The earliest set of dice every discovered is around 5,000 years old, and it\u2019s probably safe to assume that people were betting on whether Og could outrun that saber-tooth tiger long before craps was invented. Therefore, gamblers are fair game for nearly any genre of role-playing. Gamblers are most common in modern games (especially in games that focus on cops or criminals), games set in the old west, and space operas.<\/p>\n
The Name Game <\/strong><\/p>\n Gamblers often have colorful nicknames. Most nicknames in the gambling world are based on the gambler\u2019s style of play (\u201cAlways In\u201d Charlie), place of origin (\u201cLouisville\u201d Joe McElhinney), or personality (\u201cSlick\u201d Mike Williamson). \u201cLucky\u201d is also a common nickname in gambling circles, for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n The Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n The gambler\u2019s most important number will depend on his game of choice and style of play. Pool players who rely on their skill will need a decent Body Number to play the game well (and a good Nerve Number if they\u2019re hustlers). Poker players, who need to be able to bluff as well as read their opponents\u2019 \u201ctells,\u201d will need high Nerve Numbers. Card counters and sports betters who rely heavily on statistics and handicapping will need a high Brain.<\/p>\n Suggested Jobs: <\/strong>Actor, Bagman, Bartender, Baseball Legend, Bird Dog, Bookie, Bouncer, Boxing Promoter, Cage Girl, Card Mechanic, Card Shark, College Student, Cop, Cowboy, Crime Boss, Croupier, Day Trader, Dealer, Drug Dealer, Dentist, Grifter, Gunslinger, Handicapper, High Roller, Hooker, Horse Farmer, House\/Proposition Player, Jockey, Lawyer, Lone Shark, Lounge Singer, Noble, Pit Boss, Pool Hustler, Professional Poker Player, Riverboat Gambler, Rounder, Sports Journalist, Spy, Stage Magician, Swashbuckler, Texas Oilman, Tipster, Trainer<\/p>\n Gimmicks:<\/strong> Ace Up Your Sleeve, Bankroll, Beginner\u2019s Luck, Card Sense, Comp Magnet, Connected, Good Instincts, Hot Deck, House Credit, Insider Information, I\u2019ve Got A System, Knows A Guy, Lucky, Midas Touch, Nerves of Steel, Owed Favors, Poker Face, Reputation,<\/p>\n Weaknesses: <\/strong>Alcoholic, Bad Liar, Bad Luck, Bad Reputation, Barred, Chaser, Compulsive Gambler, Cooler, Dames, Debt, Enemies, OCD, Superstitious, Wanted Man<\/p>\n Skills: <\/strong>Bar Bets, Bluff, Card Counting, Card Tricks, Cheating, Cock Fighting, Craps, Game Theory, Fast Talking, Firearms, Handicapping, Hedging, Hit and Run Artist, Odds Assessing, Pool, Progression Betting, Self-Defense, Side Spin, Sports Trivia, Spread Betting, Statistics, Trick Shot<\/p>\n WWPHITM? <\/strong>Powers Booth, Kate Bosworth, Pierce Brosnan, Nicholas Cage, Keith Carradine, George Clooney, Larry Cedar, Sean Connery, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Robert DeNiro, Johnny Depp, Jodie Foster, Vivica A. Fox, James Gandolfini, James Garner, Mel Gibson, Jackie Gleason, Elliot Gould, Gene Hackman, Famke Janssen, Peter Jason, Jack Kelly, Val Kilmer, John Malkovich, William H. Macy, Roger Moore, Nick Moran, Paul Newman, Edward Norton, Kevin Pollack, Robert Redford, Kenny Rogers, Kevin Spacey, Sharon Stone, John Turturro, Billy Dee Williams, Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, James Woods<\/p>\n Tag Line<\/strong>: \u201cIf you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you are<\/em> the sucker.\u201d\u2014Mike McDermott, Rounders<\/em><\/p>\n Tools of the Trade: <\/strong>The house generally provides everything a gambler needs to ply his trade, with one important exception: Cash. Still, traveling gamblers often carry their own cards or dice for use in \u201cfriendly games.\u201d Those who play dishonestly will need marked cards, loaded dice, mirrors, mechanical gadgets, and all sorts of additional tools, and possibly a weapon in case things go wrong. Since gamblers are often superstitious, it\u2019s not unusual for them to own \u201clucky\u201d items. Gamblers will also have tools appropriate to their chosen game. For example, pool players may have a custom cue, those who spend their time at the horse or dog track will always have racing forms, and sports gamblers might wear jerseys or caps branded with their favorite team\u2019s logo.<\/p>\n Where You’ll Find Him: <\/strong>Vegas, baby! Also Indian reservations, riverboat casinos, smoky backrooms, bars, garages, race tracks, sporting events, and just about anywhere else where there\u2019s something worth betting on.<\/p>\n Social Circle: <\/strong>Other gamblers, dealers, waitresses, bartenders, and other people found at places where gambling takes place. Those who are unlucky or have gambling problems will probably be familiar with pawn shop owners, loan sharks, and other potentially shady characters.<\/p>\n Sample Character <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Bret Maverick<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Body: <\/span><\/strong>12<\/span><\/p>\n Brain: <\/span><\/strong>15<\/span><\/p>\n Nerve: <\/span><\/strong>13<\/span><\/p>\n Job: <\/span><\/strong>Card Player (15)<\/span><\/p>\n Gimmick: <\/span><\/strong>Smooth Talker (14)<\/span><\/p>\n Weakness: <\/span><\/strong>Prefers to Take the Road Less Likely To Get Him Shot (14)<\/span><\/p>\n Skills: <\/span><\/strong>Brawling +3; Snappy Dresser; Gunslinging +1<\/span><\/p>\n WWPHITM? <\/span><\/strong>James Garner<\/span><\/p>\n Dumb Fact: <\/span><\/strong>In 2006, a ten-foot tall statue of Bret Maverick was unveiled in Norman, Oklahoma (James Garner\u2019s home town). <\/span><\/p>\n Tag Line: \u201c<\/span><\/strong>My Pappy always said, \u2018A coward dies a thousand deaths, a hero dies but one.\u2019 A thousand to one is pretty good odds.\u201d<\/p>\n HP:<\/strong> 12<\/p>\n YY:<\/strong> 4<\/p>\n Inspirational Material<\/strong><\/p>\n Authors<\/strong><\/p>\n Ian Fleming<\/p>\n Edmond Hoyle<\/p>\n Movies<\/strong><\/p>\n 21<\/em><\/p>\n Casino<\/em><\/p>\n The Color of Money<\/em><\/p>\n The Cooler<\/em><\/p>\n The Gambler<\/em><\/p>\n The Hustler<\/em><\/p>\n Several James Bond movies<\/p>\n The Last Boy Scout<\/em><\/p>\n Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels<\/em> (Eddie)<\/p>\n Maverick<\/em><\/p>\n Rounders<\/em><\/p>\n Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back <\/em>(Lando Calrissian)<\/p>\n The Sting<\/em><\/p>\n Tombstone<\/em> (Doc Holiday)<\/p>\n Music<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAce of Spades,\u201d Motorhead<\/p>\n \u201cThe Baron,\u201d Johnny Cash<\/p>\n \u201cThe Card Cheat,\u201d The Clash<\/p>\n \u201cCasino Queen,\u201d Wilco<\/p>\n \u201cDeal,\u201d The Grateful Dead (Dr. John does a great cover)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Gambler,\u201d Kenny Rogers<\/p>\n \u201cGood Run of Bad Luck,\u201d Clint Black<\/p>\n \u201cHardin Wouldn\u2019t Run,\u201d Johnny Cash<\/p>\n \u201cHouse of the Rising Sun,\u201d The Animals<\/p>\n \u201cThe Jack,\u201d AC\/DC<\/p>\n \u201cKentucky Gambler,\u201d Merle Haggard<\/p>\n \u201cLonesome Loser,\u201d Little River Band<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Gold and Mr. Mudd,\u201d Townes Van Zandt<\/p>\n \u201cQueen of Hearts,\u201d Juice Newton<\/p>\n \u201cStill the Same,\u201d Bob Segar<\/p>\n \u201cTumblin\u2019 Dice,\u201d The Rolling Stones<\/p>\n \u201cViva Las Vegas,\u201d Elvis Presley<\/p>\n TV <\/strong><\/p>\n CSI <\/em>(Warrick Brown)<\/p>\n Deadwood<\/em> (Wild Bill Hickock)<\/p>\n Maverick <\/em>(Bret Maverick, Bart Maverick, Beau Maverick, Brent Maverick, Pappy Maverick)<\/p>\n The Sopranos<\/em> (David Scatino)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The gambler is a character who makes a living (or tries to) by wagering on contests of skill or chance. Most professional gamblers prefer games that rely on personal skill, such as pool or poker, but a few play games of pure chance (such as slot machines) or bet on the outcomes of events…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1998],"tags":[2976,2693,2760,2807,2826,2833,2969,2970,2971,2972,2973,2974,2975,2650,2977,2978,2979,2980,2981,2982,2983,2984,2985,2986,2987,283,266,267,268,270,271,272,274,275,276,279,281,282,119,284,326,422,1015,1021,1379,1506,1723,2500,2501,2607],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archetype-of-the-week","tag-doc-holiday","tag-the-last-boy-scout","tag-motorhead","tag-tombstone","tag-dr-john","tag-lock-stock-two-smoking-barrels","tag-mike-mcdermott","tag-gambler","tag-ian-fleming","tag-edmond-hoyle","tag-the-cooler","tag-the-gambler","tag-lando-calrissian","tag-las-vegas","tag-wilco","tag-the-grateful-dead","tag-kenny-rogers","tag-clint-black","tag-the-animals","tag-ac-dc","tag-merle-haggard","tag-little-river-band","tag-bob-segar","tag-rolling-stones","tag-the-sopranos","tag-283","tag-gamblers","tag-poker","tag-horse-racing","tag-casino","tag-maverick","tag-james-garner","tag-the-hustler","tag-color-of-money","tag-blackjack","tag-texas-hold-em","tag-cards","tag-rounders","tag-archetypes","tag-lando","tag-the-sting","tag-csi","tag-johnny-cash","tag-elvis","tag-the-clash","tag-deadwood","tag-star-wars","tag-james-bond","tag-2501","tag-wild-bill-hickok"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1206,"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions\/1206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/bretmaverick.jpg\" "\\"The")