After reading the recent discussion regarding Hucksters and Strain, I think folks have been taking too much of an "either/or" approach. Yes, replacing the cards with Strain makes Huckster magic simpler and more predictable, but it violates the spirit of the character, which is that of someone playing with forces he can't truly control. On the other hand, huckster magic should be dangerous and mysterious, not futile and frustrating. Spending three to four action trying to cast a simple Soul Blast and failing due to the luck of the cards also strikes me as wrong.
However, I think I have a compromise solution: Stake (yes, it's actually Strain, but Stake sounds more "pokerish"). A gambler who comes to a game with a large stake tends to have more options than one with a smaller stake. Many times, such a gambler can raise the pot beyond his opponents' ability to match. It's not exactly "according to Hoyle", but it can work. Likewise, a huckster who has a large Stake (based on Vigor as per Strain) can more readily influence the game he plays with the manitous. He can do this in several ways:
1) BUYING IN: For 1 point of Stake, a huckster can "buy in" when casting a hex. A huckster who buys in does not roll his Hexslingin' skill or risk botching on the die. However, he is assumed to have gained only 1 success in casting the hex. As such, he draws only the 5 cards as usual.
2) RAISIN': For each 2 points of Stake a Huckster spends, he may add a raise to an already successful roll to cast a Hex. Raisin' may not be used to negate a failure or a botch. Raisin may, however, be combined with Buying In.
3) ANTE UP: Sometimes a Huckster needs a Hex to be successful. For every point of Stake a Huckster spends, he may boost his card hard by 1 level up to a maximum hand of Two Pairs. As long as a Hex achieves at least minimal success, a Huckster may spend the stake. Examp: Martin Deveraux wants to cast Shadow Walk, which has a hand minimum of Two Pairs. He makes his roll but gets only an Ace, so he Antes Up 3 Stake. This moves the hand up three levels to Two Pairs (from Ace to One Pair, to Jacks, to Two Pairs).
4) PAY THE DEALER: Manitous are evil, vicious and vengeful. They're also greedy and can be influenced (or at least distracted) by a tribute of power. With Pay the Dealer, a Huckster who backlashes for whatever reason may reduce his total on the Backlash table by 1 for every point of Strain he spends.
LIMITATION: The more experienced and knowledgeable a Huckster is, the better he can spend his Stake. To reflect this, a Huckster may only spend Stake up to his skill level in Academia: Occult (which reflects his understanding of the "physics" of the Hunting Grounds) on any one Hex casting. Exam: After successfully casting Shadow Walk and getting behind his opponent, Deveraux decides to launch a Soul Blast. He rolls against gets a 6 for a single success. He decides to spend 2 Stake to give himself an extra success (and thus, an extra card). His first five cards give him a pair. His sixth card is the Black Joker, which gives him a three of a kind and a roll on the Backlash table. Deveraux's Academia: Occult is a 4d10. Thus he can spend up to 2 more Stake to reduce the roll on the Backlash table. Had he spent 2 Stake earlier to give himself 2 successes, he would not now be able to spend to modify his roll, since the Blacklash result is part of a single Hex casting.
I think the Stake option will give the Huckster a
little more control over the forces he commands, but
will not remove the danger of those forces. I
deliberately limited the Ante-Up option to Two Pairs,
since that's the limit for Tempests. I figure that if
a Huckster wants to go for larger hands, he'll have to
take the risks associated with them, which keeps more
toward the spirit of the character.
"I am Justice. I am Fate. I am what happens to
tinpot scum like yourselves when you begin to suffer
from delusions of adequacy. I am the Shithammer of
God swinging down from Heaven to smash you back into
the wastelands that spawned you. There comes a time
when fear, greed and evil must be redressed. The time
is now, the place is here and God help anyone who gets
in my way." - Malachi Shepherd