Super Mario 64 DS/Mini-games/Luigi

Luigi's games involve gambling. Your high score is the highest number of coins you have.

Memory Match
''Pick two matching cards to make them disappear. Clear all the cards to win.''

In this minigame, Luigi will throw in eight cards. You get three chances to win. If you pick two cards that match, they will disappear. If you choose the wrong cards, you lose a coin. If you lose all three, you fail. If you match all the cards, you will get a Star. If you get five Stars, more cards will appear, up to twelve cards.

Strategy
There is a very easy strategy to beat this minigame.


 * Overview
 * C = cloud
 * S = star
 * M = mushroom
 * F = flower

First, when Luigi deals the cards tap two cards diagonally next to each other. Let's say that they are Cloud and Star. You will lose a coin but continue to play. Keep those cards in your head.
 * Steps


 * C-?-?-? Row 1
 * ?-S-?-? Row 2

Second, tap the two cards diagonally in between the first two like this, say they were mushroom, flower:
 * C-M-?-? Row 1
 * F-S-?-? Row 2

Keep those cards in your head, and repeat them out loud to yourself or in your head, saying "Cloud, star, mushroom, flower." Then keep repeating when you are in doubt.

Third, tap somewhere in the area that you havent searched yet, say it was a Flower.
 * C-M-F-? Row 1
 * F-S-?-? Row 2

Match the two up by repeating the order in your head, and repeat that step. Sometimes you can get the same card twice in one of the diagnal lines.
 * C-?-?-? Row 1
 * ?-C-?-? Row 2

Just continue the above routine of checking the other cards. Sometimes you can get unlucky and have this combination.
 * C-M-?-? Row 1
 * C-M-?-? Row 2

If you get this then you will be left with one coin when you check the other square and you would be pretty unlucky if you then get the same thing again.
 * C-M-F-S Row 1
 * C-M-F-S Row 2

And this is possibly the only way to lose this method, so on average you would lose 1/6 games with this strategy.

Pair-a-Gone
''Touch 2 identical cards that are connected vertically, horizontally, or diagonally to make them disappear. Clear them all to win!''

Luigi will throw in twenty cards, and you have to choose matching pairs connected horizontally, diagonally, or vertically. To win this minigame, clear all of the matching pairs. If the last few don't connect, you lose!

Picture Poker
''Get a better hand than Luigi to win! If you're confident your hand is best, increase the number of coins you bet!''

This is the easiest minigame to play. You can't lose! The game uses a 30-card deck. There are six ranks of cards, with five cards per rank:

You are dealt five cards, and Luigi is dealt five cards. You choose which five cards to discard (clicking on a card indicates you wish to discard it, not keep it). Then optionally bet more coins, then discard (or hold all your cards). Luigi will also discard. If your hand beats Luigi's, you are paid according to the following table:
 * Star (highest)
 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Flower
 * Mushroom
 * Cloud (lowest)

Note that the table does not include your original wager. For example, if you bet five coins and win with two pair, your net profit is ten coins, not fifteen.

Probably the best strategy to use for discarding is the obvious one: keep all cards that fit into one of the above hands and throw away all other cards. Or to put it another way, throw away any card that appears only once in your hand. This is the same strategy Luigi uses, therefore it gives you a 50% chance to win (not counting the 0.6% chance of a draw). It automatically gives you an advantage of over 100%, meaning on average you will win a little over one coin per coin wagered. Wow! Casinos can only dream of getting an advantage this huge. :)

If you have at least a pair before the draw, always bet the maximum five coins. Otherwise, stay at the minimum bet. This will increase your edge even further than just betting five coins every time, but not by much, since you rarely get dealt junk hands.

Mushroom Roulette
''Guess where the ball will land on the roulette wheel. Guess correctly to win coins!''

At the start of this minigame, Luigi will throw the ball on the roulette wheel, and you have to guess where it will land.


 * Red Star
 * Red Mario
 * Red Luigi
 * Red Fire Flower
 * Red Mushroom
 * Red Cloud
 * Black Star
 * Black Mario
 * Black Luigi
 * Black Fire Flower
 * Black Mushroom
 * Black Cloud

Put the coins on the pictures. You can also guess which color it will land on (red or black). You can also put coins in between the pictures to get a higher chance of winning, however, this won't get you as many coins. You can even put multiple coins on the same picture to get several coins, however, this won't give you a very high chance of winning. If you guess correctly, you win coins!

Mario Slot
''Touch the spinning slots to stop them. Get 3 items in a row to earn coins! The Superstar is wild.''

Have you seen some slot machines in the background when you were playing some other Luigi minigames? Well, now you are gambling using the slot machine! The slot machine will take one of your coins. You can increase the number of coins you bet. Line up three of the same picture to win. The Superstar acts as a wild card. This table will show you how much coins the items are worth.

Lucky Stars
''From a pair of cards, pick the one with more Stars to win coins. Beat Luigi at his own game!''

Luigi will throw in two cards. You will need to pick the one that has more Stars on it. If you pick that one, you win coins. If you pick the one with less Stars, you lose. You can increase the number of coins you bet.

Pair-a-Gone And On
''This game of Pair-a-Gone goes on forever! Test your skill and see how many cards you can clear. Go for the record!''

This minigame is another version of Pair-a-Gone, except it goes on forever! Unlike most Luigi minigames, you don't have to exit this one to save the game. This is also point-based rather than coin-based. Luigi will keep throwing in more and more cards until there are no more matching cards that are next to each other.

Memory Master
''If Memory Match was a piece of cake for you, try out this harder version. You now have more cards to play with.''

This minigame is the harder version of Memory Match. You will now have to match sixteen cards! At the start, four of the cards will flip over, allowing you to see what is on the other side. Luckily you have more chances to do this (five chances). If you choose the wrong cards, you lose a coin. If you lose all five, you fail. If you match all the cards, you will get a Star. If you get five Stars, more cards will appear, up to twenty cards.

Super Mario Slot
''Touch the spinning slots to stop them. Get 3 items in a row to earn coins! The Superstar is wild. Are you feeling super lucky?''

This minigame is exactly the same as Mario Slot. The only difference is that you now have a higher chance of winning (there are more Superstars).