Gambling (also known as betting) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elements to be present: consideration (an amount wagered), risk (chance), and a prize. There are 6 distinct methods of wagering money in Red Dead Redemption. In this guide you will learn how to be the best in each and every one of them.

The goal is to make the best 5 card poker hand using your 2 cards and the 5 community cards on the table. You begin by betting rounds as community cards are revealed: the flop (three cards), the turn (one card), and the river (one card).

High card: The lowest hand. Just whatever your highest card is (ace high, king high)

One pair: You have two of the same card (two 2s, two aces, etc)

Two pair: You have two different pairs (two 2s and two aces)

Three of a Kind: You have three of the same card (three kings, three 2s, etc)

Straight: All cards are in order (2,3,4,5,6 or 8,9,10,J,Q)

Flush: All cards are the same suit (All hearts, all spades)

Full House: A three of a kind along with a pair (three kings and two 9s, three aces and two queens)

Four of a Kind: Four of the same card (four 7s, four kings)

Straight Flush: Cards are sequential, and are all the same suit (7,8,9,10,J all hearts)

Royal Flush: A straight flush that consists of 10,J,Q,K,A. Not really a separate hand, but it still trumps other straight flushes.

MacFarlane's Ranch - $10

Armadillo - $25

Thieves' Landing - $25

Chuparosa - $50

Casa Madrugada - $50

Blackwater Saloon - $100

Blackwater Hotel - $250

General Poker Tips:

Make your money betting, not calling.

Be patient, don't play too many hands.

Risk management - to be a winning player, it's not about the hands that you can win with, it's about the hands that you can fold when you're beat.

Fold pre - you have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them.

You don't have to win it back with the horse you lost it on.

The 'High Stakes' Poker is at the hotel in Blackwater. It costs $250 to enter, and cheating is impossible, as you cannot wear the Elegant Suit while playing here. You have to wear the Gentleman's Attire in order to be able to access the high stakes game. Originally to unlock the outfit you had to sign in to a Social Club account. But for the PC release, this outfit is automatically unlocked from the start of the game. It is possible to make $1250 dollars in one sitting. You must first unlock West Elizabeth before being able to reach the location of the game, it will appear at the Blackwater Hotel on the corner of Tallulah and Main, across from the Police Station.

For a large advantage in High Stakes poker, on the first round, bet $670, and some will call/fold. On the next round of betting, some players will check or bet large amounts. Get them to bet the largest possible amount without them going all in, and then you yourself go all in. The NPC will automatically fold, and lose all their money. This only works on the first round.

You can cheat at poker by purchasing the elegant suit at Thieves' Landing for $70.

By wearing this suit, you can attempt to cheat when dealing cards. To cheat, you need to carefully balance the stick on the dealing screen, aiming for the middle to get an extra card. If it strays too far from the center it begins to turn red, indicating that other players are beginning to notice. If completed successfully, a random card from the bottom of the deck is retrieved. Failure will result in a duel.

When betting, you can try and exchange a card for one in your hand. This uses the same analog balance curve as the initial cheating draw. The cheat card then goes into the hand and the card that was chosen to be replaced then goes into the reserve.

Only one card can be stored and the reserve card is randomly reset if you choose to cheat while dealing. You can then exchange your reserve card for a card.

If caught, you will be challenged to a duel. You can then pop a cap in their ass for even suggesting that you're a cheater.

Blackjack is a card game where the goal is to get a hand value as close to 21 as possible without going over, and to beat the dealer's hand. You want to aim to get a higher hand value than the dealer, or have the dealer bust (go over 21).

Hitting gives you a card, standing keeps you where you are. Face cards are worth 10 (jack, queen, king) and aces can be 1 or 11. If counting the Ace as 11 would cause your hand to exceed 21 (bust), such as if you already have cards totaling 12 in your hand, the Ace will automatically be counted as 1 to keep you in the game. Other cards are worth their face value (1-10).

Splitting refers to the option of separating your initial two-card hand into two separate hands when you're dealt a pair. So if you choose to split, you must place an additional bet equal to your original bet, effectively creating two separate hands to play against the dealer.

There are four locations where the player can engage in Blackjack:

Thieves' Landing - $40

Rathskeller Fork - $20

Chuparosa - $30

Blackwater - $50

When the dealer has 7 or more... hit until you have 17 or more.

When the dealer has 6 or less... hit until you have 12 or more.

Always split Aces and 8s.

Double with an 11 or 10.

If all else fails you can always put the dealer down like a dog and load last save.

Liar's Dice is a bluffing dice game where you try to guess what's under everyone's cups and call out when they lie. The bet for all locations is $20.

Each participant uses a cup and begins with five dice. To start, one player is chosen to make the initial "bid." At the beginning of each round, all players shake their cup of five dice, then slam it face-down on the table to hide the results. Everyone may glance at their own dice and consider the overall probability across all cups.

Raise the bid by increasing the quantity or the face value, or both.

Call a bluff believing the bid is too high, also known as "liar," which ends the round.

Go "spot-on" claiming the bid is exactly correct.

If a bluff or spot on is called, all dice are revealed and the total matching the bid is counted. If the challenge succeeds, the bidder loses a die; if not, the challenger does.

At the end of the round, the loser of a die begins the next round (or the player to their left if eliminated). Each player resets by shaking their remaining dice, covering them again, and bidding continues in this fashion until only one player has dice left.

There are 3 locations in game you can play Liar's Dice:

Escalera - $20

Casa Madrugada - $20

Thieves' Landing - $20

It is much easier to win at this game when playing against only one opponent.

If you can get your opponent down to one die remaining, it's over for them as they will always bid the value of their die honestly during their initial bid, making it really easy to cheese the minigame.

It is safer and more profitable to remain truthful as NPC's will call your bluff more often than not.

During the Stranger side mission "Lights, Camera, Action", the bid is set to $200 making it one of the most profitable opportunities in the game. The bid will remain at $200 until you leave the table. As long as you keep winning, you will get an increase of $200 each game. After each game during the moment of choosing to bet or quit, you can auto-save. This will keep the money rolling.

Five finger fillet is a memory/rhythm game where the goal is to complete the sequence of buttons, i.e. stabbing between your fingers faster than your opponent.

Five Finger Fillet has 5 different locations throughout the map:

Armadillo - $1-$100

Thieves' Landing - $1-$100

Manzanita Post - $1-$100

Torquemada - $1-$100

Escalera - $1-$100

The best tip is to look down at your keyboard/controller with a little note of the pattern.

These patterns stay the same no matter what as long as it remains in the bet amount:

$1 to $4 bets – 1 repeatedly

$5 to $9 bets – 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2 (repeat)

$10 to $24 bets – 1, 2, 1, 3, 1, 2, 1, 3, 1, 2 (repeat)

$25 to $100 bets – 1, 2, 1, 3, 1, 4, 1, 2, 1, 3 (repeat)

Arm Wrestling is the least profitable gambling activity in the game, only going from $1 to $5.

While watching the opponent's face; if the opponent is struggling and trying to overtake, defend. When the strength bar is full start hitting m1, when it's half-way down stop and hold m1. To win easily, tap m1 one time and hold m1 very quick when your strength is full. You will never get beaten.

Plainview - $1-$5

Agave Viejo - $1-$5

El Matadero - $1-$5

Pacific Union Railroad Camp - $1-$5

Horseshoes is a game played between two people using four horseshoes and two throwing targets set in a sandbox area. It can be a bit of a pain in the ass but timing and patience is key.

The first step and best trick is to hold LShift and aim and get the stake in between the horseshoe, this allows for the best accuracy. You must build up momentum by swinging back and forth. Once you have the horseshoe lined up with the stake and built momentum you must release spacebar at the white notch.

The trick is consistency. DO NOT skip to a turn; the AI does worse when you're watching them. When skipping, they will more than likely get both horseshoes.

Las Hermanas

MacFarlane's Ranch

Rathskeller Fork