The Story of the Gambling King
[ps: Before the main text begins, regarding the rules of Texas Hold'em, I will briefly touch upon what can be skimmed over. If it cannot be skimmed over, I will also skim over it, to avoid being criticized for padding the word count again. If any of you don't understand, please search it on Baidu yourself. Don't blame me, trolls are too terrifying.]
Texas Hold'em generally involves 2-10 players, with occasional games for up to 12.
6 players or fewer are referred to as a short deck.
More than 6 players are referred to as a long deck.
A ten-player Texas Hold'em game, like the final table, is considered a long deck game.
The special positions in a long deck game are not one after another like in a short deck game.
After I, in the big blind position, placed my bet, the action did not proceed to my immediate left as expected. Instead, it fell upon that mysterious young woman.
During this time, once both the big and small blinds had placed their bets, the dealer would deal us our two hole cards.
The young woman glanced at her cards with a casual air, then directly picked up a chip worth ten thousand and tossed it into the pot on the table.
As she threw the chip into the pot, I noticed her smirk at me again, her expression one of disdain.
Clearly, the young woman no longer considered me a threat.
I did not show any signs of being provoked by this. Instead, I chose to examine my hole cards first.
One King of Spades, one Four of Hearts.
While looking at my cards, my mind was constantly replaying the young woman's playstyle that I had observed moments ago.
She belonged to the type that favored making aggressive bets with chips to gain an early advantage, and then, based on the potential hands that could be formed with her hole cards and the community cards, she would decide whether to relentlessly pursue the pot with a direct approach.
This straightforward, three-pronged attack, while heavily reliant on hole cards and community cards, offered a high success rate and return if it paid off.
Therefore, I deduced that her contemptuous expression earlier was likely a facade, intended to protect her hand.
Before the first three community cards were dealt, what kind of hole cards did the young woman hold that made her think of catching everyone off guard from the start, leveraging her accumulated playing style?
Was it a pair? Or perhaps a flush?
………………
After the young woman placed her bet, her immediate left neighbor, after some thought, did not raise but instead called with a ten-thousand chip.
Next, it was the turn of the elegant young married woman.
At this moment, the elegant young married woman continued to smoke, with two gray dragons continuously emerging from her nostrils.
Just as the two dragons dissipated and the married woman reinserted her cigarette holder into her mouth to inhale…
I saw her eyes, slightly narrowed from the rising smoke, suddenly fixate on the mysterious young woman.
She concealed it skillfully, using the moment when the cigarette smoke rose to steal a glance at the young woman.
And that young woman, very casually, flicked her hair.
After a fleeting glance, the married woman's gaze returned from the young woman.
There's something fishy! These two indeed have something going on!
Previously, if I had merely harbored suspicions about the potential relationship between these two women…
Then at this very moment, I was absolutely certain, without a shadow of a doubt!
These two women are in cahoots!
Heh heh~
In competitions of this caliber, apart from the initial preliminaries, the main event and final rounds actually have acquaintances sitting at the same table.
What does this signify?
It signifies that fairness, justice, and openness are utter nonsense in the face of absolute social status and power!
This scene is reminiscent of the classic line spoken by the coach of the Devil's team in "Shaolin Soccer."
The referee, the linesmen, and all the organizing and co-organizing bodies are all my people. What can you do to fight me?
Anyone who can secretly tamper with the draw for the final grouping, apart from Ying Baolin, who organized the event, has neither the ability nor the capacity!
Moreover, he has no reason to help other competitors cheat.
So, without a doubt, these two women are both helpers invited by Ying Baolin!
My being assigned to table one was also his covert arrangement.
The true opponents I had been desperately searching for without any news or trace have now… unexpectedly revealed themselves!
Since the real opponents are at this table, I can now unleash my full potential.
As I was lost in thought, the dealer, after discarding one card, had already taken the opportunity to deal and reveal the first three community cards.
Jack of Spades, Nine of Spades, Four of Diamonds.
This hand turned out to be a board with potential for two different draws!
After the three community cards were dealt, it was the turn of the contestant sitting in the small blind to bet.
The man with the full beard began to frown and ponder.
His contemplation lasted for about the time it takes to smoke half a cigarette.
If the dealer hadn't spoken up to prompt him, I felt like this guy would have waited until the cigarette in his hand burned down and scalded his hand before snapping back to reality.
"Fifty thousand!"
The moment he regained his senses, the bearded man placed a fifty-thousand chip.
It was evident that he held a decent hand.
When it was my turn, I feigned consideration for a moment.
Ultimately, I chose to call, not raising the bet.
I didn't pay much attention to the others. When it came to the young woman, she also considered for a while, just like me, and finally chose to call.
After the young woman placed her bet, I chose to skip the others directly and focus my gaze on the elegant young married woman.
My purpose for participating in this competition was to disrupt Ying Baolin's plans.
As for whether my points would rank in the top ten… honestly, I didn't care at all.
Although I also yearned for next year's Gambling King competition, it wasn't mandatory, and there were other ways to register.
Therefore, I wanted to concentrate my attention and firepower on taking down these two women, one by one!
When it was the married woman's turn to bet, I saw her squint her eyes and take another puff of her cigarette.
However, this time, she didn't think much about it, nor did she steal a glance at the young woman. She very decisively chose to call.
Judging by her demeanor, the married woman also had a hand this round.
After the remaining players had all declared their actions, the dealer began to deal the fourth community card.
It turned out to be a Ten of Spades!
At this point, the four community cards were: Jack of Spades, Nine of Spades, Four of Diamonds, Ten of Spades.
A board like this, with potential for a straight flush, could lead to multiple possibilities.
Even though the fifth card had not yet been dealt, there were many types of hands that could be made.
If one started with a pair, they could draw to a full house or even quads.
If one didn't have a pair but had suited cards, they could draw to a flush or a straight flush.
If one had neither a pair nor suited cards, they could draw to a pair, two pair, or even trips.
In a casino setting, the safest approach with such a board would be to cheat and switch cards immediately after the fifth card is dealt.
But this is the final round, and that's clearly not practical.
It's not something you can easily do just because you want to cheat.
Of course, it's also possible that someone might use this hand to subtly consider making some moves.
Therefore, this round promises some exciting developments…