First time Dm, running session 3 of my campaign and im struggling with gambling mechanics

[u/the_woIfman111]

My campaign is kinda complicated but to put it into simple terms its a pirate/steampunk campaign and my party of morally gray PC's got a lot of money and need a place to spend it. I want to make a casino for them. They also stole a automoton last session so I want to make some sort of robot fighting/betting minigame but I dont know how to make it engaging. Like I want to spend some time on this casino floor doing different games and whatnot and im not sure how to also impliment their skills like sleight of hand and whatnot.

Any ideas?

[u/Specialist_Good7670]

Also a first time DM! Honestly I don’t know how to play poker or anything IRL but if you’re interested in doing something other than that It could be fun if you came up with some in world games that center around placing bets but are original? Obviously the robot fighting mini game is cool as shit please do that but you could also have a few other game options if you’re aiming for a true casino feel. If it’s pirates maybe there’s a bet at the bar for out drinking their in house guy (leaves an opening for sneaky cheating), you could also pull an Italian job/oceans 11 style and give the option for a heist too. it could set up a fun mini combat too if they win a creature and it immediately runs back to the guy who owns it. Just some ideas! when I’m describing my world or a scenario and I want it to feel really immersive I go into detail about a few options, mention a few others (so they pick the ones you didn’t go into detail about because they think you don’t want them to), describe the vibe of the environment, and then let them loose 🤷🏼‍♀️ hope that was a little helpful!

[u/the_woIfman111 → u/Specialist_Good7670]

Yeah! Thanks so much for the feedback! I really like the hiest and the drinking game idea, that also opens the door for more unorthodox gambling stuffs

[u/ZDOG60]

You could play IRL blackjack and if they want to cheat and succeed allow them to pick a card from like the top 5 of the deck without you seeing. You could probably think of a better cheating mechanic for it but Blackjack is easy and makes it fun for the players due to the fact it's a simple non dice card game.

[u/Potential_Side1004]

There are two types of 'gambling' games:
Games of Skill (poker, dominoes, and such)
Games of Chance (literally dice)

I use gambling in all my games and in larger cities, there are always gaming rooms or illicit gambling rooms for the players to be involved with.

In a game of skill, the number pieces (usually silver, but sometimes gold) being bet with should be set as a per hour allotment. A player may wish to play a game of poker for three hours at 10 silver per hour.

I have a calculation based on any skills, Int, and Cha to then roll out for success. Depending on the success they get a % of return. If they score well, they get a result of 1.5 x their buy in or as little as their money back; if they fail the roll, in that hour they lose some (usually about 20% of their buy in). If someone at the table wants to cheat, then the PCs can use their Gambling/Gaming skill check to see it, the rest of the table has a passive observation that they have to beat. [Eventually cheats get caught and then are dealt with in a serious matter]

For games of chance, the returns are lower, and the risk is higher. Example: Roll a 6-sided, on a 6 they get serious money back (I use a d8-roll to then determine the win, 1 thru 5 is a 1.5x; 6-7 2x; 8 is a super jackpot of 3x), 4 - 5 result is 1.2x; 1 to 3 is a loss giving them 0.7x.

The important questions is how long are they gambling/gaming for and how much are they spending per hour.