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<blockquote data-quote="Jeff Wilder" data-source="post: 5141711" data-attributes="member: 5122">All I can say is just be aware of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poker_probability#Frequency_of_5-card_poker_hands" target="_blank">ODDS</a> of making a poker hand in five cards.&nbsp; (The absolute odds, not just the relative odds.)&nbsp; You might be very surprised, for example, just how rarely you'll get a lowly two-pair (or higher) in only five cards.&nbsp; (The designers of the first edition Deadlands game were very obviously almost completely ignorant of these odds.)Whether or not you want the power of the effect to scale with the likelihood of the hand, and how, will then be easier to determine.&nbsp; (For example, you almost certainly don't want the effects of a pat flush to be 200 times as powerful as a single pair, but if you want the distinction to be meaningful and memorable, it needs to be significant.)It occurs to me that an interesting variant on your idea may be to deal a seven-card stud hand.&nbsp; Not only would the odds of getting a meaningful poker hand improve substantially, but you could do it over a series of rounds, like this:Before combat: Two cards down, one up.First round: Fourth card.Second round: Fifth card.Third round: Sixth card.Fourth round: Seventh card (down).Hands aren't formed (and can't be &quot;spent&quot;) until the fourth round.This could have some really interesting implications during the course of a combat, depending upon the abilities you give for hands and (especially) whether you deal a hand for each NPC or group of NPCs.&nbsp; How PCs behave, and the NPCs, will depend wuite a bit of what the enemies have showing, and that behavior can then be worked into the narrative.&nbsp; If a Black Hat has three aces showing, well, he's pretty clearly got cover up on a balcony overlooking the entire street.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jeff Wilder, post: 5141711, member: 5122"] All I can say is just be aware of the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poker_probability#Frequency_of_5-card_poker_hands]ODDS[/url] of making a poker hand in five cards. (The absolute odds, not just the relative odds.) You might be very surprised, for example, just how rarely you'll get a lowly two-pair (or higher) in only five cards. (The designers of the first edition Deadlands game were very obviously almost completely ignorant of these odds.) Whether or not you want the power of the effect to scale with the likelihood of the hand, and how, will then be easier to determine. (For example, you almost certainly don't want the effects of a pat flush to be 200 times as powerful as a single pair, but if you want the distinction to be meaningful and memorable, it needs to be significant.) It occurs to me that an interesting variant on your idea may be to deal a seven-card stud hand. Not only would the odds of getting a meaningful poker hand improve substantially, but you could do it over a series of rounds, like this: Before combat: Two cards down, one up. First round: Fourth card. Second round: Fifth card. Third round: Sixth card. Fourth round: Seventh card (down). Hands aren't formed (and can't be "spent") until the fourth round. This could have some really interesting implications during the course of a combat, depending upon the abilities you give for hands and (especially) whether you deal a hand for each NPC or group of NPCs. How PCs behave, and the NPCs, will depend wuite a bit of what the enemies have showing, and that behavior can then be worked into the narrative. If a Black Hat has three aces showing, well, he's pretty clearly got cover up on a balcony overlooking the entire street. [/QUOTE]

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