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Disembarking from their transport ship Artum strode forward with his arm wrapped around Asami’s waist and the other three humans following close behind them. Glancing down at the woman at his side Artum had to suppress a lustful growl. Instead of her usual casual attire Asami wore a dark red dress with a plunging neckline held up by thin straps which looped over her shoulders. The dress flowed down to her ankles and had a long slit on the right side almost up to her hip so that as she walked she would offer a glimpse of her pale, slender leg and the Draast leather boots she wore. When he asked where she had gotten the dress from she had simply smiled enigmatically at him and walked away leaving him wondering if all human women were as confounding as she was.
Noticing she was being watched Asami tilted her head up to look at him with a small smile. Her long black hair was pulled up and held in position by a long, metal hair stick giving him an unobstructed view of the nape of her neck and her pale back. Unable to resist any longer Artum leaned down and kissed her neck “You look ravishing my love.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself.” she grinned as she leaned against him and ran her hand over the hard leather of his duster. Feeling him squeeze her hip tightly Asami tutted “There’ll be time for that later.” she promised with a husky whisper prompting a soft growl to emanate from his throat.
As they reached the end of the hallway the doors parted and a group of armed aliens approached them with a single unarmed one at the centre wearing long flowing robes with sleeves long enough to cover it’s hands. Stepping away from the pack the alien wearing robes walked up to them and said “Pirate Lord Artum? It is my honour to welcome you to Epoch Station.” he said with a bow, his hands clasped together in front of him causing the long sleeves of his robe to droop down.
“Rather ceremonious for a bunch of pirates ain’t they?” Tucker mumbled from behind.
Either not hearing or choosing to ignore Tuckers remarks the alien said “I am Tradi, your attendant for the duration of the Summit. Should you require anything during your stay please to not hesitate to ask.” he said before looking passed Artum to the humans with him “Is this the entirety of your entourage?”
“That’s right.” Artum nodded.
“Very good. Now as I’m sure you’re aware Epoch Station is neutral territory and no weapons are allowed on board.”
“What do you call those?” Artum asked gesturing to the weapons brandished by Tradi’s escort.
“These men are under the employ of my Master; not one of your fellow Pirate Lords. They are here solely to ensure that civility reigns during the proceedings and as such we are required to search you men for weapons.”
“And if we don’t allow that?” Tucker asked as he folded his arms across his chest.
“Then you are free to leave.” Tradi replied smoothly. “You were invited here as a courtesy by my Master. If you do not wish to abide by his rules you may leave but do not expect to be included in discussions pertaining to the future of this system.”
“Get on with it.” Artum grunted with a dismissive wave of his hand. At a nod from Tradi several of his men walked forward and began to pat down Thatcher, Tucker and Vic confiscating several weapons from each of them.
“I’m gonna want a receipt for all of that.” Tucker said.
Seeing one of Tradi’s men approach Asami Artum moved to step between them and growled out “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I need to search her for weapons.” he replied.
“You will not lay a finger on my bride!” he snarled out in a low and dangerous voice as he stepped closer to loom over him “If anyone tries to touch her I’ll be adding a new coat to my wardrobe, understand?”
His bulbous eyes flicking down to Artums Draastrekian skin coat the alien swallowed hard and struggled to form words before Tradi cleared his throat. “I am sure we can make an exception for Lord Artum’s consort.” he said diplomatically. “Now, if you will follow me I will take you to the reception where the other Pirate Lords are awaiting your arrival.”
As Artum pulled Asami against him possessively and started to lead her passed the alien Asami to patted him on the shoulder “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I’m going to endure a thorough pat down later on.” she smirked as they brushed passed him.
As the five of them trailed after Tradi Artum heard Thatcher say “I told you the coat sends a message.”
Letting out a grunt Artum replied “Any other words of advice you have for me?”
“Back on Earth we’ve got a saying.” Thatcher started.
“Of course you do.” Artum rolled his eyes “You Humans have a saying for every occasion.”
Ignoring the interruption Thatcher continued “It goes like this, ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far’.”
“And what is that suppose to mean?” Artum asked.
“It means when your adversaries can see you’ve got a weapon that you’re willing to use you don’t need to raise your voice to be heard.” Thatcher replied.
“And what weapon do I have that is a threat to the other Pirate Lords?” Artum asked.
“You’ve got four of them with you right now.” Asami smirked up at him. Unable to resist her smile Artum pulled her closer to him and started to affectionately stroke her flank.
Finally reaching their destination Tradi pushed open a large est of doors and announced “May I present the final attendee, Pirate Lord Artum and his entourage.”
Entering the room Artum found himself subject to the oppressive stares of the five other Pirate Lords and their lieutenants. Arranged in a loose approximation of a circle each Lord was sat at a table positioned equal distanced apart allowing enough room for their followers to stand behind them without the groups intruding in one another’s space. In comparison to the four man crew Artum travelled with each of the Pirate Lords had at least a dozen men at their backs.
As Artum moved to sit at the unoccupied table Tradi had a second chair brought out for Asami to sit in while Thatcher, Vic and Tucker took up positions behind them.
“You’re late.” One of the Pirate Lords clicked it’s mandibles together as he glared over at Artum with his large compound eyes “And you brought a whore with you. This is not a social gathering, we are here to discuss business.”
His eyes flicking towards Asami to see how she reacted to the insult Artum was relieved to find that she was apparently choosing to ignore the slight. Turning his attention back to the Lord who had admonished him Artum smiled and said “And here I thought this was an inauguration party to welcome me to your ranks.”
“You aren’t one of us.” another snapped “And whatever tricks you used to ingratiate yourself with Zaldi before you usurped him won’t work on us nor are we intimidated by simple theatrics so you can remove that distasteful coat of yours this instant.”
“I don’t think I will.” Artum growled back before reaching out to rest his hand on Asami’s thigh “You see my lover rather likes the look of it on me and I care far more about her opinion than yours.”
“You will take it off right now or I shall tear it from your corpse!” one of the lieutenants who was a Draastrekian hissed as he stepped forward, his lips curled up into a snarl to reveal his sharp fangs as the muscles in his thick arms bulged and rippled as if he was preparing to leap across the room.
Waving a hand dismissively Artum said “Control your pet, Tellou or I’ll have to put him down.”
Letting out an enraged roar the Draastrekian stormed over the table and charged towards Artum. As soon as he came close to the table Asami brought her foot up and placed it against the edge of the table and shoved it hard causing it to slam into the charging lizardman’s stomach knocking the wind out of him and left him sprawled across the table. Leaping to her feet Asami pulled the metal hair stick from her hair and stabbed it downwards towards his snout with enough force that it pierced through the thick scales on top of his nose. As she drove the sharp point through the roof of his mouth the spike impaled his tongue and continued through his lower jaw to stab into the table beneath.
Pinned to the table the Draastrekian flailed wildly as his scream of pain was muffled by his forcibly closed mouth. Reaching beneath her dress Asami withdrew two knives that had been strapped to her upper thigh. Grabbing hold of the creatures hands Asami held them to the table allowing her to drive the blades through his palms skewering him to the table rendering him completely immobile. “Draastrekians,” she announced loudly to the stunned onlookers as she held out a hand behind her “Have about nighty-eight teeth on average.” accepting a pair of pliers from Vic Asami yanked up the Lizards upper lip to expose his teeth. Gripping the longest fang with the pilers Asami gave a sharp pull tearing the tooth from his mouth with a scream “That’s one.” she announced as she held up the bloody tooth before dropping it to the table.
As Asami started to pull another one out one of the Pirate Lords recovered from his shock long enough to say “Enough of this Artum, call off your whore!”
“And that’s three.” Asami smiled as she yanked out a third tooth before pointing the bloodied pliers at the Pirate Lord who spoke “Call me a whore one more time...” she growled, allowing the threat to dangle in the air.
With a smile on his face Artum reached out to slip his hand through the slit in her dress and affectionately caress her thigh “That’s enough my love.” Looking over her shoulder at him Asami let out a dissatisfied grunt before turning back to the whimpering Draastrekian. Pulling free one of the blades that were pinning his hands to the table Asami drew her hand back and stabbed the knife down right between his eyes, the blade piercing his skull and penetrating it’s brain causing the Draastrekian to convulse violently as it died. Grasping it’s snout for leverage Asami yanked her hair stick out from his mouth with a grunt. Flicking the blood from it Asami deftly pulled up her hair and slipped the needle through it to hold it in place before moving to drape herself across Artum’s lap. Wrapping her arm around his shoulders Asami forced her lips against his.
Stroking her thigh as they kissed Artum looked passed his lover to see the other attendees staring at them. Hiding a smug smile against Asami’s lips Artum thought ‘That’s right, this is a human you’ve all heard so much about. They are as efficient and as brutal as the stories say they are. And the only four in this entire system work for me.’
“My, my, it seems the festivities have started without me.” a voice called out.
Breaking the kiss Artum and Asami turned to see a cowled figure had appeared at the other end of the room. “Who are you?” Artum growled out.
“Ah, forgive my rudeness, I am your host.” he said in an amused tone of voice as he reached up and pulled his hood down to reveal his face “You may call me Dàoguān.” The man had dark red skin with intricate black markings though it was hard to tell if they were tattoos or part of his natural colouring. His sunken, sallow eyes had black irises making them look like two dark pits against his yellow tinged sclera. Turning to address the room as a whole “It is good to see you all, new friends and old. We should get together more often.”
“We aren’t here to socialise Dàoguān. We’re here to deal with the traitor in our midst.” one of them said as he stared balefully over at two of the Pirate Lords in particular.
“I don’t know why you’re looking over here.” one of them spat out “These raids didn’t start until he took over from Zaldi.” he said as he pointed at Artum. “And he’s hardly suffered any attacks.”
“That’s because I am able to defend what’s mine.” Artum retorted “If you all require assistance I’ll be happy to provide escorts for your traders for a nominal fee.” he smirked making the other Lords bristle with anger and glare at him.
“Peace my friends.” Dàoguān said with a wave of his hand. “We have plenty of time to air your grievances. For now please follow my stewards to the quarters we have arranged for you and enjoy my hospitality.” he dismissed them.
Following after Tradi who led them to their lavish chambers the group found their luggage had been brought to their rooms ahead of them. Settling down around a table Artum looked to Thatcher and said “Well?”
Shaking his head Thatcher replied “He’s not a species I’ve ever encountered before. Vic?”
“Nothing that I can recall.” Vic replied.
“I assume you don’t know it either?” he asked Artum who shook his head. “In that case we can probably assume he’s not from a Union species. That makes things difficult.”
“Why should it matter?” Artum asked.
“Because the more we know about who we’re up against the better prepared we can be. If he was from a Union species we could have guessed who’s backing him, what kind of connections he could have. As it is he could be anyone.”
“What makes you think he has someone backing him?” Artum asked.
“Because you don’t just walk up to a bunch of pirate gangs and have a nice little chat with them unless you’ve got some serious clout. Would you have given him the time of day let alone gone along with his plan to overthrow the government and take over the whole of the system if he just turned up on your doorstep asking to see you?”
As Artum shook his head Tucker said with a frown “I think I know him.” seeing everyone turn to look at him Tucker quickly backtracked and said “Not ‘know him’ know him. I mean his species. I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere before I just can’t put my finger on it.”
Choosing to ignore Tucker’s input Thatcher said “I think the best course of action is to do a little reconnaissance before we decide on our next move. We need to know where the other Pirate Lords are laying their heads, see if we can find an armoury or at least some kind of weaponry and see if we can scrounge up some kind of information on this Dàoguān character.” he decided. “Vic you’ll stay here and guard Artum and the rest of us will go exploring.”
“Why can’t Asami stay?” Artum complained with a frown.
“Because if someone tries to kill you it’s easier to protect you if you’re not on top of your bodyguard.” Tucker smirked.
“Sorry baby, we’ll have to have fun later.” Asami smiled as she kissed his cheek before slipping passed him “I’m going to slip into something a little more practical.” she said as she picked up her bag and carried it towards the bedroom.
Finding himself in one of the numerous bars dotted throughout the station Thatcher sat at the counter and ordered a drink. Accepting the drink from the bartender Thatcher took a sip when he heard a voice growl out “You need to come with us Human.”
Looking over his shoulder Thatcher saw two pirates standing behind him, one he recognised from their initial meeting with the Pirate Lords. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” he asked as he turned back around and took another gulp.
“Pirate Lord Yanko wants to see you.” the alien replied.
“So I’m just meant to follow the two of you to some secluded part of the station? I don’t think so. Tell this Yanko of yours that he wants to talk he can come here and see me.” Thatcher replied.
Roughly grabbing Thatcher’s shoulder the pirate glared and said “Firstly, you’ll show him the proper respect and refer to him by his title. Secondly, Lord Yanko is not at your beck and call. If he wants to see you, you’ll go to him.” he growled as he squeezed Thatcher’s shoulder.
Staring at the hand on his shoulder for a long moment before shrugging it off Thatcher looked to the other alien who was standing nervously to the side “You’re friend here wasn’t at the welcome party was he?” seeing him gulp and shake his head Thatcher turned away and picked up his glass again “You might want to tell him what he’s getting into.”
“Listen here-!” he started as he grabbed Thatcher by the wrist only to cry out when Thatcher’s free hand shot out to grab his wrist and twisted it painfully. With his now unrestrained hand Thatcher reached back to grab the alien by the back of his head and slammed his face against the bar. Getting to his feet Thatcher kicked him in the back of his knees forcing him to kneel making his face scrape down against the side of the bar leaving a streak of blood against it while keeping him restrained by pulling his arm back at an uncomfortable angle. “Now then, since you’re obviously ill-informed and you didn’t spill my drink I’m willing to let this end with just this much, what do you say?”
“I’ll kill you, you bastard!” the alien snarled as blood bubbled from it’s broken nose and it tried unsuccessfully to squirm out of Thatchers arm lock.
“I want you to remember that I gave you the opportunity to walk away.” Thatcher sighed as he grabbed hold of one of the aliens fingers and summarily broke it. As the alien let out a scream he thrashed around violently trying to free his arm from Thatchers grasp but his every movement felt like his was going to pull the arm from it’s socket. As Thatcher grasped a second finger and started to bend it backwards he said “Now I’m sure your friend here is going to tell you later just how lucky you are that you picked a fight with me and not my companion.” he said as he broke the second digit making him wail in pain. “But I want to impress upon you just how badly you fucked up.” he said as he grabbed hold of a third finger.
“N-No, Stop! Please I beg you!” the alien pleaded pitifully as Thatcher snapped another one.
“You see compared to some humans I could name, I’m a veritable font of forgiveness which I why I’m not going to kill you. I don’t particularly enjoy inflicting pain on another living thing but sometimes in life you have to do things you don’t like doing to ensure that a message is sent.” he punctuated this with another break leaving the pirate sobbing in pain. “So I want you to understand that you only get one warning and this is it.”
“I understand! I’m Sorry! Please Stop!” he begged.
“I’m glad we could come to an understanding.” Thatcher smiled pleasantly. “It’s a shame it took until your last finger for it to sink in. Oh well, might as well do this one for good measure.” he said as he grasped the final digit.
“Nooo!” the alien howled desperately “I’m Sorry! Please, I Understand, I Get the Message!”
“I’m afraid you don’t.” Thatcher said with a shake of his head “You see the pain I’m inflicting on you right now is the message for you. The sight of your twisted, deformed claw is going to be the message to anyone else who thinks it’s a good idea to lay a hand on a human. If in the future you hear someone has the bright idea to fuck with the human race I want you to shove your hand in their face and tell them how lucky you were to walk away with only one crippled hand after daring to touch a human. Which means I’m going to have to finish what I started, understand?”
“I...I understand...” he whimpered pitifully in defeat.
“I’m glad to hear that.” Thatcher smiled down at him. “And since you’re being so cooperative I’m going to give you the choice of what I do to this last finger. I can either break it like all the others or I can cut it off.” Seeing his eyes widen in terror Thatcher said “Personally I’d go with a break. If you get it set quickly enough who knows, maybe you’ll eventually regain some use. On the other hand, if you’ll pardon the pun, all I have is a pair of pliers to remove your finger so it’d be more tearing it off rather than cutting it but as I said the choice is up to you.”
Breathing heavily to the point of hyperventilating the alien weakly mumbled out “...Break it...”
“I’m sorry I didn’t quite catch that?” Thatcher replied.
“Break it!” he cried out.
“Ask nicely.” Thatcher insisted.
“Please Break My Fin-Ahhh!” he screamed as Thatcher broke the final digit.
“There we go, all done now.” Thatcher smiled as he patted his shoulder companionably “That wasn’t so bad was it? I think you should thank me don’t you?”
“T-Thank you...” he mumbled out.
“Thank you for what?” Thatcher prompted as he squeezed the broken fingers making him scream out.
“Thank You For Breaking My Fingers!” he blubbered out as Thatcher released his hold on his wrist making him collapse limply onto the floor clutching at the shattered appendage and weeping painfully.
“I’m glad we got that all worked out.” he smiled as he stood back up and turned to the other pirate who had been watching the scene play out in horror. Meeting Thatchers gaze the pirate unconsciously took a step back as his body trembled in fear “Take your friend back to Yanko and tell him that if he wants to talk he can come here and see me.”
“That won’t be necessary.” a voice called out. Turning Thatcher saw a familiar looking alien sitting at a table surrounded by his cronies. Pirate Lord Yanko was a hulking, beast of an alien; his large portly body had him standing a head taller than any of the other aliens in the room. He had four sets of eyes on his angular head which were bisected by a large triangular mouth lined with sharp fangs. The top of his head tapered on into two long hornlike appendages and his large, meaty hands only had three stubby fingers each.
Picking up his glass Thatcher stepped over the still weeping pirate and approached the Pirate Lord. “If you were sitting over here all along you could have just asked me over yourself.”
“Then what would I be paying them for?” he laughed causing his jowls to jiggled as he picked up a piece of meat still on the bone and brought to between his jaws where his sharp teeth stripped the flesh from it instantly. “Besides, if I had I wouldn’t have gotten to see another display of the famed Human brutality. I must say I was most impressed. I especially liked the way you had him beg you to break his finger and then to make him thank you for doing it!” he clapped his hands together with an evil grin. “I’ve never seen someone break someone in such an efficient manner.”
Sitting down opposite Yanko Thatcher said “I find it best to get any necessary unpleasantness over and done with as quickly as possible.”
“Ah, but the female you have with you enjoys her work though doesn’t she? I could tell by the way she toyed with Tellou’s pet Lizard.” he said with a leer “I can see why Artum keeps her around. I’d certainly be putting her talents to good use if she were my pet. Normally I’d prefer my females to have a bit more meat on them than she does, makes them more durable but I wouldn’t be unwilling to make an exception for her. Of course with a body that scrawny I doubt she’d be able to endure my affections!” he roared with laughter making his underlings laugh as well.
Waiting for the laughter to die out with an expressionless look on his face Thatcher said “So did you just call me over to say hello or did you want something?”
Shoving more food into his mouth Yanko said “Let me ask you something, how did a bunch of humans wind up working for an upstart Praxian like Artum?”
“We were looking for some work and his was the first crew we ran into.” Thatcher replied.
“Ah, so it’s a partnership of convenience?” Yanko grinned “I’m glad to hear that.”
“Why’s that?” Thatcher asked.
“Because it’s clear your talents are wasted with Artum. If you came to work for me I would put your skills to good use.”
“I don’t see why we should. We’ve got a pretty good arrangement going with Artum, I see no reason to rock the boat.”
“Because I can tell you humans are an ambitious sort. Since you arrived in this system Artum has gone from picking up asteroid scraps on the fringes of the system to ruling an entire planet, quite the coincidence no?” he said with a grin “And all of a sudden his rivals ships start getting attacked. Your doing I assume?”
“You’re right.” Thatcher replied with a sip of his drink “That is quite the coincidence.”
Letting out a laugh Yanko said “Let me ask, how much does Artum pay you and your friends?”
“You wouldn’t be able to afford us.” Thatcher replied.
“I’ve been doing this a lot longer than Artum has and I have very deep pockets.”
Folding his arms across his chest with a small smile Thatcher replied “A quarter.”
“A quarter?” Yanko frowned “A quarter of what?”
“A quarter of everything he earns from his planet.” he announced making one of Yanko’s goons spit out his drink in surprise. “I take it none of you boys are on that kind of pay grade? Thought not.” he smirked as he drained his drink “Well, if you have no other business with me I think I’ll be going.” he said as he got to feet and started to walk away.
“Sit back down!” Yanko snapped at him.
Pausing, Thatcher turned to meet Yanko’s glare and said “Ask nicely.”
Storming to his feet Yanko slammed his fists on the table and snarled out “You think you can get away with speaking to me like that?! You think I won’t gut you open and gorge myself on your entrails?!”
Stepping back towards the table Thatcher pressed his knuckles against the table and leaned forward to stare into Yanko’s multiple eyes. “That will certainly be an impressive feat without any teeth.” he said as he reached into his pocket to pull out a pair of pliers and slammed them down on the table making Yanko’s lieutenants eye them nervously. “I want to make something abundantly clear; the only reason I haven’t gouged out your eyes and yanked every single one of your teeth from your skull is that I am a paragon of fucking restraint. But it would be suicidally stupid of you to mistake that restraint for inability.” Thatcher replied levelly as he continued to stare up at Yakno.
Glowering at Thatcher the veins in Yanko’s thick muscular arms pulsed and throbbed furiously as he tensed the muscles in preparation to throttle the insolent human to death. Just as Thatcher braced himself for Yanko to throw himself at him the fury left Yanko’s eyes and was replaced with mirth as he let out a deep throated laugh “You humans really are every bit as insane as they say you are!” he bellowed with laughter “You’re like rabid animals snapping and snarling at any who come near you!”
“I’ve been called worse things.” Thatcher said with a small smile.
“As have I my friend.” Yanko grinned as he grabbed a bottle and refilled Thatchers glass “Come, drink with me!” he insisted as he brought the bottle to his mouth and threw back it’s contents causing the alcohol to splash down his chin and dribbled down his jowls. As Thatcher accepted the drink Yanko grinned and said “I’ve been looking to recruit a human ever since I heard about your brutality during the war. I feel a certain kinship towards a species as depraved and vicious as yours.”
“I’m honoured I’m sure.” Thatcher said dryly as he sat back down in the chair making Yanko guffaw loudly.
“I want creatures like you humans working for me. Look at these cowards I have to put up with.” he said gesturing disdainfully at his lieutenants “Not a single one of them have the balls to even look me in the eyes while you didn’t even blink knowing I could have had my men kill you any time I wanted.”
“They would have tried to kill me.” Thatcher replied making Yanko slam his fist against the table in amusement.
“You humans really never back down from a fight do you?”
“That’s because we’ve yet to get in a fight we can’t win.” Thatcher retorted causing Yanko to bellow with laughter.
“Alright, I’ve decided.” Yanko suddenly declared “I’ll match Artums offer.”
“You can’t be serious-” One of Yanko’s men started to object only for Yanko to grasp the back of his head and slam his face into the table.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion.” Yanko snarled menacingly as he put his weight behind his arm and started to grind his flunky’s head into the table. Looking back to Thatcher and seeing him unperturbed by this casual act of violence Yanko said “A quarter of the profits from my planet and in return the four of your will come work for me.”
Tapping his finger against the table for a thoughtful moment Thatcher replied “I’ll have to talk it over with my companions.”
His mood darkening Yanko said “Talk as much as you want so long as you give me the answer I want to hear. I am not accustomed to being disappointed and I never make an offer twice.”
Not flinching away from Yanko’s gaze Thatcher replied “There’s something you should know about us humans if you really intend to hire us.”
“Oh, what’s that?” Yanko growled out dangerously.
“You really want to be careful how you talk to us. We tend to respond to threats in the most disproportional of ways.”
“And what does that mean?” Yanko asked.
“It means if you ever so much as give me or any of my crew a dirty look, we’ll let you live just long enough for you to see everything you’ve worked for turn to ash before we slit your throat.” Thatcher replied.
Falling silent Yanko’s men watched tensely as the pair of them stared at one another for a long moment before Yanko blinked first and reluctantly growled out “I’ll take that under advisement.”
“So long as we have an understanding.” Thatcher replied as he drained his glass before getting to his feet. “I think we’ve taken up enough of one another’s time. I’ll get back to you once I’ve had a talk with the others.”
Returning to their quarters Thatcher found Artum and Vic sitting at a table playing cards together. Artum was staring at his hand with a frown on his face while Vic idly stacked his large pile of chips into small towers. “How’s it going?” Thatcher asked as he grabbed a bottle and took a seat at the table.
“Poorly.” Artum grumbled as he glared at Vic “He’s teaching me poker but I don’t see how he keeps winning. I don’t even let him shuffle or touch the cards and yet he always seems to know when to fold.”
“Oh well that’s easy. He cheats.” Thatcher said as he took a sip of his drink.
“What?!” Artum growled making Vic let out a sigh.
“I’m not cheating. It’s simple maths.” he argued.
Letting out a small laugh Thatcher explained “You see, if you know how many of each card is in a deck you can figure out how likely the next card in the deck will be something that will improve your hand. Say there’s forty cards left in the deck and fifteen of them of them will give you a strong final hand. Not terrible odds that you could come out ahead. But if only two of them will get you there it’s probably not worth the risk. Beyond that it all comes down to how good you are at bluffing. Come on, deal me in.”
Still glaring at Vic, Artum shuffled the deck and dealt out the cards “So how did your reconnaissance go?”
“Not bad. Got an offer to go work with one of the other Pirate Lords.” Thatch replied.
“Oh?” Artum narrowed his eyes at Thatcher.
“Apparently Asami made quite the impression with her little altercation with the Draastrkian. Seems like having a Human on your crew is becoming all the rage.” Thatcher replied.
“And what was your response?” Artum asked.
“Told him I’d think about it.” he said as he watched Vic’s facial expression closely before tossing down his cards.
“And why would you do that?” Artum growled.
“Because it gives us an in with him. If we need to kill him this will allow us to get close without having to kill his entire crew to get to him.”
“We’ll just have to kill them all on the way out.” Vic added as he threw a few chips to the pot. Frowning down at his cards Artum stared at Vic before glancing at Thatchers discarded cards and threw his own away causing Vic to let out a sigh as he collected his small pot of winnings. “This is why I don’t play poker with you any more Thatch.” he complained making him smirk.
As the next hand was dealt the door to their room opened and in walked a dishevelled looking Tucker with a drunken grin on his face and a half empty bottle in his hand “There you guys are! I’ve been… I’ve been looking all over for you!” he said as he swayed unsteadily on his feet.
“How many times do I have to remind you that getting drunk isn’t a necessary part of reconnaissance?” Thatcher sighed.
“Ah, that’s were you’re wrong see. We’re in hostile territory filled with a whole menagerie of aliens with a whole host of different cultures. I could inadvertently offend someone by turning down a drink.” he sniffed. “You can’t get information out of people who you’ve just offended.”
“If that was true you’d never learn anything.” Thatcher retorted “So I’m guessing you didn’t get anywhere?”
“I’ll have you know I had a very productive afternoon. I had a meeting with Pirate Lord...um… Well I don’t exactly remember his name but I’ll know him when I see him.”
“Confidence inspiring as always Tuck.” Thatcher shook his head. “So what happened during this meeting?”
“He made me a very generous offer to join his crew; one which I am inclined to take but I mag… magnani… but out the kindness of my heart I’m gonna give Artum the chance to make me a better offer.” he stumbled over his words and finished with a loud belch. “He even said I’d get a head hunters fee if I bring you guys along with me but if this is the respect I get I don’t think I’ll be inclined to share my good fortune.”
“What was he offering you?” Artum wondered, amused by Tuckers antics.
“Girls for one thing.” he slurred “He has soooo many girls working for him. You guys wouldn’t believe how gorgeous they are; they come in all shapes and sizes and colours, there was even this one girl with feathers! And these girls were really friendly if you know what I mean.” he grinned before frowning at Artum. “Unlike your girls Ar-Artum.” he pointed an accusing finger at him “None of them even give me the time of day.”
“That’s because Asami pays them to ignore you.” Vic revealed making Thatcher snort in amusement and Artum smirk.
“That’s because she’s a spoilsport. She doesn’t like to see other people having a good time. Remember that Korsican I could have hooked up with if she hadn’t gotten in my way?”
Looking towards the other two humans Artum said “Is he aware Korsicans-”
“He knows.” Thatcher and Vic replied simultaneously.
Letting out a laugh Artum pushed out a chair and said “Here, have a seat before you fall over.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Tucker agreed as he slipped into the seat. “Let me play too.” he demanded.
“In the next round.” Thatcher replied.
“So what’s our next move?” Artum asked.
“Well, we’ve got propositions from two of the five Pirate Lords we have to deal with. We could always defect and do what we did with Zaldi, ingratiate ourselves before killing them and taking over their crews.”
“That’s risky though.” Vic interjected “We keep pulling the same stunt they’re going to get wise to us and all we’ll end up doing is start a war. The last thing we want is to get into a fight and diminish our forces if we’ve still got another three Lords to deal with.”
Letting out a grunt Thatcher nodded his head and said “True, but that’ll probably be the best way for us to get more info on our mysterious host. I don’t like having such a wildcard in play like this.”
“Does anyone care what I think?” Tucker asked and received a simultaneously ‘No’ from the other three at the table leaving him pouting.
“Regardless it’s too early to start making any concrete plans until Asami gets back and we here what she’s found out. Speak of the devil...” he said as they heard the door to their room open.
Turning towards the doorway they saw a battered and bruised Asami limp into the room dragging a duffel bag along the floor while her other hand held a long machete like knife dripping with blood. Her clothes were torn and bloodied and her arm bleeding from a deep gash near her shoulder. Her neck was bruised and her lip was split and swollen and half her face was stained with dried blood from a cut above her right eye.
Storming to his feet at the sight of her Artum cried out “What happened to you?!” knocking over his chair in his haste to get to her. “Who did this to you?!” he demanded to know as he grabbed hold of her forearms. “I’ll kill them! I’ll skin them alive! I’ll tear out their throats with my own claws! I’ll-”
“I’m fine.” Asami interrupted his tirade and shrugged off his hands and continued towards the table. “I come bearing good news.” she announced as she lifted up her bag and slammed it on the table.
“Oh?” Thatcher wondered from his seat as he eyed the bag. None of the humans seemed overly concerned about the condition she returned in.
Unzipping the bag Asami pulled it apart to reveal a severed head. “We’ve only got four Pirate Lords to deal with now.”
Prologue|Chapter 1|Chapter 2|Chapter 3|Chapter 4|Chapter 5|Chapter 6|Epilogue

Hi all, I posted a while back about the "standard" deck of cards seen in the films, and mentioned I was making a custom deck that would be playable for every card game in the Star Wars galaxy. I've spent the last two months researching every mention or appearance of card games in every novel, reference book, comic, movie, TV show, and videogame. I've recorded all rule sets that exist, and wherever rules did not exist, I wrote my own based on what information was available about each game. Here's a list of every card game that will have playable rules for my custom Sabacc deck! They are broken down into 8 categories:
Sabacc – Math Games
Standard Sabacc Games: Bespin Standard, Corellian Spike/Neerok, Bespin Gambit, Corellian Gambit, Cloud City Casino
House Rules: Alderaan Rules, Vandor Rules, Ord Mantell Rules, Rafa IV Rules, Interference Fields, Junking, Magna Shuffle, Single Drop, Trooper Sabacc, Jabba's Palace, Old Jho's Pit Shop, Last Hand Special Case, Black Sun, Lucky Despot Casino, Dune Sea Sabacc, Double Down/Double Draw, Dantooine Double Hand, Three Handed Princess, Apatros Modification, Core Worlds Open
Rule Variants: Yarith Bespin Casino, Riftwalker, Empress Teta Preferred, Ecclessis Figg Variation, Kracc, Jhabacc, Nulrhek, Fendoc, Suvac/Vector Sabacc, Numidian Prime Sabacc
Variants with Alternate Decks: Centran Sabacc, Takodana Compromise*, Takodana Compromise (Centran Version)*, Force Sabacc, Fan-Tan, Barlaz, Legacy Sabacc*, Blue Harvest*, Abregado Sabacc, Random Sabacc (3 Different Versions)
Other Sabacc Games: Pazaak (Nar Shaddaa, Cantonica, and Coruscant Rules), Klikklak
​
Zinbiddle – Set-Building Games
Variants: Highland Challenge, Six Card Gizka Limit, Pongobungo, Sakresh, Zhell Reversal, Solitaire Zinbiddle
House Rules: Laro, Redbirds, Casino Kuari Rules, Canto Casino Rules, Karrde’s Cards*, Hondobungo*
Other Zinbiddle Games: Seven Card Comet (Topwara, Scarif*, and Maelstrom* rules), Space Poker
​
Lifters – Trick-Taking Games
Variants/House Rules: Horansi, Death Star Bluff, Savareen Whist, Point 5, Imperial Commander
​
Binspo – Prediction Games
Variants: Mantine Binspo, Dead Man’s Binspo, Denebian Binspo
Other Binspo Games: Uvide (card-playable version)
​
Helcos – Battle Games
Variants: Desert Draw, Chambers
​
Tregald – Deception Games
Variants: Batana, Liar’s Cut
​
Schickele – Shedding Games
Variants: Bith Schickele, Muhaa’i Shuur
​
Compmatch – Matching Games
Variants: Standard, Black Spire Rules
​
Games marked with an asterisk are ones which are completely my own, that I added because they felt needed or right. Most of these games either had rules or names but not both, so a lot of my job was matching them up. A good 50% of this is probably original work though.
The instructions will include more than just regular betting rules, they will also have Galactic Senate bets (no money), Cantina bets (drinking game), Ryloth bets (NSFW version, like strip-poker), Contract betting, Bounty Auctions (Han Solo Card Game rules, for younger players), and betting rules for RPG games (in WEG, WOTC, and FFG systems!). For fun, I've also included a playlist of in-universe songs to listen to while playing, drink recipes from Galaxy's Edge, recommended currency for chips, in-universe trivia, and a guide for creating earth game decks (Poker and Tarot). There are even rules for "cheating"! My goal is to make this a comprehensive and immersive guide to gambling in the universe of Star Wars.

Most specialized hobbies and interests have their own terminology, and the world of traditional playing cards is no different. Most readers likely have some experience with traditional playing cards and the games that can be played with them, so you are probably already familiar with quite a few common terms and words that are used. But are you sure that you're using the right words? It's easy to learn new terms from other people, but that doesn't guarantee you're giving them the right meaning.
What is the difference, for example, between a court card, a picture card, and a face card? What exactly is meant by a spot card, and are there more common terms for the same thing? What are the proper names for all the four suits, and should we have a preference for "clovers" or "clubs"? As for card games, could you explain the difference between a hand and a trick, and can you distinguish between the stock and a tableau?
I've put together a glossary of terms to help out. If you're already an established card connoisseur, this glossary will help give you a quick refresher course and polish your existing knowledge. If you're quite new to traditional playing cards, this list will help you become more informed. And if you enjoy card handling and games with traditional playing cards, this collection of terms will also prove useful. Whatever the case, knowing a thing or two about the language of playing cards will help us enjoy them and the games we play with them all the more!

Playing Card Terms

These terms relate to playing cards themselves, with common words and phrases relating to how they are made and what they look like.
Ace. The number one card of each suit. Black Lady. The Queen of Spades, also called the Black Maria. Bridge-size. A narrow size playing card with a width of 2.25 inches, contrasted with the more common 2.5 inch wide "poker-size". Color. Spades and Clubs are considered "Black" in color, while Hearts and Diamonds are considered "Red". Deuce. A card with two pips. Cellophane. The protective plastic shrink-wrap that most decks of playing cards are wrapped in. Clubs. English term for the French suit trefle, corresponding to swords (Italian/Spanish), and acorns (Swiss/German). Coating. The protective coating applied in the final stages of the printing process by the playing card manufacturer. Cold foil stamping. The modern method of printing metallic foil (contrasted with "hot foil"), which uses printing plates instead of stamping tools. Court cards. Kings, Queens, and Jacks. Also called "face cards" or "picture cards". Deck. A pack of playing cards, usually 52 cards plus two Jokers. Diamonds. English term for the French suit "carreau", corresponding to coins (Italian/Spanish), and bells (Swiss/German). Embossing. The dimpled "finish" on the surface of the cards themselves; can also refer to the raised surface that are parts of the tuck box design. Face cards. Kings, Queens, and Jacks. Also called "court cards" or "picture cards". Face-down. A card placed so that its back is showing, while its face is adjacent to the table. Face-up. A card placed so that its number or picture is showing. Fanning powder. A white powder (usually zinc stearate) used to improve handling by reduce the friction between playing cards. Finish. The type of embossing used on the surface of a playing card, typically this is smooth or embossed. Foil. A shiny metallic material applied to the surface of a playing card or tuck box, usually by a process of hot or cold foil stamping. Hearts. English term for the French suit "coeur", corresponding to cups (Italian/Spanish), flowers (Swiss), and hearts (German). Hot foil stamping. The older method of printing metallic foil (contrasted with "cold foil"), where a heated die is used to stamp metallic foil onto a playing card at high temperatures. Index. The small numbeletter and suit symbol in the corner of a card that shows its suit and value, especially useful in a fanned hand. Joker. Extra card that comes with a 52 card deck, and used in some games as a wild card or the highest trump. Knave. The Jack of a suit. Marked. A deck that has secret marks integrated into the artwork on the back of the cards, often enabling the suit and rank of the card to be identified. Metallic ink. A liquid ink containing metallic particles which reflect light, usually creating a less intense effect than metallic foil Numerals. Number cards, as opposed to courts, also called "pip cards" or "spot cards". One-eyes. The Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, and King of Diamonds. One-way. A back design that isn't symmetrical, enabling cards rotated 180 degrees to be easily identified. Pack. A deck of playing cards, usually 52 cards plus two Jokers. Pasteboards. Another term for playing cards, originating from when the front and back of a card were literally pasted together. Picture cards. Kings, Queens, and Jacks. Also called "court cards" or "face cards". Pip. The large suit symbols on a card (Spade, Club, Heart, or Diamond) Pip value. The numerical value of a card. Poker-size. A standard size playing card with a width of 2.5 inches, contrasted with the narrow 2.25 inch wide "bridge-size". Rank. The ordinal position (number value) of a card in a suit, e.g. 2 of Diamonds and 2 of Clubs have the same rank, while a King outranks a Queen. This is sometimes also called "denomination". Seal. The sticker used to seal a box of playing cards; a practice which originated with tax stamps. Smooth. An unembossed surface. Soft. Card-stock that bends easily. Spades. English term for the French suit "pique", corresponding to batons (Italian), clubs (Spanish), escutcheons (Swiss), and leaves (German). Spot card. Any card from 2 through 10, also called "pip cards", as opposed to "court cards". Spot UV: A secondary printing process which adds a clear gloss coating to selected parts of a card or tuck box in order to add sheen and texture. Stock. The type of paper used for the manufacturing of a playing card. Suicide King. King of Hearts, so named due to the traditional orientation of the sword he usually holds. Trey. A card with three pips. Tuck. Short form for "tuck box", which is the box or case containing the deck.

Card Handling Terms

Many of these terms relate to handling a deck of playing cards, and some of them are especially important for those who do card magic.
Biddle Grip. Taking a deck out of Mechanics Grip by grasping the top and bottom edges, holding it with your thumb on one edge and your index finger on the other edge. Also called "End Grip", this is the most common way to hold a deck along with the "Mechanics Grip". Bridge. A classy flourish where two interwoven halves of a deck spring together. Burn. Reveal and then bury a card. Bury. Place a card at the bottom of the deck, or in the middle of the deck so it can't be easily located Cut. Divide the deck into two packets, and reverse their order. Deal. Pass out cards to the other players. In card games this is usually done from a face-down pack, in clockwise order starting with the player on the dealer's left. Dealers Grip. See under "Mechanics Grip". Dribble. Releasing a deck of cards one at a time from the fingers and thumb so that they fall downwards in a steady flow. Fan. A spread of cards held in a semi-circular shape, with overlapping cards that show the indices. Faro. A shuffling method where the two halves of the deck interweave perfectly like a zipper exactly one card at a time. Flash. Expose a card accidentally while dealing or handling a deck. Flip. Turn a card face up. Flourish. A visually impressive display of skill performed with playing cards. Force. Making a spectator select a predetermined card apparently at "random". Hindu. A shuffling method from Asia where the cards are moved in lengthwise packets. Key Card. A known card in a deck, typically adjacent to the spectator's selected unknown card. Mechanics Grip. Holding a deck squarely in the center of your left hand, as if you were dealing cards for a game. Also called "Dealers Grip", this is the most common way to hold a deck of cards. Outjog. Push out a card from a deck so that its top half is protruding and visible above the other cards. Overhand. A shuffling method where the cards are moved in sideways packets; the most commonly method of shuffling cards. Packet. Part of a deck, usually consisting of a number of individual cards. Ribbon spread. A "spread" of cards across a table or mat. Riffle. A shuffling method where the deck is divided into two packets, and using the thumbs to making the cards fall quickly and interweave together. Scaling. A specialized technique in throwing cards frisbee-style at high speed. Shuffle. Randomizing the cards in a deck by a mixing process. Smear fan. A fan made with one hand, and often using only half the deck. Spread. Showing a hand, packet, or deck of cards face-up, often with cards overlapping. Spring. A flashy flourish where the entire deck springs one card at a time from hand to hand. Square. Straightening the edges of a deck in the hands or on the table. Stacked deck. A deck where the cards are set-up with a pre-arranged order. Strip. Remove low cards from a deck. Thumb fan. A fan made by holding the entire deck in one hand and using the thumb of the other hand to spread it. Vanish. Make something disappear.

Card Game Terms

Many individual card games have their own terms, such as Euchre (Bower, Going Alone, Order Up, March), Cribbage (Crib, Go, His Heels, His Nob, Muggins, Peg, Starter), and Poker (Blind, Check, Hole Card, Straight), so this is not an exhaustive list, but focuses on terms that are common to most card games.
Ace High (or Low). The Ace is the highest (or lowest) ranked card in a suit. Age. Order of priority in play, starting with the player who must first bid, bet, or lead. This usually begins with the player ("eldest hand") on the left of the dealer. Announce. Name a trump suit or show your melds. Ante. A bet or contribution to the pot made before the deal. Auction. The period of bidding before cards are played, to establish the conditions of the game (e.g. the trump suit, how many tricks are needed to win). Bank. The dealer or house in a gambling game. Best. Highest ranking card. Bid. A proposal to win a specific number of tricks or points. Bidder. Any player who makes a bid, or the player who makes the highest bet. Blank. A card worth nothing in a card-point game; or alternatively a hand without court cards. Blank suit. Having no cards of a specific suit, sometimes also referred to as void. Bluff. Pretend you have better or different cards than what you actually have in hand. Buy. Draw from the stock or widow. Carte Blanche. A hand with no court cards (but may contain an Ace), also called a "blank". Case card. The final card of a particular rank that remains in play. Catch. Getting valuable cards when drawing from the stock or widow. Chicane. A dealt hand that has no trumps. Chip. A token or gaming counter used in gambling games in place of money. Coffee housing. Acting or speaking in a way to mislead your opponents about the cards you have in hand. Combination. A set of cards recognized by the game rules as having a scoring value, usually a set of the same rank or suit. Contract. Obligation to win a certain number of tricks or points. Coup. A winning play or bet, or an especially good play. Cover. Playing a card higher than the previous highest card in a trick. Cut-throat. A variant of a partnership game where players play for themselves against the other players. Dealer. The person who deals cards to the other players. Declare. Announce the contract or conditions of play (e.g. name a trump suit, or the number of tricks to be won). Alternatively, this can mean to show and score the valid combinations (e.g. melds) of cards in your hand. Declarer. The person who is the highest bidder, who declares, and then has the aim of making good the stated contract. Discard. Putting an unwanted card to the discard pile, sometimes called "throw off" and used to refer to playing a worthless card in a trick. Discard pile. The cards that have been discarded during pile, usually face up. Doubleton. Holding two cards of the same suit. Draw. Take an additional card, usually from the draw pile or stock, and sometimes from the top of the discard pile. Draw pile. The cards remaining after the deal, also called the stock. Drinking game. Typically has the aim of producing a loser rather than a winner, who must buy the next round. Eldest hand. The player besides the dealer (usually on his left) who receives cards first and plays first; sometimes also called first hand. Exchange. Trade a number of cards from your hand with another player, or draw from the stock and discard the same number (or in the opposite order). Exit. Force another player to win a trick, or get out of being the player who leads. Finesse. Holding back a certain winning card and playing a card of lesser strength in the hope of capturing an extra trick. Flush. A hand of cards of the same suit. Fold. Drop out, usually by turning down your face-up cards. Follow. Play second or third etc after a trick has been "led". Follow suit. Play a card of the same suit as the first card played. Four of a kind. Four cards of the same rank, e.g. four tens. In some games this is called a "book". Full house. A combination of five cards that includes a three-of-a-kind and a pair. Gambling game. A game played for money. Go out. Play your last card, thus getting rid of all cards in your hand. Hand. Cards dealt or held by a player during a game. Alternatively a "hand" can refer to the portion of a game from when the cards are dealt until they are all played. Hand-play. Playing without using a widow. Head. Play a higher card than any thus far played to a trick. Honors. The high cards of a suit (Ace, King, Queen, and Jack, and sometimes also the 10), especially if they have scoring value. Knock. Indicating that all your cards are melded (e.g. in Rummy), or that you won't make a further bet (e.g. in Poker). Lead. Play the first card of a trick; alternatively, as a reference to this card. Long card. A card in your hand in a suit that opponents no longer have. Maker. The player who names the trump suit. Marriage. King and Queen of a suit. Master card. The highest ranked card in a suit that is live or unplayed. Meld. A matched set of three or more cards having the same rank, or having the same suit and being in consecutive order. As a verb, "meld" means to declare or lay out one or more such sets. This term is mainly used in Rummy. No-trump. A declaration where the hand is played with no trump suit. Nullo. A declaration where the aim is to avoid winning tricks or points. Pair. Two cards of the same rank. Partnership. Two or more players working co-operative to win. Pass. Declare that you don't bid or bet, or that you withdraw from the current deal. Pot. The money or chips representing a game's bets, sometimes also called a "kitty" or "pool". Plain card. A non-trump card, sometimes also called "plain suit". Play. Take a card from your hand and use it in a game. Raise. Increase a preceding bet. Renege. A failure to play a required card, usually when you don't follow suit; also called "revoke". Renounce. Play a card other than the suit led. Round. When all players participate once in a deal, bet, or play of a card. Rubber. A set of three successive games; usually so described in matches of Whist or Bridge. Ruff. Play a trump in a trick led with a plain suit. Run. A sequence of two or more cards of adjacent rank, which in some games must be of the same suit; sometimes also simply called a "sequence". Sandbagging. The strategy of holding back cards in a good hand to trap an opponent into a greater loss later in the hand. Sequence. A "run" of two or more cards of adjacent rank, which in some games must be of the same suit. Shedding. Games where the aim is to be the first to get rid of all your cards. Singleton. Holding one card of any suit. Stock. The cards remaining after the deal, also called the draw pile. Three of a kind. Three cards of the same rank, e.g. three tens; sometimes called a "triplet". Tops. Highest cards in a suit. Trick. One card from each player, usually won and taken by the player who played the highest or best card. Trick-taking. Games based on the principle of trick-play. Trump. A selected suit that outranks the other suits, e.g. a Two of a trump suit will beat a King of any other suit. As a verb, "trump" means to play a trump card that beats other non-trump cards. Turn. In rotation, a player's opportunity to deal, declare, bet, or play. Turn up. A card placed face-up after the deal, to determine (or propose) the trump suit. Unload. Get rid of the dangerous cards from your hand. Void. Having no cards of a specific suit, sometimes also referred to as "blank suit". As a verb, "void" means the act of discarding all cards of a suit to achieve this. Widow. Extra cards that are dealt face-down at the start of the game which don't belong to a particular player; often a player is given opportunity to exchange some cards with it. Wild card. A card that can be used to represent the rank/suit of any other card (as allowed by the game rules), usually as designated by its holder. Youngest hand. The player last in turn to bid or play (contrast with "eldest hand"). In two player games this is the dealer, who is sometimes also called a "pone".

Solitaire Game Terms

Solitaire or patience games often have their own terminology, so a separate section has been devoted to this.
Available. A card available to be played or transferred in the layout, and which is not blocked. Blocked. A card that that is partially or completely covered by another card, and thus not available to be played or transferred in the layout. Build. Transfer and lay cards in the tableau. Build up. Laying cards on a Foundation card in ascending order of rank. Build down. Laying cards on a Foundation card in descending order of rank. Cascade. Cards built on each other, but where the indices of all the cards are still visible. Center. Part of the layout in the middle. Column. Cards in a vertical line extending toward you, where the may cards overlap but show their indices, usually in a tableau. File. A column in the tableau. Foundation. A card in the center on which other cards are built up or down, often an Ace or a King. Hand. The draw pile or stock that remains after the tableau is laid out. In Sequence. A requirement that cards be placed on one another exactly one higher (or lower). Layout. The prescribed arrangement of cards dealt out, consisting of the tableau, and possibly a stock and foundations. Re-deal. After the initial stock has been used, to use the cards from the Waste pile. Row. A line of cards side by side, where the cards may overlap but still show their indices. Space. A vacancy in the tableau as a result of removing the cards of one pile. Stack. Cards placed on each other so only the top card is visible. Tableau. The prescribed arrangement of cards dealt out, i.e. the layout excluding the stock and foundations; in some games the tableau refers to the entire layout. Talon. Cards turned up from the stock or hand and laid aside in one or more packets as unwanted or unplayable; sometimes also called a "waste" or "waste-pile". Waive. Being able to lift a card and play the card below it. Waste. See under "Talon". Wrapping. Allowing a sequence where an Ace can continue from a King; also called "Building around the corner".
Author's note: I first published this article at PlayingCardDecks here.

I’ve been playing a lot of live poker the last year. That involves playing during the day when about half the table are OMCs. During this time I feel I’ve built up a comprehensive list of tells against this particular player type. I’ve even gone as far as hiding a camera on me, later on analyzing them and seeing what the villain had and very quickly I started to notice some patterns. With that said, let’s begin. You’re facing a bet or a raise from OMC. Here are some tells to help you make your decision.

1. He is shuffling his chips. This is generally a sign of strength from OMC, suggesting that he has the nuts or a very strong hand. Shuffling the chips means that he is relatively relaxed, happy with his holding and wants to see you call.
   
2. He is looking down/nervous/not making eye contact
   

This is generally also a sign of strength. It’s a classic case of weak means strong and is very reliable from OMCs. This OMC wants to take you to value town and he wants to appear weak. Don’t fall for it!

1. He is looking confidently at you. This is generally a sign that OMC has a strong hand and potentially the nuts. He knows he has it, he has nothing to fear. At the same time by acting strong you might think he is weak, but again don’t fall for these tricks. This OMC has you beat.
   
2. He sighs before betting/raising.
   

This is a classic and we all know what it means when an OMC sighs before betting or raising. This is a sign of strength and the near nuts. Muck your hand.

1. OMC has a heart attack mid hand.

At this point poker likely leaves everyone’s minds and the hand might even be dead. But if you face a bet from an OMC before he has a heart attack, you can generally expect that he is strong and potentially has the nuts. If the hand isn’t dead, fold it.

This is a trio of characters inspired by many various sources and ideas, but primarily based on the Magician, Gambler, Cardist youtube video.

Names:

• Last name: Dennet-Parnell ^{(Origin: anagram of Penn and Teller})
• Alias: The Trionfi Brothers (^{Trionfi = Trumps/Triumphs from Italian, as well as the play on the word Trio})
• Magician: Rammy Dominic Dennet-Parnell ^{(Origin: Italian, Rame – Copper, Dominio – field, domain})
• Gambler: Monty Carter Dennet-Parnell ^{(Origin: Three-card Monte})
• Cardist: Faro Hollace Dennet-Parnell ^{(Origin: Faro Shuffle, Ace in the hole})

Basic Info:

Rammy Dominic Dennet-Parnell

• Physical Appearance:
  • Age: 27
  • Height: 6’2”
  • Eyes: Brown
  • Hair: Brown
  • Attire: Continental-style suit, striped, usually of lustrous blue tones. Satin, bright-colored shirt matching or complimenting the suit. Bold, bright-colored patterned tie.
• Personality: Superego, Choleric, Myers-Briggs ENTP, eccentric, analytical, planning, confident, feigner, Card Suit – Diamonds
• Nen Type: Transmutation
• Occupation: Stage magician
• Hunter Type: Magic Artifact Hunter

Monty Carter Dennet-Parnell

• Physical Appearance:
  • Age: 26
  • Height: 6’
  • Eyes: Gray
  • Hair: Black
  • Attire: Neapolitan-style suit, plain, pastel beige of brown tones. Plain white shirt. Plain formal tie.
• Personality: Ego, Sanguine, Myers-Briggs ESFP, impulsive, frivolous, cunning, perceptive, charming, Card Suit – Clubs
• Nen Type: Emission
• Occupation: Gambler
• Hunter Type: Magic Artifact Hunter

Faro Hollace Dennet-Parnell

• Physical Appearance:
  • Age: 24
  • Height: 5’10”
  • Eyes: Hazel
  • Hair: Auburn
  • Attire: Roman-style suit, checkered, light-gray tones. Plain colored shirt. Showy designer print tie.
• Personality: Id, Melancholic, Myers-Briggs INTJ, reserved, perfectionistic, logical, willful, caring, Card Suit – Hearts
• Nen Type: Manipulation
• Occupation: Close-up magic performer
• Hunter Type: Magic Artifact Hunter

Bio:

The Dennet-Parnell brothers are the sons of a world-famous stage magician and illusionist Fray Dennett, the latest of the Dennet succession of illusionists that spanned over five generations. To make up for his constant time away on world tours and performances, when the elder son turned five, Fray started voyaging together with his family, and began to incorporate his sons into his acts, using them as his assistants and props to his magic tricks. The boys grew on-the-move, travelling a lot, and were “homeschooled” by their mother, a former elementary school teacher, Jillian Parnell.
By the time the boys reached adolescence, Fray has decided to retire as a stage magician, having piled up enough money from performing worldwide, and settled down to open Magic Lounge, a magic-themed shop and café-bar, where he gave occasional performances. The boys were enrolled into a prestigious academy where they have received proper education. At the same time, their background with magic has began to show and bear fruit in their daily lives.
The elder son, Rammy, who’s been his father’s assistant the longest and has shown great talent in performing a great variety of magic tricks, has began developing his own “act”, participating in school shows and performing in his father café. He eventually developed his own stage “persona”, the Knave of Diamonds, and have invented several new tricks, as well as added his own spin to his father’s, incorporating modern technology and trends into his act.
The middle son, Monty, instead used his skills in card reading and manipulation to gamble, and has become a notorious gambler both in the school (playing under the table with other students), and in many small-time card clubs around the town. He claimed to have learned every card game in existence, and though he was perfectly capable of manipulating cards and cheating to win, he enjoyed to play fair and use his wits and playing skill to win the game.
The youngest son, Faro, was one year too young to be enrolled in the academy when their father settled down, and, for that year, he continued to be homeschooled by their mother. During that time, he grew very close with father - though all the sons have had plenty of quality time with him, that time was spent mainly on training and practice of magic, or performing. Faro, under his father’s tutelage began practice with cardistry, a relatively new form of close-up magic focusing on flourishing cards, and was soon very adept at it, able to perform many tricks and create various complex shapes with cards even with his eyes closed. By the time he has enrolled into the academy, his skills were on par with his brothers in their respective areas, and the three only kept improving all the way down to their graduation. The brothers were very close with each other, always having each other’s back, and though disagreements happened, they knew how to solve them peacefully.
During their academy years, Fray also revealed to his sons the existence of real magic, rather than the practiced art of delusion that the stage magic really technically was, though he didn’t use or even know the word Nen. That knowledge of the art was passed down in the family for several generations and was used by each Dennet in the family as part of their magic act (due to their knowledge of Nen being superficial at best, they could only create simple, weak Hatsu that worked well enough for stage magic tricks). Fray also showed his sons three relics, used by his predecessors as part of their ‘magical’ abilities: an ornate magician’s wand, a set of hand-carved wooden poker chips, and a deck of decorated cards.
After graduating the academy, which has left them with a good base of general knowledge but no actual work skills, they did not choose to pursue further education and a professional career, as they already had one on their hands.

Hunters

Reaching adulthood, the brothers have taken over running the Magic Lounge from their father, who by that time decided to retire completely. They continued to practice and hone their skills, and each developed a simplistic Hatsu based on the relics their father gave them, which they considered to be a “magic ability”, incorporating them into their performances and quickly earning their fame, and bringing prosperity to their Lounge.
Stocking up for their Magic Shop one time, the brothers acquired what seemed like a regular magic box, the kind that was used for disappearing tricks. However, it turned out that the box really made items disappear without a trace, and never return. Unable to figure out the trick behind the box, the brothers eventually realized that the box had similar magic origins to their own abilities (and was in fact under the effect of a Nen ability). Eager to find out more, the brothers tried to trace the box’s origins, but soon realized that they had no means to get the information and resources they needed, though they have managed to make the connection to Hunters.
Seeing there to be no other way to find out about the origins of the magic item or finding new ones but to become Hunters themselves, Rammy took the Hunter exam, which he failed, but used the experience to train together with his brothers and prepare for the next year’s exam. They passed together on their third joint attempt, obtaining their Hunter Licenses, and soon were introduced to Nen, finding themselves a teacher to train them and developing their “abilities” into fully-fledged Hatsu. They continued to hunt for objects imbued with Nen abilities by people long deceased, becoming Magic Artifact Hunters.

Abilities

Prior to becoming Hunters and learning about Nen, the brothers believed that its effects were “magic abilities” taught to them by their father and only being able to perform them with the “Relics” he has given them. The brothers were in a similar state as “Geniuses” that use Nen abilities without realizing it. Rammy, being a transmuter, could invisibly extend the reach of his wand, using that effect for his magic tricks. Monty, an emitter, subconsciously infused cards with his aura and used it to distinguish different cards without looking at them – which he considered to be a skill rather than a cheat. Faro, a manipulator, was able to exert his control over his cards without touching them, allowing him to briefly hover and move by themselves.
However, after becoming full-fledged Hunters and being trained in Nen allowed them to realize the origins of those abilities, the brothers soon expanded on them and developed them into full-fledged Hatsus of their own, along with a unique Hatsu that could only be performed by the three of them collaborating together.
Magician's Hatsu: Hocus-Pocus Wand
Gambler's Hatsu: Chips Down, Bets Off
Cardist's Hatsu: A Wild Card Chase

Combined Hatsu

Name: The Army of the Kindom of Cards
Nen type: Emission, Transmutation, Manipulation, Enhancement
The Hatsu can only be performed when all three Dennet-Parnell brothers are together, and uses their combined Aura reserve. It also requires a deck of cards that all of the brothers have attuned to their Nen. No other Hatsus can be used while this ability is active.
The Hatsu allows the user to summon powerful Nen minions to fight on their behalf. However, there are very specific steps that must be taken to summon each minion:

1. Faro (the Cardist) shuffles the deck thoroughly. He cannot cheat and manipulate the cards in any way, else the ability fails to activate.
2. He then deals 6 cards to Monty (the Gambler), with the cards carrying some of his aura to him.
3. When Monty receives the cards, he designates one card the Minion, and passes it to Rammy (the Magician), also adding a portion of his aura to it. Alternatively, he can fold and return his cards to Faro, allowing them to start back at step 1.
4. Rammy summons a minion based on the card. The suit of the card determines the minion’s Element, while the rank of the card determines their form as well as their skill and intelligence level.
5. Monty uses the rest of the 5 cards to form the best possible hand as to Five-card Draw Poker. He can replace his cards with Faro. Once his hand is formed, he announces it and also passes it to the Rammy. The cards that aren’t part of the hand are returned to the dealer. (In case of a High Card, Rammy can choose which of his cards he’s going to use for the boost)
6. Rammy’s hand determines the power boost that the minion gets – ranging from simply a high card, where the minion would be about as strong as a somewhat athletic non-Nen user, to a Royal Flush, that gives the minion almost unfathomable power levels.
7. Once the “Round” is complete, so is the Minion, and it can now be issued commands and do its creators’ bidding. They can also summon up new minions, starting again from step 1. How many minions they can support depends on their combined Nen reserves and the power levels of current minions. The cards that were used to summon the minions and empower them remain with Rammy and cannot be used again until the ability is dispelled. Only the cards that remain in the deck can be used to summon more minions – the ones exchanged, and the ones not used in the hand.

Card Suits – the Elements

• (The elements and aesthetics are based on Kingdoms of a New World Playing Cards)
• Spades – the Spirit – have more refined and accurate control over their Aura, more skilled fighters. Armed with swords.
• Hearts – the Sky – have the ability to fly, and are much faster and more agile. Armed with daggers.
• Clubs – the Nature – are more intelligent and observant, use leaves on their body as thrown blades. Armed with spears.
• Diamonds – the Machines – are tougher and stronger, and are able to repair mild damage. Use unarmed combat.

Card Ranks – the Minions

• Pips – all Pips based minions look similar. The 2s are quite dense and slow, having only the most basic brawling skills, while the 10s are quite smart and skilled, able to use their weapons and abilities effectively.
• Court Cards – each have an individual appearance, and personalities.
• Jacks are cunning, preferring to use clever tactics and confusing their opponents, not above fighting dirty
• Queens tend to avoid direct combat, and prefer to trap or disable their opponents, relying on their abilities rather than weapons.
• Kings are wise planners and strategists, able to command other summoned minions of lower ranks or cooperate with other kings.

Aces – the Battlefield
A special case occurs when an ace is chosen for the Minion card. Instead of summoning a Minion, it changes the scenery and environment of the surroundings within a 20-m radius around where the card was used by creating a Nen space. That space provides an advantageous battleground for the minions of the same suit, and can impede opponents. The degree to which the battleground affects them depends on the hand. Only one Ace can be used in a battle.

• Spades – a temple. All minions get a boost in their Aura reserves. Spade minions are able to use advanced Nen techniques with better efficiency and to a greater effect.
• Hearts – an open plateau. Strong winds blow across the battleground, often changing direction. Minions have intrinsic knowledge of the wind’s direction and can use it to their advantage. Hearts minions get a boost of speed.
• Clubs – a forest. Provides hiding ground and allows for ambush tactics. Has a mild aura-draining effect on opponents. Clubs minions can restore their own aura from drained aura.
• Diamonds – a futuristic steampunk-styled factory. Provides a wider array of weapons for all minions. Allows Diamonds minions to replace their body parts with “upgrades” from the factory, increasing their strength and defense.

Joker – the wildcard
When a Joker card is dealt, it immediately summons a Joker minion, and all the cards currently in Rammy’s hand are used to “boost” it. It will also have the strengths and abilities of all the currently summoned minions combined (if it’s summoned when no minions are on the battlefield, then its strength will depend solely on the hand, and it will not have any special abilities). The Joker is quite literally a wildcard – unpredictable and uncontrollable, it will act on its own, even against the brother’s interests.

• The black Joker is aggressive. It can and very likely will attack not only the brother’s opponents, but also themselves and the currently summoned minions. Having all the knowledge of the ability that they do, it can deal devastating damage and greatly undermine them.
• The colored Joker is a trickster. It will mess with everyone on the battlefield, friend and foe alike. It will initiate games, chosen randomly from the wild array of gambling and children’s games, and adapt their rules to the battlefield, forcing everyone on it to follow those rules and punish those that don’t.

Hands
The hands that are used to empower the minions are based on Poker hands. Though “High card” provides a very small, almost negligible boost, each higher ranking hand doubles the boost of the highest hand of the lower rank (E.g., a two-pair of 2s and 3s provides double the boost than a pair of Aces), while increasing hands in the same rank provide a linear increase in boost (e.g. a pair of aces will provide a boost greater than a pair of kings by the same margin that a pair of kings’ boost would be greater than that of a pair of queens)
Limitations, Details, numbers.

• The Hatsu can only be activated when the three brothers are together, in possession of their card deck, and with their individual Hatsus dispelled. It can be deactivated at any time, by Rammy handing the cards that are currently used to summon and empower the minions back to the dealer, Faro. However, the ability cannot be deactivated if a joker has been summoned, and the joker must be defeated in order to deactivate it.
• Cheating in the Hatsu can result in grave consequences. Depending on who and at what point cheats, the ability may fail to activate, it may turn the minions against their creators, it can automatically summon the joker or the brothers may lose the ability to use this Hatsu altogether.
• The Hatsu has a range of 20-m radius centered at the point where it was first activated, considered the "battlefield". Spade, Club and Diamonds minions will not leave that radius, and, if forced outside will focus on trying to return inside. Hearts minions have a much greater, 60 m radius, to allow them movement freedom. While using their abilities, Minions expend aura which is replenished from the users' aura pool while they're in the battlefield. However, when outside of the range, the minions will use up their own aura by using their abilities, and, once depleted, will cease to exist.
• Given that the amount of aura expended by the ability depends entirely on the number and power of the minions that were summoned, its “cooldown” time varies from around a day to around a week. In exceptional cases, when there were too many or too powerful minions summoned, it may also impede the brother’s individual Hatsus, and require them an extended amount of time to recover and be able to use it again.
• Given the conditions of the ability, minions can only be summoned so long as there are cards in the deck. In the best-case scenario, there are few high-ranking minions with strong hands empowering them. In the worst-case scenario, there are many weak minions empowered by weak hands.
• The most powerful possible minion summoned is a King empowered by a Royal flush. The resulting power of such minion would be somewhere around eighty thousand times more powerful than an average street brawler, making them comparable in power to the strongest characters in the show. However, the odds of drawing a Royal Flush in 5-card poker are nearly six and a half hundred thousand to one, and also drawing a king with it makes it even less likely.

​

Big thanks to u/Stabbackerr for the original idea, inspiration and support! 

History: I was really into magic as a child. I went to Louis Tannen’s Magic Camp when I was about 8. Didn’t stick with it much past 10.
Fast forward 30 years and thanks to the internet, Fool Us, and Ricky Jay (😢), my love has been rekindled. This time specifically focused on the masters of slight of hand. Some of the stuff is just beyond mind blowing. Ricky, Eric Mead, Kostya Kimlat, those kinds of guys.
I’m also extremely fidgety and known for useless talents. I can’t watch TV or drive without playing with poker chips. I can walk them forward and back on both hands, 4 chip butterfly both hands, all sorts of twirls and shuffles. Including this here because I am absolutely dedicated to endless hours of practicing repetitive moves.
Now I’m ready to put that dedication to use with something that will amaze people like I’m amazed! Instead of just a, huh that’s kinda cool I guess. I’m not looking to go pro, just to blow my friends minds with a handful of tricks and techniques.
So my questions:
1) I’d never heard the term pass before this group. Even the most basic ones you guys are posting are freakin mind blowing. They look like absolute magic. What pass should I learn? YouTube preferred but I’ll absolutely pay if that’s the consensus.
2) same question, but with double lift. I’ve never been good at this one, but also never really dedicated myself to it.
3) Best fan to learn?
4) I’m thinking a repertoire of about 3- 5 bafflers is what I need. I’m drawn to simple quick ones that defy explanation - kind of like those passes! Also, no gimmicks, long patter, or complicated stuff for the spectator to follow. I guess I’m kind of saying street or bar magic. Recommendations? Same as above, YouTube great but I’ll buy.
I’ll shut up now. Thanks!

Let’s start with the reality:
tl;dr - I have questions at the end.
I played at one of the only two casinos in Maine.

• I know the HiLo count, but began learning the basic omega II a week ago
• I know basic strategy perfectly
• I don’t know how to properly bet spread using the omega II and just used (very poorly) a simple 1-10 or 1-12
• I went with $600 being OK with losing it all
• I came home with $327.50
• I made many many stupid mistakes
• I lost count of all but almost one full shoe of a double deck game

The games:
Game 1

1. 6 deck, ASM, 3:2
2. 60% pen at best
3. $5 min
4. poker side bets
5. DaS, RsA, NS, DoA, H17 (i think)
6. all cards up but dealer hole card

Impressions and takeaways:

• the pen was terrible at a consistent 60-65%. I kept looking to see if they had cut card markers on their shoes, but I didn’t see any. They were just that consistent at screwing their clientele.
• everyone played the side bets, I never did. But it seemed like people were actually profiting off of them.
• my counting was good when my playing was slow, and my playing was good when my counting was bad. I think this gave me away as I would be so busy doing maths in my head that when the dealer got to me (I sat at 3rd base at every table) I would look a little startled or almost unprepared. Then look at my hand, look at the dealers card, and inevitably make the right decision. About 10 hands into my first table I believe I made a rarer double play; the dealer yells to the pit boss “HEY WALLY! We got a cheatah heah, he’s countin’!” (I’m in Maine, so read that like a Mainah). He said it in a joking way and they both laughed and he continued dealing. But I knew it wasn’t a joke. He could probably see my mental wheels turning on everyone else’s hand and me not really caring about mine (or acting like it) until it was my turn. Not a great start. More on my poor camouflage later.

Game 2

1. 2 deck, hand shuffled, 3:2
2. Consistent 50% pen
3. $10 min
4. poker side bets
5. NO DaS, double on 9,10,11, NS, no resplit, H17 (i think)
6. all cards down but dealer upcard

Impressions and takeaways:

• The pen was god awful at a “mandatory” 50%
• It was much harder to count when all cards are dealt down, and I also had never practiced that. My eyes were darting around everywhere.
• Again, everyone seemed to play the side bets and win.
• With a full table we only got about 3-4 hands before a reshuffle and I don’t remember ever counting above a true 2.

The Dealers
This is the real reason I came to the casino. I experienced 5 different dealers in the 4 hours i was there, and they were all different. Now I know that if you go to a casino without being able to count and play perfectly, you are going to lose. My experience further proves that statement. But the knowledge I gained from being dealt real blackjack at a real casino was well worth the price I “paid” (remember I still had fun!). So, if you’re still reading this post, thanks for hanging in there, and I really hope you can provide me with insight and answers to my questions as I am very excited to improve at this game.
Here are all 5 dealers in the order I met them with fake names because I can’t remember them, if you read about an issue I explain here and know a solution, please let me know!

1. Schmo - Schmo was a bad dealer, in the most literal sense of the term: he flipped cards on top of each other, one even landed on top of the house chips at one point. He’s also the one that “caught” me counting (or trying). A very loud, slow dealer, he often gave playing advice to everyone. And the advice was plain wrong. “ALWAYS double when you have 10.” More hilarious phrases like this about splitting. It was very obvious that he was trying to get more money on the table for the house to snatch away. He attempted to join in the game with us, but not in a good way.
2. Linda - Linda relieved Schmo for his scheduled 20 Minute break so he could go chain smoke Cowboy Killers like it was going out of style (no complaint here, I smoke). If Schmo were a good example of a less than desirable blackjack dealer, then Linda was the opposite. She walked up, burned the top card in the shoe, smile, nod, swept her hand gracefully from right to left and then retraced the path in reverse. She dealt like a machine and never really spoke a word, just the occasional gentle “good luck” on a double or “nice job” on a win. I lost count almost immediately. We were doing a hand every 30-45 seconds with 5 of us at the table. I was scared to slow down the flow of the table and make it obvious that I was doing something other than playing blackjack and enjoying myself. I had to get up. Nothing was working for me, though everything at the table was running like a well oiled machine.
3. Jessica - a cute little Mainer with a flower keeping her hair behind her right ear, standing stoically in front of a perfectly fanned double deck. I sat down. Who wouldn’t? Her glassy stare turned into a genuine smile as she tossed a cut card my way and yelled “checking 100!” to the pit boss as she took my $100 bill from the betting circle. She dealt the cards face down. Didn’t see that coming... picked them up. Looked at hers, and motioned for a draw. “Actually, you have to scratch your cards on the table towards you to take a hit.” “Oh...”. I sheepishly cat scratched my hard 12 against the felt. More people came, and again. I instantly lost count. It’s much easier to count from 3rd base when the cards are up. Everyone at this table was turning their cards over at different times, or not at all until the dealer quickly flipped them as a formality before collecting them. And when the whole table broke, she would flip her hole card so fast and put her upcard right on top. She didn’t talk much, but when she did it was sarcastic. Being my charismatic self I tried getting her to cut a little deeper than 50%, but all my jokes, tokes, and hints were met with “I have to cut at 50%, I’m sorry.”
4. Fred - sitting back down at 6 deck I put two nickels in my betting circle right as it closed up. No eye contact. He dealt all the way to the woman to my right, knuckled my bet out of the circle, shook his head, and kept dealing. Not knowing how to react I simply waited until the hand was over and returned my met to its previous position. He looked over, nodded, and smiled saying “now you’re good.” Whoops... Fred ended up talking toward the end of the shoe but didn’t really talk about blackjack, just his life. It was cool I guess if you’re there to have fun and make friends, but I wasn’t. On the flip side however, he gave almost no betting advice to anyone, and I think this really helped the flow of the game. I had the most fun playing with Fred dealing. It was fast, light hearted, he never “struck up conversation” with a pit boss, so no one was watching, he seemed to genuinely not give a shit when I jumped 10 units from $10-$100, and then split on that hand, and had $200 on a table with a $5 minimum (with a $500 bankroll... yeah... I guess I like playing Russian roulette with my money, I was also betting emotionally, as I was frustrated at my sudden inability to count to 10 and -10). This dealer seemed apathetic to the goings on at his table, and I’d definitely play there again.
5. Carla - Carla was absolutely unremarkable.

My mistakes:

1. I played stupid with Schmo in the beginning before sitting down, then played too well (relative). He thought I was so novice that he was recommending plays to me. He caught on when he would deal me a hard 11 and before he could tell me to double I had my chips added and one finger on the table.
2. I almost deviated from basic strategy. Just the thought of doubling, say, a 9 against a 7 upcard when the deck was a little plus was enticing.
3. I should have stuck with HiLo this time around, which I knew I could play better.
4. I bet too much and spread too much, out of ignorance and impatience.

My questions:

1. How do you “deal” with fast dealers? Is there a way to slow them down, or is it one of those situations where if you can’t keep up, you just find another table?
2. If you lose count mid shoe, what do you do? Leave? Revert to the last known count? Guess? Flat bet? Ask the dealer what the count was? (That’s a joke).
3. There were a couple times, embarrassingly, that I would have an RC of, say, 5. I’d get distracted, and then when I continued counting I wouldn’t remember if it was 5 or -5. I say “D” in my head for negative counts. Down 1, down 2, etc.. is there a little trick you guys have in a busy game to remember if it’s plus or minus? Or am I just an idiot?
4. What bet spread do you use to avoid detection. More specifically, when playing with a 400 unit bankroll, what would your spread be at a 6D, $10 Minimum table?
5. When all the tables have bad pen do you sit and just play more tightly?
6. Do you ever ask a dealer to adjust the pen in a playful way to see what happens?
7. When is the right time to toke? I usually would bet for the dealer rather than just give them money. A couple times I got up and didn’t toke the dealer and kind of got a stare like I was an ass hole.
8. In the situations I spoke about above, how would you camouflage yourself better than I did? Keep in mind it was a dead casino and I was the only person at the table a number of times, the pit bosses knew who I was the moment I sat down.
9. What side bets, if any, do you play?

Honestly, if you read this, thank you so much. I’m excited to now be a student of blackjack and some of posts in this subreddit have really helped me!

I like seeing all of these stories about 2000's underground poker. I wrote about my time in the 2000's running an underground poker ring in Charleston South Carolina.
Here is what was going on in South Carolina during that time. This was a real cat and mouse game with the police that turned into a poker game all on its own.
https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/4065-poker-players-fight-the-law-in-south-carolina
Chapter 1
https://imgur.com/gzs3uYJ
Every other morning as I iron my shirt for work I am reminded of the secret life that I had lived for nearly two years. See, an eight foot by four foot felt poker table with a four inch raised padded rail, automatic card shuffler, and chip drop-slot makes for a great ironing board. In a pinch it also serves many other, equally as important purposes. I name them off in my head as I flatten the collar of my favorite blue shirt; a large desk for history homework, a hard table for an impromptu interrogation, a soft platform for sweaty sex, and of course a poker table for making money. I put on my shirt, still hot from the iron and I roll up my sleeves as I walk down the stairs from the third story of my townhouse. The October air in Charleston is cool and feels good against the heat on the back of my neck. I slide into my shiny red BMW, nearly two years old now, but paid for. The smell of raw leather still lingers in the interior, and seems stronger on mornings like these. I instinctively push the button on the center console to lock the doors before I grab the gear shift and put the car into reverse. I don’t know why BMW doesn’t make them lock automatically. I pull out onto the highway and spin the tires, listening to the 330 horsepower wake up the car. I’m not in a hurry or anything, in fact I haven’t been in a hurry for quite some time. It’s just that it is sometimes important to make it look like you are in a rush, and sometimes it is just because it feels damn good to go fast.
“Folks don’t get wealthy by being in a hurry.” I remember lecturing to Kevin in one of the first months of our two year, million dollar endeavor. He was always in a hurry. I still stand by my saying, though I should have replaced “wealthy” with “anything they want.” Folks don’t get anything they want by being in a hurry. Oprah Winfrey did not get rich by rushing into having a talk show with a book club, and presidents don’t get into the White House by throwing their name on the ticket the minute the idea pops into their head. No. Oprah started by landing a co-anchor position on the local nightly news. And Ronald Reagan started as a B-list actor before becoming president of the Screen Actors Guild, Governor of California, and finally President of the United States. People don’t get married by flying to Vegas minutes after meeting each other, or after a one night stand. Well, maybe they do, but this is why it doesn’t work. They slow down and date for years, are engaged for another and then they get married, in a church, surrounded by their families and are then taken off in a horse drawn carriage to their honeymoon. That’s how you fucking do it.
It is an uneventful two hour drive on highway 17 going north. Myrtle Beach isn’t really busy this time of year, but the traffic is still just as bad. It’s a good thing that I am not in a hurry. I pull into my VIP spot with almost an hour to spare, the parking lot is empty except for a few cars spattered in the first two rows. An old minivan with curtains on the windows, a Ford Escort with a spare tire rusting on the rear axle, and an old Chevy truck with a child’s car seat in the passenger side, just to name a few. The owners of which are probably already claiming their lucky seats. Fucking suckers. They all probably rushed to get here too and onto the boat. I stay in my car for another 15 minutes and wait, listening to the ‘pumped’ playlist on my iPod, my car’s premium speakers matching perfectly to the acoustics of the interior space. I think just for a second about pulling out of my space and driving further up the coast to Atlantic City. I would probably be too exhausted from the drive by the time I got there and would sleep in the hotel until late at night. That is when the real whales come out. Here on the 11 am Myrtle Beach casino boat the closest thing to a whale is the 350 pound mother of five glued to a stool in front of the “Wheel of Fortune” slot machine. I don’t leave, instead I open my glove box and stuff six 100 dollar bills into my pants pocket, any more or any less would be unnecessary, at least on a Wednesday. I walk slowly up to the path and say hi to Dave as I pass up onto the ramp. I don’t need to show any ID to board.
“Good Morning, Ryan.” Dave says as he straightens his back and pulls the daily newspaper from his stand, handing it to me. They all know me by name; I know most of theirs too, but not them. Which is alright, that makes us even. I pass through the halls and by the sad looking, unlit slot machines. Some people have already claimed their seat with a jacket and their lucky bucket. I go up to the tallest portion of the ship, the poker room, and head out onto the deck. No one else is out here, probably due to the two flights of stairs and the fact that there is a free buffet on the floor below. I sit down in one of the cushioned white chairs and pull the first cigar of the day out of my shirt pocket. I light it with my silver Zippo that is etched with a royal flush and blow out the puff of smoke as I put my feet up on the metal rail. It’s going to be another half hour before we undock and another half hour after that while we float out into international waters. I know from experience that this cigar will last exactly one hour, paired with two Grey Goose and Red Bulls it is truly the breakfast of champions. At this time most people in the eastern half of the United States are sipping on their second cup of coffee while sitting on their uncomfortable office chairs in their grey or brown cubicles. I think about this just as land disappears from sight over my polished black Italian shoes. That could be me, making 40k a year in an unhappy office; only looking forward to the weekends for freedom. My college degree is somewhere in a box already. I graduated in May, majoring in business management with a 4.0 GPA. My parents were thrilled; their little boy had accomplished something great. They didn’t know. Their little boy hadn’t been a little boy in a long time, and he had already accomplished something so great that he couldn’t even tell them. Fuck a degree, fuck a 4.0. The only reason I had even stayed in school for my last year was because I had nothing better to do, not because I wanted a fucking job. My parents think that I have submitted my application to nearly every business in Charleston. “Sorry mom, this economy just isn’t a good one for a freshly graduated 23 year old. They want someone with more experience.” I’m not sure how true this is, because I haven’t even made my resume, let alone actually gave it to a company. I was too scared of getting hired. So I don’t travel back to Ohio to visit them that often. I couldn’t lie to my mother right to her face. I could lie to nine strangers around a piece of felt, and they would believe me, but to my mom, no. I sometimes think that if she knew the basics of poker, she could beat me.
My coworkers are all already around the table when the signal is called for the first hand to be dealt. I take the last good drag off of my cigar and tossed it over the two decks below into the water and grab my Vodka Red Bull and headed inside. The scene has changed dramatically from an hour ago. I slowly walk to the open chair on the right end of the table in seat three and pull 400 dollars out as I sit down. I surveyed the table while walking up. Most people have 200 dollars; one guy has about 350 dollars with his wallet next to his stack on the table. Sometimes it’s good to be the last to sit. I know exactly how much to put down to top everyone yet not be too robust and scare everyone off when I am in a hand. Mr. Wallet is not afraid to lose every bit of that 350, and I have to have that covered. The locals know me – and my play. They know exactly what I am doing – they think they know exactly what I am doing, I’m not worried about them. The good thing about casinos is the vacationers; rotating money. None of them know me or how I play, but I know all of them and exactly how they play. Well, at least the 90 percent of them that play the same damn way. This is especially true of the ones with dark sunglasses, or earphones, or their lucky card covers. They watch too much T.V. The dealer knows me by name and after taking my frequent player card he slides over my stacks of chips. Mostly white-one dollar and red-five dollar chips, but a few are green-twenty five dollar chips. “There you go, Ryan. Good luck” He says, tapping the top of the largest stack. Luck? I don’t know what it is about tapping and poker. I look around the table and catch a glimpse of a sunglassed teenager tapping the rail with a green chip, a fat man with an iPod tapping his knee along with the beat of his music and then the dealer tapping my white chips. And of course the tapping that every player does when they say “check”. I swear if I could block everything else out but the tapping it would sound like some sort of long lonely song. I grabbed my chips and pulled them close to the rail. The sound of chips clanking together is a sound that every poker player knows. It is especially prevalent during the first ten minutes of any game. Most people have been waiting, impatiently, to get those chips, and now they want to feel them in their hands. They want to show off their talent of chip-shuffling, and chip-bouncing, or other hand tricks. I have seen them all. Chip tricks are cheap tricks, who do these fuckers think they are? I can’t resist. I take a stack of three red chips and three white chips and put them side by side. I shuffle them once with perfect form, and then I cut the stack of six into two stacks of three again and shuffle once more. I again put them in two stacks of three and shuffle one last time. When I split them again they are in two perfect stacks of three reds and three whites. I amuse myself by doing this a few more times. No one is watching. They are all busy doing the exact same thing; killing the two minutes while the dealer shuffles the brand new deck of cards. Before I know it I have two cards in front of me and I take a quick peak. 4d9c. Rags, I have a 32 percent chance of catching a pair, and that wouldn’t even help. I probably have less than a 5 percent chance of winning this hand.. “Fold.” I say, tossing my cards into the middle of the table as I slump back into my chair. I’m in no rush.

Hey Reddit! I don’t really know how to begin my story exactly cause it's kind of a weird one. I was pointed to this subreddit by a colleague with the notion that you all may be able to assist me with what’s been happening. I suppose the best way to start is just to jump into it. I’ll begin with a little bit of a backstory.
My name is Sean Sanders. I was raised in Eastern Kentucky in the most mountainous of mountains. I’m talking the kind of place where the iPhone 6 only got introduced around 2014. So yeah, that mountainous. Technology was always sort of an interest and amazement to me. From the age of 12 I've been in interested in all things tech. From video games to cameras anything that involved tech sparked an excitement in me.
I know what you’re thinking; what does this have anything to do with what you need help with? Well I will tell you. After a couple years of pursuing my love of technology in college I unfortunately also pursued a newfound love of a certain green plant which very quickly started a downward spiral in my grades. I eventually found myself at the bottom rung of the tallest ladder across all my courses.
Following my pursuit of recreational ‘items’ I saw myself expelled from college and now fourteen thousand dollars in the hole. In all honesty that right there is a horror story in and of itself. However, I wish that fourteen grand was the biggest of my concerns. What followed in the months after is the most frightening events I've ever had happen to me in all 22 years of my life.
After my stint in college I found myself moving to Cincinati to live with my old roomie from college. He also had a little falling out with the higher education system. We spent a couple of weeks looking around for a place until we finally decided upon a cheap little one-bedroom duplex in one of the little suburbs in the area.
Don’t let the word ‘suburb’ trick you into picturing a cozy little street where everyone drives a Prius and mows their lawn bi-weekly. This was a compact little street where every house had at least a couple of bricks missing in the mortar and the houses that were made from wood all had a couple different colors from the varied coats of paint they had over the years. In the front of most of the homes were tattered and unkempt patches of grass (weeds) decorated with beer cans like a redneck Jackson Pollack painting. It was dirty, it was dilapidated, but more importantly than anything: It was my first apartment.
After getting the initial ‘whoo hoo we’re adults’ partying out of the way my roommate and I decided we would need jobs to keep sustaining our new bachelor pad. Previously, my roomie Kenny and I met at the buffet I worked at while in college. I managed to sweet talk my bosses into letting him work alongside me in the kitchen and the rest is history. Now we decided to once again try to land a job aside each other to keep the good times rolling.
Over the course of about 3 weeks we went from place to place interviewing. We both had just near given up on the job hunt when we had arrived at the house from a long day of searching.
I sat down on the couch sitting across from where Kenny had set up his PS4 and the world’s tiniest HD TV that’s ever existed. To my left Kenny had slunk down against the wall, resting on a weathered moon chair coated with various stains.
“Dude let’s face it... we are absolutely never gonna get a job. We’re gonna get evicted and have to go back to Rowan. I really don’t want to; that place is the wooorrrsssttt!” He said as he yoinked a baseball off of the floor and started tossing it from hand to hand. The swish of the air distracted me from the air of disappointment and shame until a solid ‘DING!’ shot through the air.
I sluggishly slid the phone from my left pocket of the jeans I'd sporting for about a straight week now and glanced at the screen. It appeared to be an email. Now that wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary as we had been putting in applications for a good while now. What surprised me was that it dinged. In hindsight it was foolish to not have notifications noises for your email when awaiting some important emails, but none of the others had alerted me up until that point. Figuring it was a glitch I shrugged it off and navigated to my Gmail app.
My newest one said in big bold letters ‘YOUR APPLICATION WAS SUCCESSFUL AND WE WANT YOU FOR AN INTERVIEW!.’ Upon reading that I was ecstatic! I had no clue which job it was that I applied for that sent it but overall that didn’t matter. There would soon be money in my near overdrafted bank account and food in my kitchen. I opened the body of the email to figure out what job it was. Here is what it said:
“We here at DCC want to think you for your application! Upon extensive review from myself and the leadership team we have found your application to be above par and want to bring you in for a private interview. Please show up to the red wooden building on the corner of Madison and Fifth at 3pm tomorrow. There are huge letters on the front of the building when viewing from the street. Please show up in business casual attire and with a positive attitude! We look forward to meeting with you, Sean!”
Now it should be obvious with the info I've left out so far but DCC is not the actual name of the business. Considering everything that has happened so far, I don’t want to sacrifice my safety more than it may already be. At this point I couldn’t remember filling out an application for this place but maybe I had considering how many jobs I had just hit easy apply on Glassdoor. This was a Godsend and I’ve never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
As soon as I opened my mouth to share the good news, Kenny’s phone made a loud ding alert. He pulled the phone out of his phone with one hand and worked on lighting a homemade gravity bong with the other.
“Huh I got an email! Didn’t think those were set to alert.” No one could ever say Kenny and I weren’t two peas in a pod. I watched from the side as he set the phone back down and proceeded to clear all the smoke from the chamber like a Woodstock vet. I was now getting a little nervous as he coughed his lungs out on the table and started to pull up the email.
“It seems to be for some place on Madison. DCC? Not a fan of business casual. It sounds pretty professional,” he said as a worried expression lit up his face. Kenny and I were each worried but for vastly different reasons.
A weird feeling surrounded me as he said those words. It started at my feet, creeping its way to the top of my body. My entire body ignited with goosebumps. How had he and I both applied for this job without remembering? Sure, my mind was still not recovered (quit a while ago to help in the job search) from the many years I spent training to put Tommy Chong to shame, but I could still recall most of the job I had applied for. Now both of us got an identical email from the same place.
I had a feeling in my gut that something was off about this whole situation. Nevertheless, we needed the job and planned to attend the interviews that we scheduled. I figured that everything would be okay, but I couldn’t shake that alarms being set off in my head. At the time it was a just a feeling which I tried to ignore. I decided to ignore it further and continue with the pursuit.
I got ready for my job interview. They had set it to be tomorrow at 3pm. I thought this was a little off. Most jobs like to interview early. I got another text message from what I assumed was a leadership member there detailing the dress code. I didn’t have a lot of dress clothes, but I still took about 10 minutes trying to decide between three different polos in my closet. I went with my lucky purple polo and tossed a pair of khakis on the stand beside my dresser. Having finally assembled everything it was now time for the most stressful part: sleeping.
I lied down in my bed, the sheets coming off of the top corners, and pulled the blanket over top of me. After a good hour of tossing and turning, trying to find the right position to lie in, and repositioning the pillows I finally caught my groove and fell asleep.
I don’t know if it was the nerves or something I ate that day but my dreams were pretty funky that night. You know those kinds of nights where you just have a bunch of different dreams? This was not one of those nights.
In the dream I was standing on a street. It was a pretty normal street. Like the kind of street you would see in the opening of a thriller movie. There was steam coming out some vents around the buildings creating a dense fog throughout. There were no cars around, and the cityscape was lifeless. Even in the dream I felt a sense of impending trouble.
I looked up and down the road eventually resting my eyes on this home on the corner. It was bright red with a large glass window on the side. The paint looked fresh and the glass freshly shined. Along the front of the building were two lampposts, one to the left and one to the right. The lights shone bright and hit with such an angle as to cast long shadows on the street from where it hit the edges of the building. Altogether it was an ominous image.
I moved towards the red building. As I approached, I could make out some movement in from inside. There was ample light shining in towards the building; there was just enough to make out a blurred shadow moving across the back wall. I pushed on my door and was surprised that it gave way. I looked around and soaked in the surroundings. I appeared to be in what looked like a waiting room. To my left were beautiful cherry oak seats lined along the wall with a small table at the end covered with dated magazines.
I picked one up and it wasn’t a magazine I had ever heard of. “Bananas” magazine. On the cover were the actors from Three’s Company. Amongst it was Tiger Beat (which I have heard of) and Seventeen. I set the magazine down and made my way to the door located on the opposite side. I opened it slowly and entered the next room.
There was a big living area with a couple of comfy looking couches. In the center was what appeared to be a poker table kind of deal. Amongst the room were a bunch of small little tables with metal chairs set up all around them. Against the wall in front of the couches was a HUGE television. One of the big box TVs that your grandparents would have had. I made my past all the tables and couches to a long hallway which connected 8 doors on the right, 8 on the left, and one straight ahead which had been locked with a huge padlock.
I opened a couple of the doors and found each room had a couple of beds in them. I figured this was some kind of housing area. After examining the ones on the left I was finally at the last two on the right. Both doors had ‘Helper’s Quarters’ written on them. They also had beds as well but the ones in these rooms looked much nicer and comfier.
As I entered back into the hallway, I noticed that the padlock from the center door had now been broken and lay upon the ground. The door let out a horrendous creak as it opened, revealing a rusty set of stairs leading into the basement. The steps were no better than the door; they screamed and moaned at me as I crept into the unceasing darkness of the room.
The room was completely soundless. I arrived at the bottom of the stairs and noticed a table in the center. On the table were what appeared to be various surgical tools. Many were coated with what appeared to be blood and some sort of viscous black fluid. I instantly tried to run back up the stairs but when I turned there was no stairs behind me. Only a tall wall with a door in the top right. Even with no stairs leading to it there shined a clean padlock on the handle. Whatever was in here did not want me to leave.
I heard a shuffle behind me around the table. I scanned the room for a couple seconds before eventually noticing one of the tools from the table were now missing. I started to back towards the wall, the fear and dread now overcoming me. I felt for the wall behind me but felt something much softer.
It felt like skin. Only it was more like the skin of someone who had been sitting in a bathtub for 10 days. It was wet and tacky. I went to move when I noticed it. I heard the sounds now. It was right in my ear. It’s breath heavy and hot. It had a sour raspy quality to it which shook me to the core. I went to run away from it when it grabbed me.
I felt an instant pain shoot through my arm as something jabbed into it. I looked at my right arm and saw a rusty hypodermic needle sticking about a foot out. The needle glinted in the soft fluorescent lighting from the far corner of the room. The plunger had been pushed all the way to the bottom and I could feel a searing sensation. My body hit the floor before my mind did. The thing knelt in front of me and stared me in the eyes. As mine began to shut I watched as it took the bottom of its mouth with one hand and the roof with other and pried them apart. Its head split back revealing a couple of rows are jagged, yellow teeth. As it got closer a ringing noise began to emit from behind its canines rising to a deafening buzz. It lunged at me as I opened my eyes, bolting upright in my bed.
Out of all the dreams that I had, this one had stuck with me. Most nightmares I could brush off and usually forget about. This one had something to it that I just couldn’t shake. It seemed too real. The visuals were so fresh in my mind that I could almost paint it if I had any talent. I knew I couldn’t just sit in bed and think about it all day though. So, I started my day after a long night.
I got a hot shower, ate a cold breakfast, and rushed to the warm car driven by my roomie to depart to our interview. As we pulled down the street the GPS showed that we were nearing. The nerves were building up in me as we made haste.
“Yo, so I’m gonna try to find some parking. I think there’s a lot down the block from this place,” Kenny said as turned left. He was barreling down an old looking alleyway towards a run-down little parking lot. Leaves crinkled as he steamrolled the remnants of a crisp autumn day. “A good a spot as any.” Kenny slung the car into a parking spot neighboring an old Chevy pickup. His old Buick lurched forward and slung itself back as he shoved it in park.
I noticed the lot was only about a minute walk from the DCC building.
“Well it least the parking is close,” I joked as Kenny and I climbed from the car. I straightened my tie in the mirror and wiped a stain from the corner of my mouth. I walked to meet Kenny at the back of the car. We began our walk to the building. It was just to our left at the end of the alley on the corner of the two streets. Wouldn’t take too long to reach it.
As we got closer a knot began building in my stomach and my feet became heavy. I suddenly felt very ill. I needed this job though and I wouldn’t let some stomach pains keep me from paying rent, so I trudged on, following Kenny down the street. As we got closer to the end the feeling only grew.
I saw the building now. I saw the red paint on its wooden exterior, chipped and fraying. I saw the large glass window covered in streaks and grime. I saw the two lampposts outside waiting to cast an ominous shadow. I was so stupid for not running away from it right there. I had already seen this building once before. It was the same exact building from my nightmare.
I'm standing outside of the building right now smoking a cigarette about to head in. My heart is pounding in my chest. I'll let you all know how it goes. Please say a little prayer for me.
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

What this is:

This is a weekly, curated listing of Kickstarter tabletop games projects that are either:

• newly posted in the past 7 days, or
• ending in the next 7 days (starting tomorrow) and have at least a fighting chance of being funded.

All board game projects meeting those criteria will automatically be included, no need to ask. (But the occasional non-board game project may also sneak in!)
Expect new lists each Sunday sometime between 12:00am and 12:00pm PST.

Ending Soon

Project Info	Status	Backers	Avg Pledge	Ending	Comments
Cahoots Card Game of "Co-opetition" 3-4 Players by Jay Treat Work w/ your opponents to score points through matching suits, but be sure to play the better card! A game of sneaky teamwork for 3-4. (Has currently earned $11,545 of $5,000)	230%	640	$18	10-30	kicktraq
RWBY: Combat Ready RWBY: Combat Ready is a cooperative board game where 2-4 players join forces to take on fierce RWBY villains and slay monstrous Grimm! (Has currently earned $698,852 of $250,000)	279%	7515	$93	10-30	kicktraq
Generations - A Game of Ancestry & Rebirth Generations is a roleplay focused game set on an alt-Earth where, when you die, your next generation is born from your corpse. (Has currently earned $1,230 of $750)	164%	46	$27	10-30	kicktraq
Brownie Points Card Game - The Ultimate Game of Slap Attacks A family game for everyone that requires both speed and mental toughness through the use of Slap Attacks, Dog Houses and Nope cards. (Has currently earned $3,809 of $3,600)	105%	42	$91	10-30	kicktraq #take2
Orbis Mundi 2 - Real Medieval Life OM2 is an expanded and updated version of the original Orbis Mundi, covering the reality of Medieval European Life for Role Players. (Has currently earned $13,284 AUD of $1,000 AUD)	1328%	351	$38 AUD	10-30	kicktraq #rpg
GameChips 2017 The ultimate tabletop game accessory (Has currently earned $5,522 of $1,000)	552%	21	$263	10-30	kicktraq #bling
LexiCon 2018 Tabletop Gaming and RPG Con - Are You Ready? More Boardgaming Events, More Boardgames, More RPGs, More Games in the Library, More People and More Fun! April 20 to 22, 2018. (Has currently earned $8,297 of $5,000)	165%	99	$84	10-30	kicktraq #con
SPIRIT® SPIRIT® is a Drinking Card Game aimed at both alcohol and non-alcohol drinking players... Yes!! That means ANYONE can play! (Has currently earned £3,382 of £3,000)	112%	87	£39	10-31	kicktraq #take2
Friend Facts - A Game of Conversation! A game that encourages players to put their phones down and truly connect with one another through questions, scenarios, & stories! (Has currently earned $1,609 of $1,000)	160%	44	$37	10-31	kicktraq
PANIC! Panic! is a fun, fast paced, 2 to 8 player card game of commodity trading between the wealthiest of ladies and gentlemen. (Has currently earned $5,734 of $6,800)	84%	218	$26	10-31	kicktraq #take2
Relicblade: The Wretched Hive Fantasy Miniature Game Two new Relicblade Factions. Employ cruel denizens of a dangerous Wretched Hive, or ally yourself with the outlandish Wilderkin. (Has currently earned $27,159 of $10,000)	271%	242	$112	10-31	kicktraq #expansion base game
Gloom of Kilforth: A Fantasy Quest Game Expansions The first set of expansions to Gloom of Kilforth the sell-out Fantasy Quest Game, plus the reprint of the original game! (Has currently earned £153,145 of £27,000)	567%	2454	£62	10-31	kicktraq #expansion base game
Hardwood Gaming Accessories/Terrain/Dice Trays/Deck Boxes This campaign shows off some of my most popular items from previous campaigns, along with a few NEW and fun tabletop accessories. (Has currently earned $1,530 of $2,500)	61%	30	$51	10-31	kicktraq #bling
Alien Adventurers - 32mm resin miniatures A collection of alien adventurer character minis. Cast in detailed 32 mm resin for tabletop gamers, collectors, and painters. (Has currently earned $2,062 of $1,500)	137%	59	$35	11-01	kicktraq #minis
Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten: Tabletop Cult Skirmishes A Mythos horror themed tabletop miniature skirmish game that lets you lead your own cult of evil worshippers to glory and infamy! (Has currently earned $17,369 CAD of $15,000 CAD)	115%	154	$113 CAD	11-01	kicktraq
Zombie Doctor - The Zombie Card Game Zombie Doctor is a frantic card-turning game. Amputate, reattach and swap limbs to survive. It's your turn not to turn! (Has currently earned £4,564 of £5,000)	91%	143	£32	11-01	kicktraq
The Hobby Holder - A Better Way to Paint Miniatures An all-in-one holder and grip for miniature painting, sculpting, model building and more. Improve technique and get to your game faster (Has currently earned $69,111 of $16,500)	418%	2076	$33	11-01	kicktraq #bling
Scream or Die! Compete to Collect 13 Candy on Halloween Night in this fast-paced, family friendly dice game for 2-8 monsters. People can play too. (Has currently earned $8,753 of $6,500)	134%	209	$42	11-01	kicktraq #take2
OX the Game OX is a two-player travel game, which combines strategy and luck. It's perfect for any traveller or game lover. Play fast. Play again. (Has currently earned £6,368 of £5,000)	127%	219	£29	11-01	kicktraq
Dice Hospital - a 1-4 player game. Roll, Treat, Discharge! A worker placement and dice manipulation game! Featuring beautiful art, novel mechanics and a unique theme where the dice are patients! (Has currently earned £117,407 of £12,750)	920%	1932	£61	11-01	kicktraq
End of the Trail - Find fortune in the California Gold Rush Search the land, press your luck, pitch your tents, and play your cards right to strike it rich in this game for 2-4 prospectors. (Has currently earned $18,613 of $7,000)	265%	459	$41	11-01	kicktraq
Mazing Board Game Mazing is a 2-4 player board game in which you and your opponents build mazes to block each other and forge your own path to victory! (Has currently earned $8,687 of $10,000)	86%	138	$63	11-02	kicktraq
Mini Gangs Skirmish Game Mini Gangs is a fast to play tabletop skirmish game for 2 or more players. (Has currently earned £2,777 of £2,000)	138%	74	£38	11-02	kicktraq
DinoGenics: Dinosaur Park Management Compete to build the most popular and profitable dinosaur park in this thematic worker placement board game. (Has currently earned $90,166 of $30,000)	300%	1689	$53	11-02	kicktraq #take2
Heavy Metal Thunder Mouse An RPG of Mice and their Motorcycle Clubs (Has currently earned $6,546 of $4,725)	138%	335	$20	11-02	kicktraq #rpg
Coma Ward: The Horror Board Game The suspense-thriller tabletop game that engages the imagination with horror-movie-worthy phenomenon a new nightmare with each play! (Has currently earned $68,263 of $30,000)	227%	860	$79	11-02	kicktraq
Panzer Orders Western Front The World War 2 card game for solitaire and two players (Has currently earned £5,147 of £700)	735%	121	£43	11-02	kicktraq
Diehard Miniatures: Undead Rising. The Undead Rising set will encompass both Fantasy and Sci-Fi miniatures. Small skirmish units to a full army, the choice is yours! (Has currently earned £7,779 of £3,000)	259%	146	£53	11-02	kicktraq #minis
Ember: Ultimate Collection + Limited Edition Wood Deck Boxes The epic creature conjuring game is back for one final roar! Shipping November - get your copy for Christmas! With subsidised shipping! (Has currently earned £6,299 of £500)	1259%	114	£55	11-02	kicktraq #reprint bgg
Munchkin Starfinder A Starfinder-themed version of Munchkin complete with looting, lasers, and levels! (Has currently earned $49,993 of $10,000)	499%	786	$64	11-02	kicktraq #expansion base game
RATLAND: conquest of the sewers! Think like a rat, act like a rat. BE A RAT. Become master of the sewers. But watch out for your neighbors! (Has currently earned $40,314 of $15,000)	268%	1000	$40	11-02	kicktraq
AndoCon 2018 AndoCon 2018 is an Atlanta-based gaming convention focused on gaming and the geeky lifestyle. (Has currently earned $5,930 of $7,000)	84%	63	$94	11-02	kicktraq #con
Haunt the House BOO! Out-ghost your friends! Go invisible to fool your foes or stay visible for awesome powers. 2-4 players, 30 spooktastic minutes! (Has currently earned $26,833 CAD of $8,000 CAD)	335%	624	$43 CAD	11-02	kicktraq
Detective: City of Angels Detective: City of Angels is a board game where detectives solve mysteries in the dark and violent world of 1940's Los Angeles. (Has currently earned $164,351 of $40,000)	410%	1966	$84	11-03	kicktraq
Gangs of Britannia A 3-5 player gangster game. Conquer your rivals' turf by clever dealing or cunning deceiving. Got what it takes to control the streets? (Has currently earned £9,937 of £10,000)	99%	148	£67	11-03	kicktraq
SUMMERTIME by Terrains4Games Incredible summertime wargaming scenery – all terrains are hand-made, painted and ready-to-play. (Has currently earned $1,753 of $1,000)	175%	20	$88	11-03	kicktraq
Balzie the cat : ever.fun.game A card picking game; practice your telepathic, mind reading and poker face skills - all while tryin' to keep away Balzie's.. (Has currently earned $763 CAD of $1,500 CAD)	50%	52	$15 CAD	11-03	kicktraq
The Mennonite Game Card Game A fun, strategic card game based on "The Mennonite Game" where people discover that they are connected in various ways! (Has currently earned $7,635 of $3,750)	203%	156	$49	11-03	kicktraq
Near and Far: Amber Mines The first expansion for Near and Far. (Has currently earned $318,936 of $20,000)	1594%	5656	$56	11-03	kicktraq #expansion base game
Park Smarts Adventures Board Games on National Parks Park Smarts Adventures Magnetic Board Games on National Parks Featuring Yellowstone & Grand Canyon National Park. (Has currently earned $27,944 of $7,500)	372%	394	$71	11-04	kicktraq
Patriots & Redcoats A hidden-identity card game of spies, sabotage, & skirmishes during America's War for Independence. 20-min tabletop fun for 4-10 peeps. (Has currently earned $13,571 of $9,999)	135%	286	$47	11-04	kicktraq
INTELLE - Hack or Be Hacked It's hacker vs. hacker and the corporate mainframe is the target in this quick abstract strategy game for 2 players. (Has currently earned $2,064 of $2,000)	103%	87	$24	11-04	kicktraq
Electioneer - Hong Kong Election Board Game Bilingual. Colourful Design. Fun to play. Let's explore HK. (Has currently earned HK$71,449 of HK$65,000)	109%	144	HK$496	11-05	kicktraq #take2
TSUKUYUMI - FULL MOON DOWN - a strategic board game A strategic tabletop board game in which unique, asymmetric factions fight for world domination after the moon crashed into earth. (Has currently earned €69,898 of €36,000)	194%	633	€110	11-05	kicktraq
Common (or Garden) Gnomes A set of 13 detailed male & female 28mm scale gnome miniatures, suitable for all your Fantasy miniature games, from Midlam Miniatures. (Has currently earned £3,706 of £600)	617%	120	£31	11-05	kicktraq #minis
Leviathan 2-player nautical combat "micro" card game inspired by Moby Dick. (Has currently earned $6,839 of $11,000)	62%	259	$26	11-05	kicktraq

New This Week

Project Info	Status	Backers	Avg Pledge	Ending	Comments
"How Do I Feel?" Emotions Game This hands-on game helps kids identify, communicate, and manage their emotions in a fun and effective way! (Has currently earned $991 of $17,500)	5%	17	$58	11-22
Airborne Commander: SNAFU No plan survives contact with the enemy! Can you handle the New Airborne Commander expansion SNAFU! (Has currently earned $3,278 of $1,000)	327%	217	$15	11-24	#expansion base game
Albedo Albedo is an 8 player* non-party game deck builder with minimum downtime due to simultaneous action selection. (with two game boxes) *(Has currently earned €342 of €5,000)	6%	10	€34	11-26
Ancient Aliens - Creators of Civilization Use your alien race & technology to improve your humans to civilized stage. For 2-4 players, ages 12+. Playing time 60-90 minutes. (Has currently earned kr30,795 SEK of kr140,000 SEK)	21%	36	kr855 SEK	11-22	#take2
Aydolon: Age of Heroes A game of fierce, exciting action where players team up to defeat challenging boss monsters. (Has currently earned $435 of $6,500)	6%	8	$54	11-17
BEERtle Royale BEERtle Royale is a drinking-battle-card game where your drink is your life! (Has currently earned $631 of $5,000)	12%	8	$79	#lolwut
Best Treehouse Ever: Forest of Fun by Scott Almes. Explore the forest in this stand-alone sequel to Best Treehouse Ever that expands the Golden Geek nominee to play up to 8 players! (Has currently earned $17,185 of $15,000)	114%	453	$38	11-09
Bigfoot vs. Yeti A battle is brewing between Bigfoot the king of cryptids and his abominable cousin the Yeti, who is sick of being left out in the cold. (Has currently earned $2,300 of $6,000)	38%	108	$21	11-21
Calling the Shots! Game Night and Movie Night team up in this fast-paced card game that you play while watching ANY action movie. (Has currently earned $1,935 of $17,000)	11%	27	$72	11-25
Cannon Fodder Miniatures 3d Printed miniatures compatible with popular tabletop games! (Has currently earned $212 of $1,000)	21%	4	$53	11-24	#minis
Castle Madness A Lovecraftian cult-building game for 2-4 players, in which you are the Old One! (Has currently earned €1,281 of €32,000)	4%	29	€44	11-28
Commander Cube A subscription box delivering custom, curated card combos, booster packs and MtG "Sideboard" items straight to your door! (Has currently earned $2,402 of $1,000)	240%	33	$73	11-21
Conspiracy Theory Trivia Board Game Conspiracy Theory exposes a vast array of internet conspiracies ranging from the scarily believable to the hilariously funny. (Has currently earned $2,457 of $3,000)	81%	47	$52	11-17
Cowboys Rebranded A remastering of Worthingtons COWBOYS game, plastic tracking bases, new game board,rules and cards and scenarios. For 1 to 10 players. (Has currently earned $12,493 of $20,000)	62%	158	$79	11-06
Curse of the Farmer's Wife. A Pie Rats expansion Curse of the Farmer's Wife - an expansion for the game Pie Rats of the Carob Bean Farm. (Has currently earned $967 of $3,000)	32%	35	$28	11-23	#expansion base game
Dark Mages: Mini-Campaign Your chance to get your copy of Dark Mages, a fantasy card game combining dice rolling and RPG. (Has currently earned $4,743 CAD of $100 CAD)	4743%	74	$64 CAD	11-07
Dead Sprint A tile based board game that tasks 2-5 players with outrunning a horde of the undead! Use weapons, items and your wit to stay alive! (Has currently earned $1,769 of $30,000)	5%	17	$104	11-26
Dodgeball with Babies, Dragons, Kittens and Puppies Get ready for the epic dodgeball showdown between babies, dragons, kittens, and puppies in this action-packed and strategic card game! (Has currently earned $15,513 of $10,000)	155%	227	$68	12-06
Donald Trump Satire Trading Card Game A satirical Trading card game based off Donald Trump *(Has currently earned $0 of $2000)	0%			11-27	#lolwut
Dragon Bagons; CR10 dragon dicebags Do you have a hoard that needs guarding? A dragon could be your greatest ally. (Has currently earned $13,714 NZD of $26,500 NZD)	51%	177	$77 NZD	11-21	#bling
Dreamcatcher Catch nightmares as a divine entity in a rapid card game of trickery and risk. (Has currently earned €1,894 of €19,000)	9%	81	€23	11-22
Echidna Shuffle Relaunch Echidna Shuffle is a fun, easy and unique pick-up and delivery game for the whole family! (Has currently earned $4,028 of $5,000)	80%	133	$30	11-24	#take2
Ember: Ultimate Collection + Limited Edition Wood Deck Boxes The epic creature conjuring game is back for one final roar! Shipping November - get your copy for Christmas! With subsidised shipping! (Has currently earned £6,299 of £500)	1259%	114	£55	11-02	#reprint bgg
Epic Monster Tea Party A 20-minute, family-fun, fantasy tabletop game about monsters making a tasty tea full of victory points out of heroes! (Has currently earned $2,642 of $3,000)	88%	86	$31	11-28
Fear the Con 2018: This Con Goes to 11! Fear the Con, small enough to say "just show up and game," is back and you can help make it happen! (Has currently earned $3,700 of $6,000)	61%	34	$109	11-13	#con
Folded Space - Board Game Inserts and Organisers Board game inserts that are affordable enough to add improved game play and secure storage to many of your favourite games. (Has currently earned £6,856 of £8,500)	80%	295	£23	11-23	#bling
Full Moon Jacket Vietnam, 1968: You're elite soldiers on a special rescue mission. There's one catch, the night is coming and so are the Werewolves! (Has currently earned £28,164 of £35,000)	80%	436	£65	11-22
Gamer Nation Con 5: The Order of the Gamers The bestest 4 days of tabletop gaming is back for their 5th year! Join us in Plano, TX April 5-8 and be a part of the Gamer Nation! (Has currently earned $7,325 of $4,500)	162%	64	$114	11-22	#con
Gobblin' Goblins: The 'Orrible Eat-A-Thon Card Game Defeat your opponents by being the greediest goblin in a sneaky battle for gross gourmet food! (Has currently earned £1,880 of £5,500)	34%	73	£26	11-26
Hey There Fatty! By counting calories, going to the gym, and yes, even hosting a potluck, you can strategize to beat your friends and family. (Has currently earned $591 of $2,500)	23%	19	$31	11-22
Historical Conquest 2.0 We are starting an Education Revolution creating games similar to pop-culture games to excite players while learning something valuable (Has currently earned $8,935 of $57,000)	15%	48	$186	11-28	#2.0 1st ed
Kamigami Battles: A Reimagining of Kanzume Goddess Choose a God, recruit Warriors and battle for control of the Realm in this epic PVP deck-building card game for 2-6 players! (Has currently earned $46,564 of $25,000)	186%	323	$144	11-16
Kingship - The Card Game It's Medieval Crazy Eights! Cards are powerful when possessed in numbers, but only the first player to discard them all wins the game. (Has currently earned $1,045 CAD of $1,400 CAD)	74%	23	$45 CAD	11-15
KOLORS Kolors is a joy to play. It has its own unique elements that make the game special. Once you play Kolors, you will fall in love with it (Has currently earned $60 of $19,500)	0%	2	$30	11-29	#lolwut
Legacy Vault limited edition - Fang 'n Hood For all collectors, painters and gamers: a limited edition model created to celebrate this 2017 Halloween in a fantasy style! (Has currently earned €19,138 of €1,000)	1913%	296	€65	11-23	#minis
Lockwood's Asylum Lockwood's Asylum: A survival horror deck-building game where you build the opponent's deck! Gather allies, fight monsters, stay alive! (Has currently earned $4,051 of $9,000)	45%	72	$56	11-27
Marbowling A live-action board game that has been called "Addicting". We don't create board games, We create "Trick-Shooting Social Mega-Stars!" (Has currently earned $3,441 of $5,000)	68%	23	$150	11-23
Monsters!! - An Original Card Game Have you got what it takes to be the best monster and impress Dracula himself. Play this game with friends to find out. (Has currently earned £26 of £5,000)	0%	1	£5	11-24	#lolwut
Munchkin Starfinder A Starfinder-themed version of Munchkin complete with looting, lasers, and levels! (Has currently earned $49,993 of $10,000)	499%	786	$64	11-02	#expansion base game
Nighthawk Counters Premium hand-finished life counters and gaming accessories that look better and work better. (Has currently earned $1,883 CAD of $5,000 CAD)	37%	25	$75 CAD	11-23	#bling
Odd Fellows Youth Center We are a group of gamers and kids in a small town with the goal of creating a safe place for social gaming and events. (Has currently earned $1,176 of $20,000)	5%	13	$90	11-26	#cafe
Okko Chronicles Become a demon hunter as you track down and defeat the evil Oni in this miniatures game set in a fantasy feudal Japan! (Has currently earned €73,730 of €40,000)	184%	892	€83	11-16
Pakli - the mobile app for board gamers Pakli is a free, community-driven application, that connects board gamers and helps you organize game nights easily. (Has currently earned £987 of £30,000)	3%	54	£18	11-20	#app
Pigment - A Game for 2-3 Renaissance Painters Paint the works of the Renaissance masters in this fast, elegant, and portable worker placement game. (Has currently earned $5,610 of $8,000)	70%	205	$27	11-23
Plan 9 from Outer Space: The Deckbuilding Game Use your STUPID MINDS to build a deck of heroes from the Ed Wood classic "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and save humanity!! (Has currently earned $3,660 of $13,000)	28%	67	$55	11-23
Potlatch: A Card Game About Coast Salish Economics Potlatch is a card game based on indigenous economic systems of sharing, gifting, and status. It uses both English and Lushootseed. (Has currently earned $4,817 of $2,500)	192%	155	$31	12-22
QED - Quod Erat Disputandum Win debate battles against your fellow students at night by managing your time and resources wisely during the day. (Has currently earned £1,589 of £12,000)	13%	28	£57	11-25
Renown - The Game is a round based, highly strategic card game with mischevious gameplay for 2-4 players, in which four races fight for your glory. (Has currently earned €1,997 of €5,000)	39%	60	€33	11-22
Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right With creatures and cunning, you'll rule a fantastic forest kingdom in the ultimate asymmetric game of adventure and war. (Has currently earned $140,100 of $24,000)	583%	1904	$74	11-21
Sarah's Singularity A light, somewhat silly tactical game for 2-6 time travelers. (Has currently earned $6,155 of $15,000)	41%	169	$36	11-14
Shifting Realms Shifting Realms delivers a unique euro gaming experience every time you play it. It was created by Craig Van Ness and Jeff Van Ness. (Has currently earned $11,319 of $10,000)	113%	177	$64	11-24	#take2
Space Antimatter Space Antimatter the cards game. A really funny game based in cards. The game system is strategic. Play with your friends everywhere. (Has currently earned €476 of €25,000)	1%	17	€28	12-22
Speakeasy Blues By Sagrada's designers: Run a 1920s Speakeasy with celebrities, cops, gangsters, bootleg hooch, flappers, bling, sweet jazz, and more! (Has currently earned $14,034 of $5,000)	280%	259	$54	11-16
Storm Hollow: Call to Adventure Answer the call and discover Storm Hollow, a component-rich RPG for all ages. Delightful as your dreams, or as dark as your doubts... (Has currently earned $3,821 of $35,000)	10%	60	$64	11-09	#rpg
TREE TOP HOP: The Big Board Game for Little Spellers A full sized, adult style board game for kids where young explorers race and hop across the treetops on a spelling adventure! (Has currently earned $1,607 of $12,500)	12%	13	$124	11-28
Twenty Six Test your wits You must be quick Cause all you've got Is 26! (Has currently earned $203 of $2,220)	9%	7	$29	11-23	#lolwut
WatUR: Royal Game of UR, ModURnized The ancient two-player race game from the cradle of civilization gets upgraded with printed circuit board technology (Has currently earned $495 of $7,350)	6%	10	$50	11-16
Who Gets the Glory Who Gets the Glory is a fast paced adventure Table top game. (Has currently earned $0 of $5,000)	0%	0	NA	12-01	#lolwut
Wiener Takes All Welcome to the sausage festival! Flirt with the vendors to get their wieners! Whoever scores the most and the biggest wins! (Has currently earned $1,674 of $39,000)	4%	48	$35	11-27
Zoomaka - The animal card game! A strategic card game with a lot of Take that! Compete with friends and be the first to open your Zoo. (Has currently earned kr28,157 SEK of kr30,000 SEK)	93%	93	kr303 SEK	11-15	#take2

Looking for more comprehensive Kickstarter gaming information? Check out the meta listings on BGG, explore Kicktraq's data-driven views, or, of course, Kickstater's Tabletop Category.

Footnotes

• #hmm means that something about the project seems a little off. Buyer beware kinda thing.
• #lolwut is reserved for projects that seem like trainwrecks. Check 'em out for amusement.
• #take tags are for projects that have been restarted for some reason, with the number indicating what iteration we're currently on.
• Did I miss something? Particularly stuff that might go in the Comments column? Let me know and I'll add it in.

Tip Jar - Keep me in Kickstarter money.