Interlude: A Friendly Game At The Lucky Draw

[raikenclw]

Hello!

I recently started a thread elsewhere in The Village Commons entitled "Suggested PbP Mechanic: Interludes" and as a consequence have been encouraged to create such a thing "for real."

I therefore propose the following [copied and pasted from my latest post to the above thread]:

Off the top of my head: a group of folk playing a game of poker in a Wild West saloon as the sun sets on another dusty day. Those who wish to play post their characters to the table, giving themselves whatever hands they wish. As others join, their possible hands become steadily restricted. Once we get 4-5 poker players, anyone else who joins would be the bartender, server, piano player, etc.



If - after a while - we want some drama, a drunk might enter the saloon and try to pick a fight with someone. Or perhaps one of the poker players gets caught trying to cheat. Or a gang starts to rob the bank across the street. Or something else appropriate to the setting takes place.

For such use as this, we shouldn't have much need for a defined game system. But in the event that someone wishes to be all formal about the matter, this Interlude will use the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE), with the optional setting rule "Born A Hero" in play.

This may go somewhere, it may go nowhere. We'll see.

Richard

[hengest]

[OOC Brilliant post, have an Exalt.]

What kind of poker are we playing?  One of those limited deck things or just regular modern stud?    

[raikenclw]

Apr 27, 2021 21:41:32 GMT -5 hengest said:

[OOC Brilliant post, have an Exalt.]

What kind of poker are we playing?  One of those limited deck things or just regular modern stud?    

I actually hadn't thought about it. But your question inspired me to Google up the following [from realmoney.com, a site devoted to professional poker] . . .

Popular Old West Card Games

Poker in the Old West looked different from the poker games played today. The most common poker games in the Old West were rudimentary versions of draw and stud poker. These games used a much smaller deck and had more than a few rule variations unfamiliar to today’s draw and stud poker players.

Poker decks in the Old West were made up of just twenty cards: A-K-Q-J-10 in the four traditional suits. These poker games started by dealing out all twenty cards to each player, and until draw poker swept across the West, there was no such thing as a draw. Hands were made up out of what cards you were dealt, rather than drawing towards a better hand.

Poker hand rankings were different in the Old West, too, with combinations called things like “full” and “triplets.” These were similar to today’s full house and three-of-a-kind, respectively. Because of the cards involved in the game, the only straight flush in the game was a Royal Flush. The lack of cards below 10 made straight flush hands irrelevant, and this hand ranking was only added after the expansion to a 52-card deck.

But poker wasn’t the only popular card game during the Old West. These games were popular too:

Three Card Monte – Three cards are placed face-down and quickly switched around, and the player must identify the card with the queen. While some establishments might have run a fair game, the potential for sleight of hand on the part of the dealer has made Three Card Monte a popular con game in the modern era.

Faro – From 1825 until 1915, this popular and easy-to-learn card game was played in virtually every gambling house in the Wild West. Using one deck, Faro allowed players to wager on any denomination card from the ace though king. The dealer would then draw two cards: the dealer’s card and the player’s card. All bets on the dealer’s card would go to the house, while all bets on the player’s card would be paid out at even money. Players could also bet “high card,” a wager that the player’s card would be of a higher value than the dealer’s card.

Brag – An ancestor of poker, brag is played with three cards per player. Players wager based on the strength of their three cards, although bluffing also plays a large part in the game. For a modern example of three card brag, watch Guy Ritchie’s debut film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

It strikes me that Brag might be the version which encourages the best roleplaying, with the added benefit that we have an easily-seen example of play (through the film referenced above). On the other hand, Faro would also be historically-accurate and has similar if much shorter cinematic tuition available [e.g. Tombstone's faro scene].

I myself have no preference, so it's up to the game's initial players to decide . . . just like in real life!

[raikenclw]

Ummm . . .

How do I create more folders/threads here?

I was looking to create one for character descriptions (Savage World stats optional, at the current time), a thread describing The Lucky Draw (including a floorplan . . . I really like creating floorplans) and a third thread that will be the "action" one. NOTE: I figure this thread will be the OOC thread. That's all I anticipate needing, at least at this point.

[Admin Pete]

Apr 30, 2021 2:13:23 GMT -5 raikenclw said:

Ummm . . .

How do I create more folders/threads here?

I was looking to create one for character descriptions (Savage World stats optional, at the current time), a thread describing The Lucky Draw (including a floorplan . . . I really like creating floorplans) and a third thread that will be the "action" one. NOTE: I figure this thread will be the OOC thread. That's all I anticipate needing, at least at this point.

Those folders are sub-forums and that is an Admin only function. I see you are off line so let me set up what I think you want and then you can PM me with any corrections.

[Admin Pete]

Apr 30, 2021 2:13:23 GMT -5 raikenclw said:

Ummm . . .

How do I create more folders/threads here?

I was looking to create one for character descriptions (Savage World stats optional, at the current time), a thread describing The Lucky Draw (including a floorplan . . . I really like creating floorplans) and a third thread that will be the "action" one. NOTE: I figure this thread will be the OOC thread. That's all I anticipate needing, at least at this point.

Your action and OOC threads will be in the same area this thread we are in is. The two folders/sub-forums is where the character and gamemaster info goes. Look at how erisred does it in his game and use that as the model for this setup. PM me with any questions.

[hengest]

♣J ♠6 ♥7

These are the cards in Juliana's hand. She looks nervously around the room and over at the door every few seconds.

[raikenclw]

May 2, 2021 1:56:49 GMT -5 hengest said:

♣J 6♠ ♥7

These are the cards in Juliana's hand. She looks nervously around the room and over at the door every few seconds.

It looks like we're going to play Brag, but think we need an action thread . . . 

Title Of Action Thread: The Regular Evening Game

[hengest]

May 3, 2021 1:57:07 GMT -5 raikenclw said:

May 2, 2021 1:56:49 GMT -5 hengest said:

♣J 6♠ ♥7

These are the cards in Juliana's hand. She looks nervously around the room and over at the door every few seconds.

It looks like we're going to play Brag, but think we need an action thread . . . 

Title Of Action Thread: The Regular Evening Game

...should one of us start the action thread?

[hengest]

Some clear info about Brag over here at Pagat.com: www.pagat.com/vying/brag.html

[raikenclw]

Very sorry to be MIA for the last week. Switching back to audit shift is really knocking me out flat. Also, I've got some sort of issue getting connected to the network, here at the hotel. Rather than offering up the network's login page, my Surface Pro keeps trying to go to "msconnecttest . com" [or something like that] and - of course - it can't get there because it's not logged into the network. Apparently, Microsoft has hijacked my internet connection, but I can't figure out how to get it back.

[I'm here through my work computer, at the moment].

In reference to the game: I'm told that I can create new threads here. But I can't seem to find a "Create Thread" button?

[hengest]

raikenclw Did you still want to try this? Should I go ahead with anything?

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Aug 1, 2021 20:12:25 GMT -5 hengest said:

raikenclw Did you still want to try this? Should I go ahead with anything?

Also I think the Admin fixed the Create Thread problem let us know if you still have any trouble.

[raikenclw]

My connection is soooooooo slow tonight. Charter/Spectrum had a MAJOR infrastructure crash day before yesterday and the aftereffects seem to be lingering on. I'll come back in a few hours and see if it's any better.

[mao]

Can I play "James West" from the old "Wild, Wilde West show"? I figured that would be ok w the "hero" referance?

[raikenclw]

Aug 3, 2021 3:12:17 GMT -5 mao said:

Can I play "James West" from the old "Wild, Wilde West show"? I figured that would be ok w the "hero" referance?

That would be perfect!

[mao]

Aug 3, 2021 11:55:33 GMT -5 raikenclw said:

Aug 3, 2021 3:12:17 GMT -5 mao said:

Can I play "James West" from the old "Wild, Wilde West show"? I figured that would be ok w the "hero" referance?

That would be perfect!

I "updated the char, sheet is posted