Stakes (ES) is a single scaling number for an entire Conflict (not per Hand, not per Actor).
It represents the “table stakes” of the Conflict: when you sit down with dangerous opponents, everyone brings their best game.

Floor (⌊ ⌋) / “round down” definition:
When you divide and get a number with decimals, round down to the lower whole number.
Examples: ⌊1.9⌋ = 1, ⌊3.0⌋ = 3, ⌊0.2⌋ = 0.

Let R_max be the highest Rank (R) among all participants in the Conflict.

ES = min(5, 1 + ⌊(R_max − 1) / 5⌋)

The GM computes ES secretly from statblocks (Rank stays hidden) and announces only the Stakes level.

• ES1 — “Low Stakes”
• ES2 — “Hot”
• ES3 — “High Stakes”
• ES4 — “Deadly”
• ES5 — “Mythic”