pots roll over to a second hand, a second “Suit Stack” is placed on the table, aligning the tubes to their appropriate positions. Or a Suit Stack array may be provided that already has double the number of tubes. This is so the upcoming hand can still maintain equalized stacking of new chips. Then when resolution occurs, the appropriate tubes are collected from both “Suit Stacks” by the winner of that category.

In Parting

Since winning categories are decided by cards collected from all players’ hands together, it is very difficult to be sure that what you discard will ultimately benefit you. You may have cards that would win you all three categories, only to have a single card, discarded by one of your competitors, ruin all of them. Or, the lack of knowing what is in your competitors’ hands may lead you to discard a card that would have won you one or more categories.

This risk is partially reduced by getting to see all the discards as they are discarded. Depending on the accuracy of his memory, a player can get a good idea of what remains unseen in other players’ hands. But then this is also countered by the fact that not all of the sixty card deck is dealt at the beginning of each hand. Players do NOT get to see these cards, so there will always be uncertainty. This is the fun – and risk – of Suits.

Good luck, and may Xiur reward your hope.
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Faith Augustin Champion
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On Faith I can't. No player can. Is this like... available to players anywhere I can link? I don't want to just put one game in the gambling write up, but would rather link to examples, where possible. Where be it for players to look at good sir?
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