Gambling is the wagering of money on an event with uncertain outcomes with intent to win additional money.
Overview
The ability to wager money is first introduced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, when the player must pay entrance fees for Vice Street Racer events, with a set limit on how much he or she can bet, and perform well enough in the races to break even. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, more activities were available that the player can take part in to wager money on in order to gain more money if the player wins the activity or lose the money wagered if the player loses the activity. With its expansion in GTA San Andreas the chances of losing/winning are more probable.
Gambling skill
In GTA San Andreas, the player can increase the gambling skill of Carl Johnson by spending money at the casinos. The skill increases by 1 for every $100 spent up to a maximum skill of 1000. There are certain activities that bars the player from playing due to a low gambling skill. The player can borrow money from the casino, leading to a negative money value. The amount allowed to borrow is based in how high the gambling skill is, the higher the skill the more is allowed to borrow. If the limit of money borrowed is reached by the player, Carl will recieve a warning phone call from the casino. Eventually he will be called again and told that people will be meeting him to discuss the debt. After this a gang of hitmen will arrive and attack the player, and random attacks like this will persist until you pay off the debt.
| Percentage | Skill level | Max wager or borrow |
| 1 | Gambler | $1,000 |
| 5 | Professional | $10,000 |
| 10 | Hi-roller | $100,000 |
| 100 | Whale | $1,000,000 |
Activities
GTA San Andreas
Casino-based
| Name | Image | Description | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack | 
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Blackjack is one of the activities in which the player can take part in.
The goal is to get as close to 21 as the player possibly can, without going over. The player and the dealer each start out with two cards. After the cards are dealt the player is given the choice to either hit (receive new cards), double (which doubles the bet and gives the players one more card only), or stand (stay with the cards in their hands). Receiving five cards without going over 21 automatically makes the player stand. If the player has two cards that are identical (for example 2 eights), the player may split, which allows the player to split the hand into two hands with 1 eight each. If the player goes over 21 then they are bust. Acquiring a blackjack (an ace, and a card equivalent to 10) will give the player with a payout of 2-1, but if the casino also has a blackjack the player only gets 1-1. Also a push can occur, when both the player and the casino have the same total. When this happens the player gets their money back. | ||||||||||||||
| Roulette | 
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Rules for roulette are similar to the real version- players place chips on numbers, as well as number sets, number pairs, odds or evens and red or black. If the ball lands on the number, number set, pair, or color you chose you win a payoff on your money. Each choice pays a different multiple based on how many numbers were picked with a single number having the highest payoff at 35 to 1 (or 36 for 1)
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| Slot machines | 
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Slot machines are another source of gambling. While pretty standard, the slot machines can give the player a wide range of payouts from a small amount to a substantial amount. The price to play a certain machine can vary. The amount of money the player wins depends on the symbols. Playing these do not increase the gambling skill. | ||||||||||||||
| Video poker | 
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In Video Poker, the player is given 5 cards initially. They then choose which cards to keep and which cards to discard in an attempt to make a hand of a pair of Jacks or Better. They player is then paid according to a defined paytable. | ||||||||||||||
| Wheel of Fortune | 
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As in roulette, you put money on spots on a board. However, here you can only pick six spots- $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, and the star. The payout for each space is shown by the dollar amount (the star is $40), For example, betting $1 on the $20 spot will give $20 if the player wins. Once done betting, the wheel will be spun. If the wheel lands on the space bet on, the player will win. If not, the player loses. | ||||||||||||||
| Craps (BETA) | 
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The Craps table was deleted in the released version of San Andreas but the table and the dice are still in the game files(complete with models and textures) but the dice are bigger than usual but the script may resize it. | ||||||||||||||
| Texas Holdem Poker (BETA) | 
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This gambling game was deleted from the game but the table and the chips are still in the game files(with textures and models, but the table is not solid and the chips are bigger like the dice in the Craps game). |