The Best Ways To Make Money In Red Dead Redemption

Highlights

  • To make the most out of Red Dead Redemption’s economy, players should focus on earning money through activities like hunting down bounties, looting dead bodies, and gambling.
  • While it’s important to get extra money, players shouldn’t forget to complete missions and progress the game’s story as well, as some quests can provide substantial cash rewards.
  • Robbing NPCs and banks in Red Dead Redemption are also viable options for increasing funds.


Red Dead Redemption is one of the greatest open-world games ever made, and the fact that it’s finally receiving a port on new systems after a long wait has been a source of great fanfare in the gaming community. While the lack of remastered textures and the like is a huge disappointment, most people will forget about these issues after booting up this game and experience its magic for themselves.

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The game features a myriad of ways to get money, which is important given how stingy this game’s economy can get at times. To get the best weapons, items, and outfits in the game, players need to make the most of the tasks they can accomplish in Red Dead Redemption to have the capacity to spend as much as possible without having to think twice before making a purchase.

Updated on December 22, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Red Dead Redemption is a game that serves as one of the rare cowboy-themed video games that fans loved. Rockstar certainly did justice to this genre and let players enjoy a multi-layered tale of redemption that was layered in complexity. There’s a reason why so many people can’t get enough of John Marston and his adventures, which makes it important to secure a source of easy funds as soon as possible so that the player’s journey through this vast and engaging open world is relatively painless. Here’s how to make money fast in RDR.


10 Play Five Finger Fillet Over And Over Again

A Simple Minigame With A Good Payout

Five Finger Fillet in Red Dead Redemption

There are many ways that players can distract themselves in the gorgeous world of Red Dead Redemption, and a great way to accomplish the same is by playing the minigame Five Finger Fillet. It’s a fairly simple minigame as long as players are fairly adept at playing video games.

Sure, the button prompts become more and more complex over time, but it never gets too unmanageable either. As a result, John can amass a decent amount of earnings via large bets before getting up and quitting before the minigame becomes ridiculously tough to accomplish.

9 Use The Money Cheat

For Players Who Don’t Mind Using Cheat Codes

red-dead-redemption-playstation-60-fps

Rockstar’s games are known for their imaginative cheats, and Red Dead Redemption is no exception to this golden rule. While the prevalence of cheats in gaming may have died down over time, fans are still glad to see this studio continue this trend in their games.

Players need to input the code ‘The root of all evil, we thank you!’ to get $500 instantly. Players can repeat this code as many times as they want, so long as they don’t mind achievements being disabled.

8 Exploit Liar’s Dice In Lights, Camera, Action

Red Dead Redemption John Marston playing Liar's Dice

Lights, Camera, Action is one of the many great Stranger Missions that will keep John occupied during his adventures in Red Dead Redemption. While the mission is pretty decent in its own right, it’s the Liar’s Dice segment that opportunistic players should watch out for.

Unlike most games of Liar’s Dice, the ante in this game is set at $200 instead of the usual $20. Savvy gamblers can make the most of this opportunity to get a ton of cash as long as they play smart during this game, making it a profitable avenue for the player to exploit.

7 Hunt Down Bounties

Bringing Targets Back Alive Nets More Cash

Red Dead Redemption John talking to a treasure hunter

Selecting bounties and chasing them down is one of the best ways to earn money in the game. After all, these bounties pay a bomb, are fun to go through, and give players a bonus if they manage to lasso and capture said bounty alive.

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In fact, it’s exclusively recommended to get all bounties alive, since the money earned is double that if said criminal was brought dead to the sheriff’s office. Also, there’s just something innately hilarious about a criminal bouncing around behind the player’s house as John or Jack rides toward the place where they can be dropped off.

6 Loot Dead Bodies Frequently

Tedious But Rewarding

Dead Eye in Red Dead Redemption

While this goes without saying, players shouldn’t forget to loot the bodies of their enemies whenever they get the chance. While this sounds like obvious advice, players can rack up a huge kill count in the game, and trying to loot the body of each dead foe can seem overwhelming.

However, players who are diligent and don’t fail to loot every dead body around them will find their coffers growing sooner rather than later. It may not be the most exciting way to earn money, but it’s certainly the best way to maximize a player’s earnings after a particularly grueling shootout.

5 Gamble To Your Heart’s Content

Save-Scumming Can Let Players Amass A Ton Of Money In No Time Flat

Red Dead Redemption John speaking to the blackmailer

As is the case with most Rockstar games, there are many minigames that players can engage with in this game if they wish to enjoy a distraction after shooting felons left and right. Most of these activities involve players betting some cash, which means that players who manage to find an activity they enjoy in the game should bet as many dollars on it as possible.

There are a variety of minigames that players can check out if gambling on one particular activity over and over again becomes a bit tiring. Regardless, gambling is a great way to increase the protagonist’s funds, although the argument of how efficient this method can be is a completely different debate altogether.

4 Clear Out Gang Hideouts

Action-Packed Moments With Suitable Rewards At The End

Combat in Red Dead Redemption

There are many open-world activities that players can engage with in Red Dead Redemption, with these tasks being pretty engaging in their own right. One such activity that players will encounter in the game world time and time again is the various gang hideouts that are scattered all across the countryside.

These hideouts feature a ton of gang members who will riddle Marston with bullets if he isn’t careful while taking on these foes. Clearing these hideouts is a great way to earn cash from the loot players can find on the bodies of these foes, but the real treasure always comes in numerous treasure chests and the like in the hideout which have some serious cash.

3 Hunt Animals And Sell Their Pelts

Traders Will Give A Lot Of Cash For Good Quality Pelts

Bonnie MacFarlane and John Marston in Red Dead Redemption

Hunting is one of the most valuable and engaging side activities that players can engage with in Red Dead Redemption. It’s also pretty dangerous, and players should be ready for a fight if they decide to try and bring down a carnivore that can devour their health bar in no time flat.

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Hunting and skinning these animals nets players a ton of resources that can help them earn a lot of money in no time flat. The fact that skinning animals in the game doesn’t take nearly as long as the lengthy animations of Red Dead Redemption 2 is a bonus.

2 Complete Missions

The Simplest And Best Way To Earn Money

Landon Ricketts in Red Dead Redemption

While this may sound obvious, players can get so busy trying to earn money in the game that they fail to look at the big picture. While it’s true that some missions in Red Dead Redemption don’t net players any cash, this isn’t true for every job that John needs to carry out in the game.

Some missions can be especially rewarding and give players a much-needed injection of funds in no time at all. This allows players to progress the game’s story while earning a hefty amount of cash in the process, letting them kill two birds with one stone.

1 Carry Out A Robbery

An Immersive And Dishonorable Way To Increase Marston’s Funds

Red Dead Redemption John meeting the Prohibitionist

Given that the Wild West was full of outlaws who had no problem veering on the wrong side of the law, it’s easy to see why robbing people in this game makes for an alluring prospect. Players can enter shops and point their guns at merchants, forcing them to give up their hard-earned cash to the protagonist.

It’s important to wear a bandana while carrying out a robbery so that players don’t have to worry too much about their Honor falling after this task. Shops aren’t the only place where these robberies can be committed — players can also rob bank vaults and shake down NPCs during random events, which adds to the world’s impressive immersion.

Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption

Released
May 18, 2010

Developer(s)
Rockstar San Diego