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Red Dead Redemption 2 has four story-mode table minigames: poker, blackjack, dominoes, and Five Finger Fillet. To start one, travel to a listed town or camp, approach an occupied table or activity marker, and follow the on-screen interaction prompt. Poker uses Texas Hold’em, blackjack uses hit-or-stay play against the dealer, dominoes is a matching game, and Five Finger Fillet is a timed button-sequence challenge rather than a card game.
This guide separates story mode from Red Dead Online, lists every documented location, explains the first decision in each game, and shows what counts for 100% completion versus the separate Gambler challenges.
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All four story-mode minigames at a glance
The story campaign’s four gambling or table activities are not interchangeable. Three are chance-heavy games with turns and hands; Five Finger Fillet is primarily a memory and timing test. The table below gives the quickest route to the right activity.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poker | Van der Linde camp; Valentine; Tumbleweed; Blackwater; Flatneck Station | Use your two private cards and the shared cards to decide whether to match the current bet, raise, or fold. | Make the best five-card hand from your hole cards and the community cards. | Luck, hand evaluation, and betting judgment |
| Blackjack | Van der Linde camp; Blackwater; Van Horn Trading Post; Rhodes | Choose hit for another card or stay with your current total. | Finish closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. | Luck, with simple risk decisions |
| Dominoes | Van der Linde camp; Blackwater; Saint Denis; Emerald Ranch | Place a tile whose number matches an exposed end of the layout. | Empty your hand first; the guide describes a 60-point match target. | Luck and tile management |
| Five Finger Fillet | Van der Linde camp; Valentine; Strawberry; Van Horn Trading Post | Watch the opponent demonstrate, then repeat the prompted sequence. | Complete the sequence faster and accurately; win two of three laps. | Timing, memory, and controller accuracy |
The locations and mechanics in this table come from the RDR2.org guide updated January 9, 2023. They identify the documented venues, but they do not establish that every table is available at the beginning of every playthrough or in every chapter.
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How to reach a table and sit down
- Open the map and choose a town, camp, or station listed for the game you want.
- Travel to the settlement or return to the Van der Linde camp when that activity is present.
- Look for the occupied table, opponent, or marked activity rather than assuming every building contains a game.
- Walk close enough for the interaction prompt to appear, then use the control shown on your platform.
- Read the first hand or demonstration before committing to a decision. The game displays the available actions and any current bet, tile, or button sequence on screen.
No reliable platform-specific control map is established for the locations covered here. PlayStation, Xbox, and PC layouts can differ, so use the prompt displayed by your own copy instead of applying a button list from another platform.
Table availability can also change with story progress, activities, or the current state of a location. The documented location lists should be treated as where the games are found, not as a guarantee that every venue is unlocked immediately after starting the campaign.
Where to play poker in story mode
Van der Linde camp
Camp is the most convenient place to check first when poker is available there. Approach the camp poker table and accept the interaction prompt. Camp play is useful for learning the flow without making a separate trip, although the exact availability of a table can depend on the current story situation.
Valentine
Valentine is an early-town destination with a documented poker table. Enter the town, locate the occupied table, and sit down when the prompt appears.
Tumbleweed
Tumbleweed has a story-mode poker table. Its inclusion is especially useful if you are already travelling through the New Austin area rather than returning to the central settlements.
Blackwater
Blackwater is another documented story-mode poker location. Treat it as a separate story-mode listing from the Red Dead Online poker information later in this guide.
Flatneck Station
Flatneck Station also offers poker in the campaign. A station table is a practical stop when your route already passes through the area.
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How to play poker: the beginner sequence
Story-mode poker follows Texas Hold’em. Each player receives two private hole cards. Shared community cards are revealed in stages, and your best hand is made from any five cards available among your two hole cards and the five community cards.
- Check your two hole cards. They are private to you. Do not judge the hand only by whether the cards are a matching pair; their relationship to later community cards matters.
- Watch the shared cards as they appear. Recalculate the strongest five-card combination whenever the board changes.
- Choose the displayed betting action. Depending on the situation, the game lets you call or match the current wager, raise it, or fold. Folding ends your participation in that hand.
- Continue only when the hand justifies it. A weak combination can become stronger, but opponents may also improve. Matching every bet is not required.
- Compare hands at the end. The highest qualifying hand wins the pot. If you fold earlier, you do not reach the showdown.
What a new player should watch
- Separate the two private cards from the five community cards; you may use either, both, or neither of your hole cards in the final five-card hand.
- Re-evaluate after each reveal instead of locking in your first impression.
- Call or raise only when the possible hand and the current wager make sense to you; folding is a normal action, not a failed minigame.
- For a first practice hand, focus on identifying the best five cards and the three available decisions rather than trying to predict every opponent.
Where to play blackjack in story mode
Van der Linde camp
Camp is a documented blackjack location. Sit at the table through the interaction prompt and wait for the opening deal.
Blackwater
Blackwater appears on the story-mode blackjack list as well as the poker list. The two activities are separate tables or prompts, so choose the one labelled for blackjack.
Van Horn Trading Post
Van Horn Trading Post has a documented blackjack table. It is also a Five Finger Fillet location, so check the activity name before sitting down.
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Rhodes
Rhodes is the fourth listed story-mode blackjack venue.
How to play blackjack: hit, stay, and the 21 rule
Blackjack starts with two cards for you and a dealer hand. Your goal is to finish closer to 21 than the dealer without exceeding 21. A card total above 21 is a bust and loses the hand. An ace can count as either 1 or 11, whichever value keeps the hand legal and most useful; face cards count as 10.
- Read your opening total. Count the two cards, applying the ace’s flexible value and the ten-point value of face cards.
- Choose Hit or Stay. Hit requests another card. Stay keeps your current total and ends your drawing.
- Recalculate after every hit. An ace may change from 11 to 1 if necessary to avoid a bust.
- Let the dealer complete the hand. The result depends on whether you bust, the dealer busts, or one total is closer to 21.
Simple risk management
Hitting improves a low total but adds bust risk. Staying protects a total that is already competitive but gives the dealer a chance to finish closer to 21. The game’s interface supplies the available decision; you do not need to memorize a platform-specific command list.
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Where to play dominoes in story mode
Van der Linde camp
Camp has a documented dominoes table. Use it when you want to learn the matching rule without travelling to a town.
Blackwater
Blackwater is listed for dominoes as well as poker and blackjack. Select the dominoes activity at the appropriate table.
Saint Denis
Saint Denis is a story-mode dominoes location. It is the city option on the documented list.
Emerald Ranch
Emerald Ranch completes the four listed story-mode dominoes locations.
How to play dominoes
Dominoes is based on matching numbers at the exposed ends of the layout. You hold a set of tiles, and a legal play places a tile so one of its numbers matches an open end already on the table.
- Inspect your hand and the open ends. Look for a tile that shares a number with either exposed end.
- Place a matching tile. Select the legal tile and position it on the matching end as prompted.
- Draw when you cannot play. The cited guide describes drawing until you have a playable tile.
- Track tiles that have appeared. Remembering which numbers opponents have used can help you choose between legal plays.
- Try to empty your hand first. The first player to get rid of all tiles wins the round. The guide describes the match target as 60 points.
Dominoes can feel slower than blackjack because a turn may require checking several possible placements. Concentrate first on legality, then on preserving flexible tiles for later turns.
Where to play Five Finger Fillet
Van der Linde camp
Camp is a documented Five Finger Fillet location. The activity uses an opponent’s demonstration rather than a deck or tile rack.
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- From the creators of grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption
- the deepest and most complex world Rockstar Games has ever created
- covers a huge range of 19th century American landscapes
- play as Arthur Morgan, lead Enforcer in the notorious Van Der Linde gang
- interact with every character in the world with more than just your gun.engage in conversation with people you meet. Your actions influence arthur's honour.horses are a cowboy's best friend, both transport and personal companion.bond with your horse as you ride together to unlock new abilities
Valentine
Valentine has both poker and Five Finger Fillet on the story-mode location lists. Choose the activity prompt that names the knife-and-finger game.
Strawberry
Strawberry is listed for Five Finger Fillet.
Van Horn Trading Post
Van Horn has both blackjack and Five Finger Fillet, so verify the activity name before interacting.
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Five Finger Fillet is a prompted sequence and speed challenge, not a card game. Your opponent demonstrates a pattern. You then reproduce the displayed button sequence, aiming to be both faster and accurate.
- Watch the demonstration. Do not start pressing until you understand the order and rhythm.
- Follow the on-screen prompts. Use the controls shown by your platform rather than a generic keyboard or controller list.
- Prioritize accuracy. A fast incorrect input breaks the sequence; a slightly slower clean sequence is more useful while learning.
- Repeat the laps. The match is won by taking two of three laps.
Unlike poker, blackjack, and dominoes, Five Finger Fillet rewards learning the timed input sequence. If you are pursuing a Gambler challenge, practice the pattern until the prompts become predictable rather than relying on a lucky hand.
100% completion versus the Gambler challenges
The four-game completion requirement
GTABase states that playing all four table games counts toward 100% completion and the Hobby Horse achievement. For this checklist item, you only need to play each game once; a win is not required. That means one completed appearance at poker, blackjack, dominoes, and Five Finger Fillet is enough for this particular objective.
The ten Gambler challenge ranks
The Gambler challenge track is a separate set of ten sequential objectives. It asks for specific results, not merely participation. Examples documented by the Gambler guide include winning five poker hands, winning a blackjack hand after doubling down, winning dominoes rounds without drawing, and beating opponents at named locations.
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Do not assume that satisfying the 100% checklist also satisfies Gambler progress. The checklist asks whether you played each activity; Gambler ranks can require a win, a particular action, a no-draw round, or a specified venue.
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- Experience Marston’s journey across the sprawling expanses of the American West and Mexico as he fights to bury his blood-stained past in the critically acclaimed predecessor to the 2018 blockbuster, Red Dead Redemption 2.
- Also included is Undead Nightmare, the iconic horror story that transforms the world of Red Dead Redemption into an apocalyptic fight for survival against a zombie horde.
Plan around the type of challenge
- Poker, blackjack, and dominoes: the cited Gambler guide characterizes these objectives as substantially luck-dependent. Use sound decisions, but expect to repeat attempts.
- Five Finger Fillet: progress is more directly tied to learning the timed sequence and entering it accurately.
- Location requirements: when a challenge names a place or opponent, play at that named venue instead of assuming any table will count.
- Action requirements: if the objective mentions doubling down, winning without drawing, or another condition, complete that condition in the same successful round.
Story mode and Red Dead Online are different lists
Do not merge the campaign location list with Red Dead Online. Rockstar’s online feature page describes Hold’em tables, including public and private games, at Blackwater, Saint Denis, Tumbleweed, Valentine, and Flatneck Station. That is an online poker feature, not a replacement list for the four story-mode minigames.
| Mode | Documented activities and locations | What the distinction means |
|---|---|---|
| Story mode | Poker, blackjack, dominoes, and Five Finger Fillet, with the separate location lists in this guide. | Use the campaign tables for the four-game completion requirement and Gambler challenges. |
| Red Dead Online | Rockstar describes Hold’em tables, including public and private games, in Blackwater, Saint Denis, Tumbleweed, Valentine, and Flatneck Station. | Online poker locations should not be presented as proof that a story-mode blackjack, dominoes, or Five Finger Fillet table exists there. |
The online feature description supports the existence and locations of online Hold’em, while the detailed story-mode rules and locations come from the unofficial RDR2.org guide. Keep the mode label visible whenever you give directions.
A practical route for a first-time player
If your goal is simply to learn the games and earn the four-game completion credit, use a route that minimizes confusion rather than chasing a particular town.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstall- Start at camp. Check which of the four activities is currently available and play one round or lap.
- Use Valentine next. It covers poker and Five Finger Fillet, letting you learn one card game and one timing game in the same settlement.
- Visit Rhodes for blackjack. Rhodes is on the story-mode blackjack list.
- Visit Emerald Ranch or Saint Denis for dominoes. Either listed venue gives you a non-camp dominoes option.
- Mark off each game, not each location. Visiting every table is unnecessary for the basic four-game completion credit; one play of each game is the relevant target.
If a table or prompt is absent, move on to another documented location and check again after story progress. The available evidence does not define a universal chapter-by-chapter unlock schedule.
Common problems and fixes
I cannot find the table
Confirm that you are in the correct mode and at a listed location. Look for an occupied table or activity marker, then approach until the interaction prompt appears. If no activity is present, try another documented venue or return after progressing the story; the location guide does not guarantee permanent availability at every moment.
The controls in a guide do not match my game
Use the on-screen prompt in your copy. Exact button mappings were not verified across platforms, and a control description written for one system can be wrong on another.
I played a game but received no Gambler progress
Check the wording of the current Gambler rank. Playing once may satisfy the 100% activity checklist but not a challenge that requires a win, a specific action, no drawing, or a named opponent or location.
I thought Five Finger Fillet was a gambling card game
It is not. It is a demonstration-and-input challenge. Watch the sequence, repeat the prompts, and win two of three laps.
Do I have to win every game for 100%?
No. GTABase’s four-game completion requirement is satisfied by playing each of the four activities once; a win is unnecessary for that checklist item. Wins are relevant to separate Gambler objectives.
Quick Recap
Quick checklist
- Play poker at camp, Valentine, Tumbleweed, Blackwater, or Flatneck Station.
- Play blackjack at camp, Blackwater, Van Horn Trading Post, or Rhodes.
- Play dominoes at camp, Blackwater, Saint Denis, or Emerald Ranch.
- Play Five Finger Fillet at camp, Valentine, Strawberry, or Van Horn Trading Post.
- For poker, evaluate two hole cards plus five community cards and choose call, raise, or fold.
- For blackjack, hit or stay while keeping the total at or below 21; aces count as 1 or 11 and face cards as 10.
- For dominoes, match exposed numbers, draw when you cannot play, and aim to empty your hand.
- For Five Finger Fillet, copy the demonstrated prompts and win two of three laps.
- Separate the one-time four-game completion requirement from the ten Gambler challenge ranks.
- Use the on-screen interaction prompt because exact controls vary by platform.
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