27 Not Technically Cheating (Part 1)

Ethan was waiting in the entrance room of the inn. He was bringing 110 gold coins with him to the casino. Then he saw Mia enter.

"I have paid a carriage driver to take us to the casino quickly." Said Mia.

"Great. Lets go." Said Ethan.

They then entered the carriage, and were off in the direction of the city center.

"So, why is it that we're really going to the casino?" Asked Ethan after they got inside.

"There is a person that I need to beat in a game called 'Kartenmerken'. This person is at the casino almost every night. He is very good at the game, but If I can use this smartphone, he will be easy to beat. First though, I need you to unlock the smartphone when we get to the casino." Mia said.

"So, you're using me to cheat in gambling?" Asked Ethan.

"It's not technically cheating per se. There's no actual rule against using a smartphone in Kartenmerken. Besides, they allow you to use parchment and a pen. A smartphone is just a better version of that." Said Mia defensively.

[The reason that there's no rule specifically against using smartphones is probably because smartphones don't exist in this world, not that I really care.] thought Ethan.

"Alright I get it. It's not like I really care about the integrity of this game, Kartenmerken to begin with. Anyway how is it played?"

Mia then explained to Ethan the rules for Kartenmerken, as well as the rules for another card game which was very similar to Blackjack on earth. (Author's note: for the rules of Kartenmerken, refer back to What Can You Learn from a Spark? (Part 1)) By the time she finished explaining these games, they had already arrived at the casino.

It was not nearly as big or as flashy as casinos on Earth, but compared to the medieval looking buildings in this city, it really stood out. It had red walls, which stood out against the rest of the city's white or wooden buildings. Other than the color of the walls, it looked like it was built in the style of an early renaissance palace, and was only a little bit smaller than the Castle Von Ritter. Chandeliers illuminated the interior and oil lamp posts illuminated the exterior. Mia and Ethan walked inside where there were many wealthy nobles in expensive clothing slowly loosing their money gambling.

Once they got inside Mia handed Ethan the smartphone, and he unlocked it with the four digit passcode. Mia smiled slightly, and a second later Ethan realized his mistake.

[Darn it! I had been so careful to only unlock it with my fingerprint when I was around Mia, but I slipped up today. And judging by the look on her face, she realized it to. I just lost a huge amount of leverage right there.] Thought Ethan.

Despite his disappointment with himself, he walked over to a table where they were playing a game similar to Blackjack and sat down while Mia was making her way over to the Kartenmerken area. The Blackjack area was filled with very wealthy gamblers. Because Ethan was wearing some expensive clothing that used to belong to Johan, no one seemed to think that he was out of place here. People just seemed to assume that he was a young wealthy noble, which he technically was. When he sat down and took out a bag of 110 gold coins, that removed all doubt.

"Can you deal me in?" said Ethan.

Counting cards was a strategy of playing blackjack and similar games on Earth. It used math and memory skills to be able to figure out whether a high or low card would be dealt next. It did not guarantee that the player would win every game, but it did make it somewhat more likely that the player would win and it made it so that losses were minimized. For this reason it was known as a 'player advantage' strategy, and gave the player a slight advantage in a game that would otherwise advantage the dealer. Ethan found that he was really good at counting cards. With his math and memorization skills combined, he was winning a lot more that he was losing. He would still lose a couple of games here and there due to bad luck, and mistakes on Ethan's part, but slowly his pile of gold was increasing in size.

By the time 45 minutes had passed, his pile of gold had increased to 174 gold coins and a small crowd had started to form around Ethan, marvelling at the seemingly excellent luck of this young man playing a game that usually benefits the casino in the long run.

[I really hope that in this world, casino owners don't break the kneecaps of people who win too much.] thought Ethan nervously as he won another round.

In this world, the concept of 'counting cards' in a game like this didn't really exist yet. What Ethan was doing just seemed to the onlookers like good luck, and to the dealers like suspiciously good luck, although they didn't say anything as they had not observed any evidence of Ethan cheating. Just then, there was a slight commotion at the Kartenmerken area, but Ethan didn't think about this much. He was too focused on winning the game in front of him.

He continued to play for half an hour further. By that time his pile of gold had increased to 221 gold coins, more than doubling his money. At that point, Mia came to get him.

"Come on, let's go." Said Mia.

"Okay." Said Ethan who had just finished winning another hand.

[It's probably time to go anyway. I definitely don't want anyone getting too suspicious by my winning. Counting cards is not technically cheating, but even on Earth it is frowned upon by casinos. I have already attracted far too much attention, and I need to keep a low profile if possible given that I am not from this world.] thought Ethan.

They then got into another carriage that Mia hired.

"So, how did Kartenmerken go?" Ethan asked.