Dice poker in the Witcher games doesn't make sense in more ways than one.
1. Why does the game have "player notoriety" and "skill levels" when the only skill involved is luck?
2. How does beating a sharper in a luck-based game *once* prove you a superior player?
3. Why do "sharpers" refuse to play someone who hasn't proven himself to be lucky enough?
Now, we can probably disregard all of the above if we pretend Witcher's dice poker is supposed to be a parody, and characters taking it seriously is tongue-in-cheek humor. But we're still left with:
4. In Witcher 1, character "skill level" at dice poker had little to do with the amount of money they wager. In fact, with the exception of Foltest, all "sharper" games had some of the lowest stakes in the game, whereas some entry-level players like Thaler put ridiculous sums on first bet.
5. In Witcher 2, absolutely everyone, from the dirtiest peasant to the "professional poker players" have equally awful stakes. What's the difference between playing a newbie and a sharper, then?
6. In Witcher 2, you play "professional" players for awfully low stakes, and by losing a game you lose only your stakes - but win just once, and they give you rewards completely disproportional to the low stakes you both put out. How does that make any sense whatsoever?
Probably the only redeeming feature of Dice Poker has always been the aesthetic appeal of the dice board - the various backgrounds, the dice, the sounds they make, and the catchy music (TW1 only). Otherwise it only serves to waste time and break one's suspension of disbelief.
