Winning by not gambling

It's Black's turn, don't underestimate his sturdy and fierce appearance.

But when it comes to his playing style, he is cautious and rarely plays with bad hands.

This hand was no different, he glanced at his cards, saw a weak hand, and folded directly.

Only three of us remained at the table.

Hou Jun continued to play cautiously and bet, while the player before me and I kept following suit.

After a few rounds, Hou Jun started to feel uneasy.

He pushed Black slightly and said, "Move back a bit, you're blocking my view of the Six of Spades..."

Black leaned back in his chair.

Hou Jun then focused on my cards, looking and contemplating.

I knew that Hou Jun only saw the top card.

He had no idea about the cards below it.

But I intentionally revealed a corner of the second card, pressing my finger on the suit symbol.

This way, Hou Jun could only see a Jack but couldn't tell it was the Jack of Clubs.

One 10, one Jack.

Hou Jun concluded that I had at most a straight.

He felt somewhat at ease and continued to play cautiously.

After a few more rounds, the player before me became hesitant.

He glanced at his cards and saw a pair of sevens.

After hesitating for a moment, he followed with a bet of 20 dollars.

A pair of sevens isn't considered strong in Golden Flower.

But he thought none of us had seen our cards.

If both Hou Jun and I had weak hands or small pairs, he would win with his sevens.

Seeing him look at his cards, I pretended to pick up my cards and take a look.

After all, in such a small game, I couldn't be too aggressive.

There were already three or four hundred dollars on the table; I could take my winnings and leave.

After looking at my cards, I deliberately hesitated for a moment before placing a 20-dollar bet.

Hou Jun, seeing my hesitation, became even more certain.

He believed that the best I had was a straight of 10, Jack, Queen, or maybe just a pair.

Now that Hou Jun was more confident, he bet ten dollars and deliberately said, "Courageous ones survive, timid ones starve. Damn it, I won't look this hand, I'll keep playing with you to the end!"

Seeing me still matching his bet with my pair of sevens, and Hou Jun not looking at his cards, he thought for a moment and chose to fold.

Only Hou Jun and I remained at the table; I bet 20, and he followed with ten.

After going back and forth for more than ten rounds, Hou Jun started to hesitate again.

After all, he hadn't seen what suit my Jack was, let alone my third card.

He turned to look at Chen Xiaoxue and asked, "Darling, should we also take a look at our cards?"

Chen Xiaoxue, however, didn't hesitate at all and shook her head directly, saying:

"No peeking, let's play it to the end!"

As soon as I heard that, I understood that Chen Xiaoxue also knew how to play cards.

It seems that Hou Jun knew his own eye contact wasn't enough, so he deliberately brought Chen Xiaoxue along to help him read the cards of these people.

Unfortunately, Chen Xiaoxue was sitting behind Hou Jun, blocked by Big Black, and couldn't see my cards either.

After a few more rounds, Hou Jun suddenly stopped.

I thought he was hesitating whether to reveal my cards or not.

But unexpectedly, he suddenly leaned forward and aggressively reached out, trying to flip open my three cards.

I quickly pressed down and stared at him angrily.

"Why are you touching my cards? Do you know how to play?"

I wanted to remind Hou Jun to be honest.

But I didn't expect Hou Jun to treat me like a fool. He straightened his neck and yelled at me:

"You're talking bullshit! If I knew how to play, could I lose so much? Alright, I'll play against you without looking!"

"Playing against" means he won't look at the cards, won't double the bet, and will directly compare the cards with mine.

As he said that, Hou Jun forcefully flipped open his three cards.

When everyone saw that he had a hidden flush of spades, they said:

"Hou Team Leader is amazing, he played a hidden flush and is sure to win!"

"Yes, he's turning the game around in one hand, the leader is impressive!"

The two colleagues from the bathhouse flattered Hou Jun.

While Hou Jun stared at me and asked:

"Why are you dilly-dallying? Show your cards!"

The eyes of everyone on the field were fixed on me.

And slowly, I revealed my three cards one by one.

A, J, 10.

Three clubs.

"Wow!"

The crowd exclaimed.

They thought Hou Jun's hidden cards were quite strong.

But they didn't expect it to be an unfortunate match.

He had a K flush, and I had an A flush.

"Team Leader, your luck is really bad today, a K flush against an A flush..."

Hou Jun's face turned pale, he gritted his teeth in anger, clenched his fists, and cursed:

"Damn it, what the hell is this luck? How can I lose with this hand? I must have encountered a damn ghost when I left the house..."

After cursing for a few more sentences, Hou Jun still couldn't calm down and turned around to vent his anger on Chen Xiaoxue.

"It's all your damn fault. I said to open, but you insisted on keeping it closed. Lost over two hundred!"

Although Chen Xiaoxue was unwilling, she didn't dare to contradict Hou Jun.

She glared at me fiercely and muttered,

"Holding the cards so tightly, anyone would think you're burning paper for your parents..."

I was in the middle of collecting money and shuffling the cards when I heard Chen Xiaoxue insult me. I stared at her and asked,

"What did you say?"

Chen Xiaoxue never regarded us waitstaff highly.

As soon as I asked her, her tone immediately became louder.

"I said you're burning paper for your parents!"

Since the age of six, when I witnessed my father die a tragic death in front of me,

I secretly vowed that I would never allow anyone to insult my parents.

Unless, I die.

Looking at Chen Xiaoxue, my eyes were filled with anger.

"Say it again."

Chen Xiaoxue didn't expect a lowly waiter like me to dare to question her in such a manner.

Before she could speak, Hou Jun stood up in anger and pointed at me, cursing,

"What if I say it again? You wanna fight, you little bastard? Let me tell you, you punk, if you can play, play. If you can't, get lost! Say another word, and don't blame me for dealing with you today!"

Hou Jun was usually arrogant and looked down on everyone.

He was used to being domineering and didn't consider us waitstaff as anything important.

After Hou Jun finished speaking, Old Black frowned and said to me unhappily,

"Can you play or not? If not, get lost and don't waste our time!"

I sneered in my heart.

Play?

Definitely can!

Today, I'll play with you all properly!

I started shuffling the cards.

Shuffling is the foundation of card tricks.

There are many methods: false shuffle, hop shuffle, riffle shuffle, and even perfect shuffle technique.

No matter how you shuffle, it's all for the purpose of getting better cards when dealing.

And dealing cards also has various techniques.

Like false deal, where it seems like you're dealing the top card, but actually, the top card doesn't move at all, and you start dealing from the second or third card.

There's also bottom deal and middle deal.

The principle is the same as false dealing, just one starts dealing from the bottom, and the other starts dealing from the middle.

When I first learned dealing, I asked Lao Liu.

Does learning all this mean I'll win?

Lao Liu shook his head.

I asked again, how can I guarantee a sure win then?

Lao Liu told me that there's only one way to guarantee a sure win.

Don't gamble!

Winning by not gambling!

I understood the principle.

But I'm a cheat, destined to make my mark in the gambling world.

(End of this chapter)