Everyone had to make a choice—based on their judgment—whether to bet on the banker, the player, a tie, or a pair. If the bet was accurate, the punter would win money, and vice-versa.
“Time to deal the cards!”
At the ring of a bell, everyone was on the edge of their seat. Lu Hao and Lu Tianxiong both held their breath and looked at Ye Lingchen.
Ye Lingchen cracked a slight smiled and pushed out all his chips to bet on the banker.
That…
Lu Hao and Lu Tianxiong were immediately stunned and their faces were green. They nearly suffocated after forgetting how to breathe.
Meanwhile, the others were all stunned. They stared at Ye Lingchen with a Flabbergasted look.
“Grandmaster Ye, you…you’re going all-in?” Lu Hao’s teeth were chattering and his complexion paled.
“I am. Why? Is there a problem?” Ye Lingchen looked at Lu Hao.
“Master Ye, you don’t know the rules.” Lu Tianxiong’s face also turned a bitter green color, as if he wanted to cry but the tears did not come. Deep down, he lamented his ignorance and asked, “Do you know why there are so many people playing Baccarat?”
Ye Lingchen looked around. There were 35 gambling tables in the casino, but there was only one table playing Baccarat. Despite that, Baccarat had the greatest number of players, with 12 people. At most, the other tables only had about five people.
“What rules?”
Ye Lingchen’s question elicited laughter from everyone at the gaming table.
“Big Boss Lu, where did you find this assistant of yours? Did he come here without understanding the rules?” A bald man with a cigar in his mouth laughed while asking.
“Big Boss Lu, this kid is an idiot. I guess you’ll be the first one to be eliminated this time,” an extremely fat man chimed in. The flesh on his body was practically hanging from the chair and he had a giant gold chain on his neck.
Lu Tianxiong did not have the luxury of paying attention to them. Instead, he started explaining everything to Ye Lingchen.
As it turned out, Baccarat was only regarded as leisurely entertainment within the gambling world. It was fairly uncompetitive and was very different from games such as Ox[1] or Golden Flower, where the stakes were higher and the gameplay was more elaborate.
Therefore, the casino stipulated that the winning ratio for Baccarat was ten to one, while the loss ratio was one to one!
In other words, Ye Lingchen would only win one million by betting 10 million, but if he lost, that 10 million was all but gone and he would be eliminated at once.
Generally speaking, those who come to play Baccarat just wanted to test the waters and were not too confident in their abilities. Once the game started, they could pass the time without losing too much money.
No one ever went all-in on Baccarat as soon as they sat at the table. Simply put, it was too stupid.
“My little friend, I’ll bet on the player than since you’re betting on the banker. A hundred thousand!” The bald man smiled and placed his bet.
“I’ll bet on the player too! One hundred thousand!” exclaimed the fat man.
The others placed their bets too and shot mocking looks at Ye Lingchen. 100,000 was the minimum amount for betting.
Lu Tianxiong and Lu Hao were already drenched in sweat. It was already too late to do anything, so all they could do was pray silently in their hearts.
“Only one hundred thousand? You guys aren’t brave enough.” Ye Lingchen’s disdainful remark was met with malicious glances from everyone else.
‘Hmph! He is a stupid c*nt! Did you think that gambling was a battle of bravery? Wait till you lose!’
Then, it was time to reveal the cards!
“Banker wins!”
Everyone was rather surprised to see the banker win.
“Motherf*cking dogsh*t luck!” the baldly could not help himself from cursing out loud.
“We won?!” Lu Hao instantly felt a dramatic change in emotion, as though he dropped from heaven to hell. He was a little dazed and he trembled when gathering all his chips from the table.
So thrilling!
So exciting!
He nearly burst into tears moments ago.
Around the table, Ye Lingchen was the only one who won a million. Everyone else lost 100,000.
100,000 was not a big sum to lose, hence many people’s preference for Baccarat. One could take things slow and build on one’s luck.
“I’m sorry I let you down.” Ye Lingchen smiled. He pushed forward all his chips yet again and proclaimed, “I’ll continue betting on the banker!”
Gasp!
Before Lu Hao and Lu Tianxiong’s breathing eased, they were triggered yet again, to the point where their faces were twitching.
“What’s wrong? Are you brave enough to bet against me again?” Ye Lingchen stared at everyone with a funny look.
“He’s asking to die!” the fat man grunted. “I continue to bet on the player! One hundred thousand!”
“A hundred thousand yet again. If you’re really that poor, don’t come and gamble. How do you become a boss because if you don’t have any guts?” Ye Lingchen pouted and his words were densely laced with provocation. Then, he looked at others, “How about the rest?”
“Player, one hundred thousand!” The others looked at each other in displeasure. To think that a puny little brat was mocking them!
“A group of cowards. No wonder you only dare to play Baccarat. Cause it’s pointless.” Ye Lingchen shook his head disinterestedly.
Lu Tianxiong and Lu Hao were grinning bitterly. Grandmaster Ye riled up the entire table in no time, and the enmity incited was truly in a league of its own.
“The banker wins!”
Three simple words prompted everyone at the table to clench their fists in anger and glared at Ye Lingchen with jealousy. They hoped that Ye Lingchen would lose, but he won a second time!
His luck was amazing.
Within a short amount of time, Ye Lingchen had already won two million!
Lu Hao was flush with excitement. He finally ascertained that Grandmaster Ye’s gambling skills were really good. Perhaps there might even be some pleasant surprises in store for him after his decision to invite Ye Lingchen.
Lu Hao was just about to go forward and collect the chips when Ye Lingchen stopped him. “It’s fine. I’ll continue to bet on the banker for the next round!”
He was already talking about the next round even though the cards were not dealt yet!
All in! Losing meant direct elimination! That kid’s courage was colossal!
Ye Lingchen looked at the silent crowd and smiled. “Will any of you still dare to bet against me? If you still only bet one hundred thousand, don’t bother taking it out. It’s too childish. Don’t you feel ashamed?”
“Bad things don’t happen more than three times. I’m betting a million on the player this time!” The fat man’s facial blubber shook lightly as he gritted his teeth and said.
“Little brat. You can go on a rampage now, but your luck will still run out!” The bald man’s eyes were sullen. Similarly, he bet a million on the player!
Others also found themselves in a tight spot, but in the end, they still bet on the player to win.
Everyone stared at the gambling table, eager to see if Ye Lingchen could win yet again. Luck was something no one could be sure about.
As gamblers, however, they were always convinced that there were no winners in the casino. Prolonged gambling would bring about a loss sooner or later!
They still had capital and future chances even if they lost, but Ye Lingchen went all-in. Once if he lost, there was no way for him to try and better his situation!
They were all waiting for Ye Lingchen to lose everything!
The dealer began dealing the cards.
Both Lu Hao and Lu Tianxiong gulped out of instinct. Their mouths and tongue felt dry and they were trembling on the inside.
Although they believed in Ye Lingchen’s ability, such an approach was simply too bold. It was difficult not to feel nervous…
[1] 斗牛 here likely refers to the card game Ox, or sometimes called Ngau/Ngao (Cantonese). One hand consists of 5 cards. The objective of the game is to divide 5 cards into groups of 3 and 2. One must identify which 3 cards sum up to a multiple of 10 (e.g. 10, 20, 30). A player who can do so is said to have an Ox. The remaining 2 cards will be used to rank the strength of your Ox, with the highest value at 9 and the lowest at 1 (if the sum exceeds 1 digit, for example a pair of 7s, only the last digit of that sum is taken into account, which brings you to 4). Of course, it may also mean bullfighting, but in the context of the casino, it’s more likely to refer to the card game.
