All Gambler Challenges & How to Beat Them – RDR2

There are a total of 10 Gambler Challenges in Red Dead Redemption 2, and knowing how to beat them all is essential to those who want to complete the Compendium and become the Legend of the East. Yet, the Gambler Challenges are not an easy win, and the majority of them rely on skill and RNG, especially when it comes to knowing the rules of Poker, Dominoes, Five Finger Fillet, and Blackjack.

How to complete every Gambler Challenge in Red Dead Redemption 2 is made all the easier thanks to the useful guides and tips below, which will detail every challenge and just how to beat them so that players are one step closer to 100% completion of Red Dead Redemption 2.

1

Gambler Challenge #1 – Win 5 Hands of Poker

For Gambler Challenge #1, players just need to win 5 rounds of Poker, which can be achieved fairly easily through bluffing and knowing the right cards to use. To start, players are going to need to head to one of these locations, where Poker can be played:

• Flatneck Station
• Saint Denis
• Valentine
• Blackwater
• Tumbleweed

The best strategy to win at Poker in Red Dead Redemption 2 is to just spam All-In as early as possible, as most NPC opponents would have placed a small bet and wouldn’t want to risk their money against someone who is betting hard and fast. Alternatively, players can try and aim for these hands, in order of strongest to weakest:

• Royal Flush – An Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 of the same suit (color)
• Staright Flush – Five cards in a sequence, all of the same suit (color)
• Four of a Kind – Four cards of the same number/rank
• Full House – Three cards of the same number/rank, two cards of the same number/rank
• Flush – Five cards of the same suit (color)

2

Gambler Challenge #2 – In Blackjack, Double Down and Win 5 Times

• Reward: $5, 25 Dead Eye XP

Gambler Challenge #2 requires players to Double Down and win a total of 5 times. It’s an easy challenge that relies purely on luck, but there are a few ways to make this challenge go faster. Firstly, players will need to head to a Blackjack table, which can be found at the locations below:

• Van Horn
• Rhodes
• Blackwater

Now that players are at the Blackjack table, they are going to want to try and get their cards as close to 21 as possible without the dealer getting a better number, or without going over 21. It’s always best to Double Down on the lowest bet possible to save money. Doubling Down means players will double their bet and only take one card to be added to their deck, so if players get a low number or go bust, it might be worth restarting. The best location to do this is at Rhodes, where taking the seat on the far right of the table (the dealer’s left) will allow players to quickly exit and re-enter the game to be the first served.

3

Gambler Challenge #3 – Win 3 Games of Five Finger Fillet

Five Finger Fillet is simple enough for those with a controller, as it requires players to beat an opponent three times. Here are the locations of Five Finger Fillet:

• Strawberry
• Valentine
• Van Horn

Five Finger Fillet requires players to enter a Quick-Time-Event where they must press the corresponding controller button in a sequence to stab between their fingers without making a mistake to score points in a round per circuit. Opponents are defeated after 2 rounds have been won, and they will be replaced by an opponent with a tougher sequence. To easily complete the challenge, beat the first opponent at every location, as the sequence will usually be something like: X, B, X, B, X, B, etc.

4

Gambler Challenge #4 – Bust One Poker Opponent Out in Each Location

• Reward: $10, 50 Dead Eye XP

For Gambler Challenge #4, players need to bust out poker opponents at three locations, as noted below:

• Flatneck Station
• Saint Denis
• Valentine

To bust out an opponent players, must make one NPC opponent lose all of their betting money. This does not have to be done in a single bet, but if players have a confident hand then they can try and up the bet slowly and call bets so that their opponents eventually go All-In, to which they can also go All-In and hope they have a better hand. Other methods for this challenge involve going All-In straight away and slowly taking the big pot with each bet.

5

Gambler Challenge #5 – Win 3 Rounds of Dominoes Without Drawing Any Tiles Against 2 or Fewer Opponents

• Reward: $10, 50 Dead Eye XP

Dominoes can be one of the more confusing games found in Red Dead Redemption 2, but here are the locations where they can play this mini-game for Gambler Challenge #5:

• Emerald Station
• Saint Denis
• Blackwater

For this challenge, it’s important to note that players just need to win 3 rounds, not a whole game. The objective here is to place all your dominoes down to win the round without having to pick up any tiles, which players are forced to do if they do not have a peaceable domino in their deck. The best location for this is Emerald Station, as the game mode for Dominoes is Draw, which means players just need to connect matching numbers to make it a simpler process.

6

Gambler Challenge #6 – Beat the Blackjack Dealer in Two Locations

• Reward: $15, 100 Dead Eye XP

Gambler Challenge #6 is extremely easy compared to the other challenges within the set, and it just requires players to beat two different Blackjack Dealers once. Here is the list of Blackjack locations, and players only need two of them:

• Van Horn
• Rhodes
• Blackwater

To beat the Blackjack Dealer, players just need to score higher than him or hit Blackjack, which involves getting 21. The dealer will usually stand on 18+, or else he will bust, so this challenge may be luck-based, but it’s fairly simple, just don’t go on a killing spree just because luck isn’t on your side.

7

Gambler Challenge #7 – Beat the Five Finger Fillet Player in Every Location

This challenge is essentially the same as Gambler Challenge #3, as it requires players to win 2 rounds in Five Finger Fillet to beat an opponent. While each location has three total opponents, players can make this challenge easier by beating just the first and easiest opponent and then heading to the next location. Here are all the Five Finger Fillet locations:

• Strawberry
• Valentine
• Van Horn

8

Gambler Challenge #8 – Win Three Hands of Blackjack with Three Hits or More

• Reward: $15, 100 Dead Eye XP

Gambler Challenge #8 will be the one that players, unfortunately, have to spend the most amount of time on, as it’s purely RNG-based and pretty annoying at that. For the challenge, players must win three hands of Blackjack with a total of 5 cards or more, meaning that whatever hand they are dealt with their initial two cards, they must repeat Hit until they can stand on 5 or more cards, and still beat the dealer and not go bust.

The best location for this challenge is Rhodes, and to bet the lowest amount possible. While at the Rhodes Saloon, sit in the chair to the furthest right by the Dealer’s left so that the player can be served cards first so that they can exit and enter if they cannot possibly get a Hit for 5 total cards and win.

9

Gambler Challenge #9 – Win Three Games of Dominoes in a Row

• Reward: $20, 150 Dead Eye XP

Gambler Challenge #9 requires players to win three games of Dominoes in a row. This isn’t as hard as players think, as there’s a nifty trick that players can utilize to save their progress. If players are about to lose, then they can exit out of the table and rejoin as if nothing happened. However, the easiest way to win is at these two locations:

• Saint Denis
• Emerald Station

Saint Denis is good because there is usually one opponent, and the game mode is All Fives, which means that players must collect points by joining a tile to an open end that must end in the same number or ends in a multiple of 5. An even easier destination is Emerald Station, as although there are usually two opponents, the game mode is extremely simple and just has players connecting identical numbers.

10

Gambler Challenge #10 – Win Three Hands of Poker in a Row

• Reward: Gambler Off=Hand Holster

The final Gambler Challenge might also take a bit of time to RNG, but it’s not impossible. Players will need to win three hands of Poker in a row (not to be confused with three games). This just means that players need to win the Big Pot three times in a row.

The best method for Gambler Challenge #10 is to head to Flatneck Station and continue to go All-In, regardless of the cards that Arthur has. This should make the two opponents fold, but again, this is RNG-based, so other NPCs might call the bluff and win.

Once all Gambler challenges are completed, players can head to the Trapper in Saint Denis to purchase the Gambler Equipment Set to increase the Level of their Dead Eye Attribute.