Since the release of RDR2, I was always disappointed that the Poker cheating mechanic from the first game unfortunately missed the cut. I’ve put around 500 hours into research, development and hands-on testing, working to recreate the feel of RDR1’s poker cheating. Much of that time went into the balance meter, handling and swapping cards, and taking a confrontation from the poker table to a duel outside.
The mod makes use of Rockstar’s unused poker-cheating animations and animation states already present in RDR2, with custom mechanics to make them part of a playable cheating system.
You have to pull off the cheat yourself. Keep your nerve through the balance challenge to take a card, then use your reserve when it could turn a hand in your favour. Choose between an RDR1-style balance challenge and a swinging-pointer challenge for swaps.
Get caught and the player across the table may have something to say about it. A voiced accusation and exchange will lead to a duel outside with the same opponent.
Main Features
Take and hold a reserve card while dealing.
Swap your hidden card into your hand through an interactive cheating challenge.
Custom buy-ins for each of the five public poker locations, with automatically scaled small and big blinds.
RDR1-inspired balance mechanics, plus an optional timing challenge for swaps.
Voiced accusations, challenges and player replies for Arthur and John.
Duels with the opponent who caught you, including the chance to disarm them.
Local shopkeepers may later recognise you as a cheat.
Keyboard and controller prompts.
Optional buy-ins for each of the five public poker locations.
How it works
The system follows the basic cheating idea from RDR1. While dealing, the player secretly takes a card from the bottom of the deck and conceals it as a reserve card. That card is kept separate from your normal poker hand until you decide to use it.
Once you are holding a reserve card, you can attempt to swap it for one of the cards in your hand. The card you replace becomes your new hidden reserve, so you can continue carrying a card between hands rather than simply generating or replacing cards on demand.
Both actions happen through the game’s poker sequence and use Rockstar’s unused cheating animation work. Taking the card and making a swap require you to complete a cheating challenge; failing badly enough can expose what you are doing and trigger the consequences system.
Where it works
Free-roam Story Mode poker at Valentine, Saint Denis, Flatneck Station, Tumbleweed and Blackwater, when those locations are available in your game.
How to play
Sit down and play normally. When it is your turn to deal, watch for the cheating prompt. Complete the balance challenge to slip a card from the bottom of the deck and keep it concealed as your reserve.
Once you have a reserve card, you can attempt to exchange it with a card in your hand. The card removed from your hand becomes the new reserve, allowing you to hold it for a later swap.
Taking a card always uses the RDR1-style balance challenge. Its difficulty scales heavily with the number of opponents at the table, so cheating against a single opponent requires much quicker control.
For swaps, the default challenge uses a swinging pointer: press at the right moment while the pointer is inside the marked area. If you prefer, swaps can instead use the original RDR1-style balance challenge by changing the option in the INI.
The cheat action uses Y on an Xbox-style controller or G on the keyboard. Follow the on-screen prompts for the current stage.
Installation
Close RDR2.
Install ScriptHookRDR2 V2 and an ASI loader. For a fresh installation, download both ScriptHookRDR2 V2 and Mod Loader. Place ScriptHookRDR2.dll and dinput8.dll beside RDR2.exe.
Install Lenny’s Mod Loader, following its installation instructions.
Copy RedDeadHoldout.asi and RedDeadHoldout.ini beside RDR2.exe.
Copy the included lml folder into the same game folder, merging folders when prompted.
Start Story Mode and visit a supported poker table.
Requirements
ScriptHookRDR2 V2
An ASI loader — the V2 page provides a separate Mod Loader download containing dinput8.dll.
Lenny’s Mod Loader
Red Dead Holdout was developed and tested using ScriptHookRDR2 V2.
Settings
Open RedDeadHoldout.ini while the game is closed. Each option has a short explanation.
Choose the swap challenge, adjust the swinging pointer’s speed and success area, or turn its flashing prompt on or off. You can also set a separate buy-in for each town. All buy-ins use the game’s normal prices by default; enter a whole-dollar amount to change one. The printed values on chip artwork are not rescaled. The small and big blinds automatically scale with your chosen buy-in, with no separate blind settings needed.
The small Dialogue section is updated automatically. Leave it as it is.
Compatibility
Compatibility with other mods that alter poker cards, table behaviour, stakes or duel/law handling is not assured.
Known compatibility issues with shtivi’s Duels and Weapon Scope (weaponscope.asi). If your crosshair or ammo counter disappears, try disabling these mods.
Uninstalling
Remove RedDeadHoldout.asi, RedDeadHoldout.ini and the seven prs_ texture files listed in the included README. Leave your other LML files and shared loaders installed.
Credits:
UnforseenMods
Downloads
| Name | Format | Size |
|---|---|---|
| RedDeadHoldout-1.0.3.zip | ZIP | 1.78 MB |
To start download click the filename. To open archive files use one of these programs: WinRAR, 7-Zip, WinZip. Some mod archives may need to be extracted before the mods will work.
