Know what your edge costs.
An upgrade is useful only if you can still afford the next bet—and the next debt.
The three creditors
| Boss | Debt / deadline | Rule & planning tip |
|---|---|---|
| Vinny “The Palm” | 650 chips / 5 hands Minimum bet: 50 | Once per fight, replaces his first bust card. A dealer bust may not be final. If you already have the debt, paying now avoids risking it. Clearing him releases 400 chips for the next floor. |
| Ruby “The Cut” | 1,100 chips / 6 hands Minimum bet: 75 | Takes 20% of each winning hand’s profit. A normal 100-chip winning bet earns 80 profit, not 100. Budget for that cut when deciding whether a larger bet can close the gap. Clearing her releases 650 chips. |
| Mr. Gold | 1,750 chips / 7 hands Minimum bet: 100 | Draws until at least 18. Standing on 17 is less secure than in the lounge, though extra draws can make him bust. Paying his full debt wins the run. |
These are base debts. An envelope or king pair can increase the current floor’s debt. Silver Tongue reduces the calculated debt by 10%, rounded up. Always use the remaining-debt display as your payment target.
Run upgrades
Buy each upgrade once. All last until the run ends. Active powers are used through their labeled buttons; automatic powers apply without a click.
| Upgrade | Chips | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Lucky Twins | 375 | Opening 7–7 gives 80 chips instead of 40. Opening 8–8 gives two Safety Nets instead of one (carry up to three). |
| King’s Ransom | 425 | Opening K–K gives you 40 chips instead of adding 40 to your boss debt. |
| Ghost Hand | 350 | Your first Hit or Double bust each floor is undone. The bad card disappears and you stand. Automatic; one save per floor. |
| X-Ray Shades | 500 | Click Peek to see the hidden dealer card. Two uses per floor. Available after insurance. |
| Loaded Cuff | 600 | Don’t like your last card? Click Redraw to swap it. Two uses per floor. The new card can bust; changed 21s pay 1:1. |
| Pocket Ace | 450 | Click Pocket Ace to turn your last card into an ace. One use per floor. Changed 21s pay 1:1. |
| Five-Card Club | 325 | Reach five cards without busting to stand and win automatically. Pays 1:1; the dealer’s initial blackjack still wins. |
| Silver Tongue | 550 | Reduce each boss’s debt by 10%. Applies to unpaid contracts, including this floor before the fight. |
Three builds to experiment with
A second chance: Ghost Hand helps when a Hit or Double would bust; Pocket Ace lets you change a troublesome last card before busting. Ghost Hand does not rescue redraws. These effects can help you survive, but their combined 800-chip cost would leave only 200 from a fresh bankroll. You do not need to buy both on the first floor.
Information first: X-Ray Shades gives two reveals per floor. Save those uses for decisions where seeing the hidden card could change whether you hit or stand. Seeing the hand does not reveal the next card, so it does not guarantee a win.
Pair hunting: Lucky Twins rewards sevens and eights. King’s Ransom removes the king-pair penalty and pays a bonus instead. Both trigger only on the original opening pair. Buying them does not make pairs more likely, and they may never repay their cost during a short run.
Pocket items
These are single-use items, not passive bonuses. Buy between hands, then use them while playing. You can carry three of each.
| Item | Chips | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Borrowed Shades | 80 | One use: reveal the dealer’s hidden card for this round. |
| Sleeve Card | 120 | One use: redraw the last card of your active hand. Once per hand, before busting. |
| Safety Net | 110 | One hand: refund 50% of a losing bet, up to 250 chips. Protects only the hand where you use it. |
Safety Net costs 110 but refunds only 50 on a losing 100-chip hand. Its maximum refund is 250. Buying it for every small bet is expensive; consider the size of the hand you intend to protect. If you split, protection stays on the original hand only.
Opening-pair events
| Pair | Effect |
|---|---|
| 7 + 7 | Gain 40 chips immediately, or 80 with Lucky Twins. |
| 8 + 8 | Gain a Safety Net, or two with Lucky Twins. Inventory still caps at three. |
| A + A | Reveal the hidden dealer card after the insurance decision. |
| K + K | Add 40 to the debt before any Silver Tongue discount. King’s Ransom replaces this with a 40-chip reward. |
Only the original two cards count. Splitting, redrawing and Pocket Ace cannot create extra pair rewards. A pair’s effect can occur even when the dealer has blackjack. The pair notice explains what changed.
Encounter decisions
The envelope: 120 cash now adds 180 to the floor’s base debt. It can fund an immediate need but increases the eventual bill. The peddler: 60 buys a random available pocket item; you cannot choose which one. The wager: a fair coin gains or loses 75, so there is no guaranteed profit.
The drink: take 90, but a natural blackjack in the next round pays 1:1 instead of 3:2. The pawn broker: sell your newest run upgrade for half its shop price, losing its effect. Walking away costs nothing. You do not need to accept every encounter.
A useful rule before every purchase
Subtract the purchase price from your wallet, then compare the remainder with the next debt. Ask what the upgrade must earn or save to justify that shortfall. The run is deliberately uncertain: a strategy can improve a decision without guaranteeing survival.
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