Texas Hold'em Tourney

I woke up to Monorakun's 7am announcement, and strangely, the first thing that went through my head is that I now had 295 Monocoins, thanks to the 100 Monocoin allowance given to us each day. I was not particularly hungry, so I only grabbed some orange juice for breakfast before heading to the Game Room.

I decided to play some Roulette, and managed to get myself up to 550 Monocoins after about 3 hours of playing with Mahiru and Korekiyo. Korekiyo discussed the history of Roulette, and the games it was based off of in the past. In truth, Mahiru found it more interesting than I did, but I listened out of respect. Eventually, Mahiru left with Hiyoko, leaving me with Korekiyo. Surprisingly, Korekiyo did not really say much, preferring to observe the game.

Figuring everyone would have at least 400 Monocoins if they did not spend or bet anything, I figured that would be a safe amount for now. I returned to my room until the Poker Tournament, studying on the different burial rituals throughout the ages and checking the medicine cabinet for supplies.

I made my way to the Game Room at 4:45pm, meeting up with the others. Seated from left to right, as I stood before the table, was Kyoko, Korekiyo, Ryoma, an empty space (presumably mine), and Gundham. Rantaro sat at the Dealer's Seat, a deck of cards in hand.

Rantaro spoke up. "Good, everyone's here. To keep it fair for everyone, everyone has at least 400 Monocoins, correct?"

We all agreed that we had at least that amount.

Rantaro nodded. "Good. That will be the buy-in for this game. Here are the rules: Winner of this tournament gets Nekomaru as a personal assistant all day tomorrow, and he will fulfill any reasonable request you make of him. As for the game itself, there will be a Small Blind of 10 Monocoins, and a Large Blind of 20 Monocoins. You can Check, Bet, or Fold. Is everyone familiar with those terms?"

Everyone nodded yes.

Rantaro continued. "Good, because it was Nekomaru's idea in the first place. Now, you can leave, with your remaining Monocoins, any time you want. However, you will not win this tournament if you do, and you will be out. Now, is everyone ready?"

We all nodded yes again, to which Rantaro had us put our E-Handbooks on our Kiosks to get the Poker controls to show up.

Rantaro dealt a single card to everyone, saying the lowest card would be the Big Blind, and would therefore have to bet the minimum before even looking at their cards for the first game. We all flipped our cards, and poor Korekiyo flipped over a two, guaranteeing him the Big Blind.

"The mysterious masked man has earned the disfavor of the card gods, I see..." Gundham commented, to which Korekiyo merely snickered.

"It is not always a disadvantage to start off this way, Gundham. Perhaps I can demonstrate this to you."

Rantaro handed the Big Blind token to Korekiyo, and the Small Blind to Ryoma, instructing that each token must be handed to the person on their left at the end of each hand, and then dealt the cards. A display in front of Rantaro showed everyone's chip total, as well as how much was in the pot.

(Author's Note: For the sake of simplicity, C means Clubs, D means Diamonds, H means Hearts, and S means Spades).

Kyoko called. Gundham took one glance at his cards, grimaced as if in pain, and folded. I looked at my two cards. Jack/3, offsuit. Pass. I folded as well. Ryoma called, and Korekiyo, having already bet with his Big Blind, checked.

Rantaro burned off the top card, then displayed the next 3 cards (the "Flop"). Two 10s and a 9. Kyoko and Ryoma checked. Korekiyo bet 50. Kyoko considered her cards, then folded. Ryoma considered his cards, then called

Rantaro discarded the top card again, then revealed the next card (or "Turn", in poker lingo). An 8.

Ryoma checked again. Korekiyo bet 50 again. Ryoma regarded Korekiyo suspiciously, then called once again.

Rantaro burned off the top card again, then revealed the final card (the "River", as poker players call it). Ryoma checked. Korekiyo, once again, bet 50. Ryoma folded, and Korekiyo dragged the pot.

The Big and Small Blinds got handed off to the person on their respective lefts, with Korekiyo now having the Small Blind and Kyoko with the Big Blind, and Rantaro started dealing, first to Gundham. Gundham quickly called. I looked at my hand. 4/6 offsuit, even worse than my last hand, though some may consider a decent chance for a straight. Me, I did not trust my luck. I folded it, having gone two rounds now without paying a thing. Korekiyo folded, and Kyoko merely checked, though my eyes caught a hint of disgust.

Rantaro discarded the top card, then flipped over the next 3 cards. 6 and 10 of Hearts, and a King of Diamonds.

Kyoko checked and Gundham checked. Ryoma bet 20. Kyoko folded, but Gundham laughed and called.

Next card came up, Ace of Hearts. Ryoma bet 50, and Gundham folded. I smelled a straight from Ryoma, judging from his large bet.

Rantaro deal the next hand, first dealing to me. I flipped my hand over. A/5, unsuited. Generally, Ace-anything is a nice start. I called. Ryoma looked his cards over, and raised to 50. Ugh...probably meant he was dealt a pair of some sort.

Korekiyo considered his cards, then chuckled softly to himself and called. Kyoko quickly folded. Gundham called 50. Not wanting to pass up a chance to actually play, I decided to call as well.

Rantaro dealt the Flop. 8H/7D/4H. Kind of all over the place. Gundham and I checked. Ryoma bet 30. Korekiyo called. Gundham folded, and I considered my hand. I had three to a Flush, with two cards remaining, not to mention my Ace High. Not wanting to fold just yet, I called 30.

Rantaro dealt the next card, a King of Hearts. Four to a Flush now! However, it was my turn to bet first. I checked, as did Ryoma and Korekiyo.

The final card was revealed. 8C. Not a Heart...sigh. I had nothing except a pair of 8s, just like everyone else had.

I checked again. Ryoma bet 20. Korekiyo called. I folded, knowing I had no chance.

Ryoma and Korekiyo revealed their cards, both having Two Pair. However, Ryoma had Jack High on his Two Pair, beating Korekiyo's 8s and 7s. Ryoma dragged the pot.

I got passed the Big Blind, and was forced to immediately bet 20 before I could even see my cards. Ryoma called, but Korekiyo folded. Kyoko and Gundham called.

I looked over my cards. King/Ace of Spades! I called.

Rantaro revealed the Flop. 8/K/10 of Clubs. I got a pair of Kings now, but a possible Flush was on the table. Gundham checked. I bet 20. Ryoma folded, to my delight! One step closer to the pot!

But then Kyoko raised me to 50. Gundham folded, leaving me in a tough predicament. If I folded, Kyoko won. I had a pair of Kings, with two more cards, but Kyoko could have a strong hand.

Deciding I didn't trust Kyoko, I folded and let her have the pot. Kyoko smirked at me, but not in a mean way. My gut told me I made the correct choice in folding.

Rantaro dealt the next game. Korekiyo checked. Kyoko raised to 40. Gundham folded at once. I had 3/5 offsuit, and quickly threw them away. To my surprise, everyone but Kyoko folded, so Kyoko won again, albeit a paltry pot.

Rantaro dealt the cards again. Kyoko called. Gundham raised 50. I looked at my cards. 2/10 of Clubs. Not great, but at least it is suited. I called, as did Korekiyo, but Kyoko folded.

Rantaro dealt the Flop to the three of us. 5S, 8H, and the Ace of Spades. Garbage, garbage, garbage. All 3 of us checked.

Rantaro dealt the Turn, 5 of Diamonds. More garbage. Again, everyone checked.

The final card came up, 10D. Well, at least I had a pair of 10s now, though the Ace worried me a bit. Still, no one was betting, so maybe no one had an Ace.

Gundham checked, but I felt cocky and bet 100. Korekiyo regarded me as if I had suddenly gone insane, but then folded. Gundham, however, called me, and we flipped over our cards.

Sure enough, Gundham had pocket 6s, giving him Two Pair, 6s and 5s. Too bad for him, as I also had two pair, 10s and 5s. I won!

I looked at the display to assess where I was, amongst the others. To my surprise, I was now in the lead with 510! Ryoma had 430, Kyoko had 420, Korekiyo had 370, and Gundham was getting his butt kicked, with only 140. Somehow, I thought Ryoma and I's numbers were off, but I was not in a position to question the machine.

Rantaro dealt the next round. To my utter shock, Gundham started laughing maniacally, then declared "All In!" Gundham was betting every single chip he had on this hand...was he truly insane?

I had 5/8 of Diamonds, and decided to fold, not in the mood for this level of insanity. Ryoma quickly followed my lead. Korekiyo regarded Gundham coolly, then declared, "I call." Kyoko called as well, leaving me bug-eyed.

Since only Gundham was out of chips, and not everyone, no one flipped their cards over. Instead, Rantaro merely dealt the cards as usual. 4H, Queen of Hearts, and 6D. Gundham was truly at the mercy of the cards now. Korekiyo and Kyoko both checked.

Rantaro flipped the next card. 3C. Again, both people checked.

The final card was dealt. Jack of Hearts. Again, check-check.

Gundham revealed his King/6, showing a pair of 6s for his hand. Korekiyo had Ace/7, but only had Ace High for his hand.

However, Kyoko smashed any hope Gundham had of a victory, as she was holding pocket 8s. She had him beat from the get-go, and Gundham lost everything.

To my surprise, however, Korekiyo also left the table, despite being down to only 240 chips from the 400 he started with. "I believe I should know when to take my leave, lest I lose everything like poor Gundham over there. This game was wonderful, and I truly enjoyed every minute of it, but I shall depart now with Gundham."

Gundham chuckled. "The purveyor of the ancients wishes to accompany me? Fwahahaha! Come, then, let's see what awaits us!" The two then walked out together, leaving me, Kyoko, and Ryoma at the table with Rantaro.

Ryoma called 20, but Kyoko folded. I had K/10 of Spades, so I was not about to fold here.

Rantaro revealed the flop. 6D, 3S, 6S. I had four to a Flush showing, so I was not going to back down. I raised 50, and Ryoma called.

To my dismay, the next card was a Queen of Clubs. Useless. I checked, as did Ryoma.

The final card was a 4 of Spades. There was my Flush! I bet 100, but Ryoma folded.

Looking up at the board as I dragged the pot, Kyoko was kicking everyone's butt at 710. I had 590, and Ryoma only had 460. All 3 of us were ahead of where we started, which was nice, but who would win it all?

We continued playing, just the three of us, and at the end, Kyoko wiped out Ryoma with a Full House, 7s over 4s, and I decided to leave the game with 600 Monocoins. However, Kyoko declined Nekomaru's reward, saying he was much too boisterous and loud for her liking. I declined as well, so Nekomaru's servitude fell to Ryoma, who reluctantly accepted it, not wanting Nekomaru to feel bad over everyone rejecting him.

We all left the Game Room together just after 7pm happy; Kyoko's reward was winning the tournament, and Ryoma won Nekomaru's company for tomorrow as his reward. Nekomaru, for his part, was really looking forward to being with Ryoma all day tomorrow, seeing that as his own reward. As for me, I came out ahead by 200 Monocoins, so I was in good spirits too.

However, the next day, one of us was going to truly regret our reward, in a way we could not begin to imagine...