Going All-In: The 10 Best Games With Gambling

There’s plenty of fun to be had earning a respectable living as an adventurer or soldier, exterminating your foes and climbing your way up to financial independence.

The only real downside is that it’s just so much work, and who really wants to put in all that effort when with a simple hand of cards or roll of the dice you can win big and walk away a wealthy hero of chance?

Plenty of games offer you the opportunity to put it all on the line, but there are few that make it truly fun. It takes a certain level of skill for a developer to make fictional wagers meaningful, so when a game comes along and presents a gambling minigame that’s as (and possibly more) fun than the title it’s hidden in, it’s worth noting. From slots to cards to dice, these are the gambling minigames worth losing your shirt on.

Fable II may have been all about building an emotional connection with your fictional family and your loyal pet dog, but if you’re the kind of person who’s more likely to grow an emotional connection to a big pile of gold there’s something in it for you too.

In the heart of every pub are a series of games like Keyston, Fortune’s Tower, and Spinnerbox that act like medieval versions of traditional casino games. Lion Head studios liked the games so much they released them together as an XBLA game before Fable II’s actual release and let players carry over all the cash they won into the full game when they bought it.

The only problem was a since-patched exploit let everyone start the game with way too much money.

What’s better than winning at poker? Winning at strip poker. Well, when you’re facing off a hottie that hasn’t been infected by the zombie plague yet that is.

It takes a lot of patience, both in unlocking the minigame and keeping the cute girls alive long enough to play with, but it’s the only way to unlock Arthur’s Helmet (from Ghosts and Goblins).

Despite being an M rated game you can never truly whittle someone’s wardrobe down until they’re in the buff, but this is an issue the PC modding community has taken a keen interest in correcting.

Even in the radiated world of Fallout, Vegas is the place to go if you want to lose your shirt. Being Vegas it’s only natural that blackjack, roulette and slots are available but Fallout: New Vegas is the only game to complete the casino experience with complimentary drinks, VIP hotel rooms and an ominous tap on the shoulder if you start winning a little too frequently.

Of course with this being Fallout, you’ve got the opportunity to retaliate by launching a Fat Man mini nuke in the croupier’s face and running out the door.

Nintendo 64 remakes aren’t a 3DS exclusive phenomenon. Nintendo has been doing it since the original DS released back in 2004 with Super Mario 64 DS. But, without the glasses-free 3D gimmick they’ve got running now the only way to spice up a port was to add minigames.

Enter Luigi’s Casino, a fun little distraction for car rides and don’t have the time to take down Big Bob-omb or Whomp King. With Luigi hosting Mushroom Kingdom themed slots, roulette, blackjack and more, it’s a great way to ease kids into the fun of gambling addiction.

Sci-fi worlds are full of strange alien creatures with their own peculiar customs that can feel foreign and strange, but a true gambler will always feel right at home with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its Pazaak minigame.

Letting you wager your moon bucks in small denominations, this is one game that can really suck you in for the long haul. It’s very easy to lose hours to this game without much in the way of big wins or losses. Just be sure to bring your best Jedi mind tricks to the table and you’ll have no problem cleaning up every time.

Remember the magic of your first trip to Chuck E. Cheese (or if you’re way too old to be reading this, the boardwalk midway), with all the flashing lights and excitement surrounding reams of games and amusements designed to entertain in the most bedazzling way?

Now imagine if you could turn all the tickets you win into cash instead of plastic rings shaped like spiders. Final Fantasy VII’s mid-game minigame metropolis, the Golden Saucer is just that. Players are given the opportunity to wager their hard-earned Gil on Chocobo Races, Arm Wrestling and a variety of other games for big wins.

Gambling’s already fun, but when it’s tied to a modified version of Zombie Dice with a holographic projection of a dude staring down the hungry horde with a six-shooter, it’s even cooler.

Adding a lot of excitement to what’s essentially a basic dice game, the Tombstone Dice Game in RAGE is the perfect distraction when you just don’t feel like driving across the game’s overly-expansive terrain with your supped-up dune buggy.

Just be careful though, this is one with tough odds and moderate payouts; it’s flashy and fun but play too long and you’ll soon find yourself without the cash to afford your Wingstick addiction.

For some folks playing a battlefield where life is on the line isn’t risky enough, they need some financial motivation not to die. Call of Duty: Black Ops’ Wager Match modes up the ante by letting players gamble their in-game currency on a series of games, offering the winner 3:1 payouts on their investment.

Sure, this may sound like a great way to unlock all those cool Weapons and Perks but there’s still one catch; you need a victory make any gains. Personally, I’d rather bet on the trash-talking 12 year old screaming into my headset, he’s a twerp but much more likely to win.

In Red Dead Redemption there may be farms to save, bandits to take down, and women to tie onto train tracks, but sometimes all John Marston wants to do is kick back with a cup and play some Liar’s Dice.

There’s plenty of poker to be played too, but there’s nothing that perfects a cowboy’s ice-cold stare than learning to bluff up and down in a game of Liar’s Dice. If the NPCs in the game aren’t up to your standard of play, Red Dead Redemption also lets you take it online with a daily allowance of $200.

There are mysteries to solve and people to question, but all Ryo Hazuki wants to do is play Lucky Hit. Like some form of hyper-addictive pachinko, it’s not only mesmerizing to watch your little red ball fall through pegs to its final resting place but it can be insanely profitable.

With a wide range of betting minimums, odds and payouts you’ll be able to find a Lucky Hit board to match your budget and level of desperation. Unlike the other games listed here, Ryo has the opportunity to play the game as the dealer keeping any profits made suckering the unsuspecting NPCs out of their cash.