Chapter 15 – Playing Card Master
Five minutes soon passed. The bell in the middle of the table rang. The teenager put all the cards on the table into his hand and said, “Please prepare.”
Everyone’s eyes gazed at him.
The young man’s slender hands shuffled quickly and the 52 cards moved in his hand. The entire room was quiet apart from the sound of him shuffling.
Moments later, the teenager’s shuffling ended and he said, “This game doesn’t have a dealer. The seven people will fight each other and the largest card size wins.”
“You can fold the cards at any time but each person only has five chances to fold. You must call after you have used all of them up. You can only use the transfer bead once in the seven games. The transfer beads will try to get you the best cards. Please pay attention to the timing.”
“The game is starting. Everyone, please bet 1,000 gold.”
Everyone was cooperative and threw a gold coin into the prize pool in the middle of the table.
“The first round of drawing will start from No. 1 and rotate counterclockwise.”
The seven challengers received a card in turn face turn. The back of the card was a solid black.
Xiao Lou gently opened a corner of the card—2 of Hearts.
He glanced around. Everyone’s face was covered by a mask and the expression couldn’t be seen, but some people’s eyes revealed obvious frustration. It was probably because the card they got in the first round was very poor.
The teenager said, “The second round of dealing is beginning. Starting from No. 1, do you want a card?”
“I want a card.”
The teenager gave him a card. 3 of Diamonds. Xiao Lou thought for a moment. “Raise 1,000.”
2 of Hearts and 3 of Diamonds. His hand added up to five points and he could continue playing.
The teenager stated, “No. 2, please choose.”
Sitting on Xiao Lou’s right hand side, the No. 2 girl had pale skin and her slender figure made people worry. She whispered, “I want a card.” Once she opened the card, the girl’s voice shook a bit. “F-Fold.”
The cards she threw down was a 9 of Diamonds and an 8 of Hearts. Her points added up to more than 10.5 and her luck was really bad.
No. 3. Yu Hanjiang spoke calmly, “I want a card.”
The teenager gave him a card. After seeing it, Yu Hanjiang simply dropped the two cards to the discard pool in the middle of the table. “Fold.”
The No. 4 woman received a card and hesitated a moment. She put a gold coin into the prize pool and said, “Call.”
At this time, the 2nd and 3rd positions had folded while the 1st and 4th had called 1,000. The prize pool of the game reached 9,000 gold coins.
No. 5. The man with the braid asked for a card. He gently raised a corner of the card with his finger, looked at the points of the two cards and then did an unexpected move.
The man pushed all the gold coins in his hand into the centre of the table. He spoke calmly, “All in.”
Xiao Lou, “…”
The others, “…”
Playing so fucking big in the first game?!
Most people would choose to wait and see in the first game. Only two rounds of dealing had passed and he actually used all his gold coins for an all in. If he lost then he would immediately be thrown into the Nightmare Room by the keeper!
Normal people wouldn’t fight like this. There were only two possibilities for why he chose to go all in.
First, the two cards he got were really good and it was worth gambling for an all in. For example, the first was 10 and the second was a J/Q/K, directly making 10.5 points. He didn’t want any more cards and was forcing people who hadn’t made 10.5 to call or fold.
The second possibility was that the cards in his hand actually weren’t good and he deliberately went all in to force psychological warfare.
If it was the second type then this person was simply playing with his life!
Xiao Lou looked at the other person. Through the silver mask, he could only see the eyes of the No. 5 man.
It was a pair of narrow and long phoenix eyes. He had single eyelids and the corners of the eyes were slightly raised. The eyes were calm and without waves, as if he wasn’t in a secret room but drinking, singing and chatting together with a few buddies in a KTV.
Once No. 5 went all in, the air in the room seemed to be drawn away in an instant and a tense pressure lingered.
The No. 2 girl’s eyes moved uneasily while the No.3 Yu Hanjiang just sat there watching the change. Xiao Lou and the No. 4 curly-haired woman who called instantly became tense.
The teenager stated, “No. 6, please choose.”
“Fold.”
The No. 7 high ponytail girl was the same. “Fold.”
The keeper opened his mouth. “The third round of dealing, No. 1 please choose.”
Xiao Lou asked for a card and it was 4 of Spades. He was currently holding 2, 3 and 4 which added up to 9. He could use a transfer bead to make five small or a 10.5 hand. However, if he called then the amount couldn’t be lower than the previous person. The fifth person went all in so if he wanted to call, he must also go all in.
Fight with number five? It wasn’t necessary so Xiao Lou simply stated, “Fold.”
The No. 4 woman also threw her cards on the table. “Fold.”
No. 5 was so crazy that she didn’t want to fight with him. Xiao Lou had a strange intuition. At this time, the man’s face under the mask should be full of smiles.
1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 had all folded and 5 automatically became the winner of the first game.
The keeper revealed his cards. It was 7 of Clubs and 3 of Clubs, which added up to 9 points. His cards weren’t good at all. In another round, a big card might make him go over 10:5.
Everyone, “……”
This 艹艹!
Everyone’s heart was probably swearing.
These cards were so rotten yet the man dared to go all in. He was bluffing?
It was just that when the man pushed all his gold coins into the prize pool, his actions were particularly simple and his eyes and voice were calm. Everyone was convinced that his actions were particularly good and he probably had a 10 and a J/Q/K that could make up 10:5.
As a result, it was a 7 and a 2, making up 9 points. It was worse than a few hands that people had discarded!
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a look. There was no doubt that they had met a very bold person.
Xiao Lou rarely played poker but he knew that Macau had a lot of professional casinos and Las Vegas was the place where the world’s gambling gods gathered. It was very common to have bets of millions in a game.
Playing poker didn’t necessarily mean having good cards. If they played a psychological warfare game then they could still kill the opponent.
No. 5’s psychological warfare was played very well. In the first game, he directly went all in, forcing everyone to fold. He won 9,900 gold coins and now had 18,000, instantly becoming the biggest local tyrant.
Next, as long as there weren’t too many waves, he wouldn’t lose enough gold coins to be eliminated and sent to the Punishment Room.
If he used the chips in his hand to keep raising, the others would be in a very passive position.
The most terrible part of the Clubs room wasn’t the rules of the game. It was an uncontrollable opponent.
***
The keeper started to reshuffle. “The second game is starting, please prepare.”
Xiao Lou sat up straight, his mind absolutely awake.
Every person was forced to add 1,000 gold coins to the prize pool in the middle of the table. The fewer gold coins in their hands, the more nervous everyone would be. If Xiao Lou’s guess was correct, many people should use the transfer bead in this game.
The keeper finished the first round of dealing and looked at the thin girl. ‘The second game will start from the second position. No. 2, please choose.”
The girl in the second position trembled and she sounded like she was going to cry. “Fold.” Her cards were a bust again. The first was an 8 and the second was a 5. Her points were more than 10.5 and her luck was very bad.
No. 3 Yu Hanjiang didn’t fold but chose to raise. “Raise 1,000.”
The No. 4 curly-haired woman had an 8 and a 7. It was more than 10.5 and she had to fold.
It was the turn of No. 5. All eyes were on the richest person here. They thought he would raise a big amount and force others to fold. They didn’t expect that No. 5 would fold his cards very simply, making everyone stunned.
The No. 6 fat man came to his senses, picked up his own card and asked for a card before saying, “Call.”
The No. 7 ponytail girl folded her cards. Only Xiao Lou was left to speak.
Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang. The two people were opposite each other on the long table and couldn’t see each other’s expressions.
Still, based on the other man’s calm eyes, Xiao Lou noticed that the other side was bound to have the advantage. Yu Hanjiang must’ve used the transport bead.
It was currently only the second round and Yu Hanjiang was so confident. Obviously, his hand was very good or with his man’s calm personality, he wouldn’t inexplicably call in the second round.
Xiao Lou had two A and his hand was good. However, since Yu Hanjiang wanted to win this game, he didn’t have to fight with him. Xiao Lou didn’t hesitate to drop the two As in his hand into the discard pool. “Fold.”
Only Yu Hanjiang and the No. 6 man were left in this game and it ended the third round of dealing.
Yu Hanjiang put gold coins into the prize pool. “Raise 1,000.”
“Call.”
In the fourth round, Yu Hanjiang continued asking for cards and raising 1,000. His calm and cold voice caused great psychological pressure for No. 6.
No. 6 asked for a card and his hands started to tremble slightly. So far, No. 6 had bet 2,000 plus the opening 1,000 gold. There were 3,000 of his coins in the prize pool.
He had used the transfer bead in this game and the cards in his hand were J of Hearts, Q of Spades, K of Diamonds and J of Diamonds. If there wasn’t an accident, he could also get a person card in the fifth round and form a ‘five small people’ hand out of J, Q and K.
If it wasn’t for the help of the transfer beads, the probability of getting the five small people hand was extremely low.
However, there was a bigger hand above the five small people—the king!
Should he bet or not?
The fat man’s heart was extremely worried. He had used the transfer bead in this game. His future cards couldn’t be better than this game. If he missed this opportunity then he wouldn’t be able to win.
He hesitated for a long time. Just as the countdown was at 10 seconds, the fat man gritted his teeth and put a gold coin into the prize pool.
His lips slightly quivered as he spoke. “Call.”
The keeper’s expression remained blank. “It is the last round. No. 3, please choose.”
At this point, both of them had four cards in hand and there was the final card.
Yu Hanjiang had been playing as stably as a mountain but after asking for the card in the last round, he decisively pushed all his gold coins into the prize pool. “All in.”’
The man’s low voice echoed in the quiet space like a hammer hitting everyone’s heart.
Unlike No. 5’s open and relaxed style, No. 3 was a bit scary. It was as if he would definitely win if he bet. This type of aura made the hearts of those around him tremble.
Facing Yu Hanjiang’s cold eyes, sweat instantly appeared on the forehead of the No. 6 man. By this point, he determined that both he and No. 3 had used the transfer bead.
The keeper only told him that the transfer bead would give him one of the best hands but didn’t tell him—if there were more than two people who used the transfer bead at the same time, who would get the better hand?
By calling up to now, he had clearly been riding a difficult tiger!
He now had only 5,000 gold coins left in his hand. If he folded at this time, he wouldn’t be able to fight at all. 1,000 would be deducted in every game and in the seventh game, he would be eliminated!
He could only gamble. No. 6 took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. “Call!”
All the players felt cold. The situation caused by the transfer bead was really fierce. Both people went all in. It was either ‘you die or I die.’
They didn’t expect the second game to be so fierce. The existence of the transfer bead was both beneficial and disadvantageous.
The keeper’s voice was cold. “It is the end of the game. Please show your cards.”
No. 6 showed them first. His hands were shaking and he directly opened all five cards.
J of Hearts, Q of Spades, K of Diamonds, J of Diamonds and… K of Hearts. He actually made up a hand of all J, Q and K!
The atmosphere in the room became more and more tense. All eyes were on Yu Hanjiang.
Unlike the fat man’s shaking hands, Yu Hanjiang’s strong fingers were always stable.
He gently opened the first card— 2 of Clubs.
The fat man’s eyes opened wide. Would it be five cards less than 10.5? If it was a five small hand then it couldn’t match his cards and he would win.
Yu Hanjiang opened the second card—3 of Clubs.
The third card—2 of Hearts.
The fourth card—3 of Diamonds.
Everyone in the room held their breath and Xiao Lou’s palms were sweating. He felt like his heart was going to stop beating.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Yu Hanjiang calmly opened the last card.
K of Spades.
2, 3, 3, 2 and K. The five cards perfectly made 10:5.
King. The hand that Yu Hanjiang got was actually the biggest hand in the game—the king!
