Before the final community card, also known as the river card in Texas Hold'em, the dealer signaled that betting could begin.
As soon as the words were spoken, I saw the bearded man in the small blind pick up several chips and roll them between his hands, weaving them through his fingers.
Such a dashing move was exactly like the close-ups of protagonists playing with chips in gambling movies.
Just one word: cool!
Judging by the bearded man's way of handling the chips, it was not difficult to infer that his dexterity was very refined.
Because he was juggling several chips at once, anyone who hadn't practiced shuffling, cutting, and dealing single-handedly for a long time would certainly not be able to do it so effortlessly and gracefully.
So it was obvious that the bearded man was a skilled cheat with exceptional single-handed technique.
After about two minutes, the dealer immediately prompted the bearded man, stating that his thinking time was up.
If he hadn't made a decision, he would be considered to have folded.
After all, this was the final round, and if every player took their time to dither and waste time during every betting round...
To put it bluntly, even if the match time extended to over six hours, it wouldn't withstand everyone's dawdling.
Upon hearing the dealer's prompt, the bearded man took two chips from his hand and then directly pushed two other chips onto the table.
Five thousand for one, ten thousand for another.
"Sixty thousand!"
The bearded man had raised his bet.
Looking at the chips he held in his hand, he must have removed two chips with a denomination of ten thousand.
From eighty thousand, it was reduced to sixty thousand.
This guy... is quite interesting!
To be honest, I felt that the bearded man's move was deliberate, aimed at confusing us opponents.
If this inference proved true, then he was a typical case of bravery without strategy.
Such a simple tactic of feigned ignorance, unless one was completely brainless, would surely guess that he had cards.
Of course, it was also possible that he was playing a trick within a trick, deliberately exposing a weakness to make everyone hesitant.
However, none of this mattered to me.
As long as the bearded man wasn't targeting me because my chips were low, I was completely uninterested in him.
When it was my turn, I didn't speak to raise the bet, but simply called.
With the bearded man's previous move, there was no need for me to raise the bet anymore.
After I called, it was the young woman's turn.
Without much thought, I saw the young woman take out sixty thousand chips and place them on the table, choosing to call.
The moment the young woman made this move, I saw the elegant lady take two consecutive puffs of her cigarette and then stub out the butt.
After extinguishing the cigarette, the elegant lady did not immediately decide whether to call or not, but instead turned to the patrolling service staff and asked for a glass of plain water.
Upon receiving the instruction, the waiter immediately poured her more than half a glass of water.
Taking a chip worth five thousand from the table and giving it to the waiter, she gestured for the staff to leave, and then suddenly declared, "I'm all-in!"
As soon as she spoke, she pushed all the chips in front of her, which were less than eight hundred thousand, onto the table.
The elegant lady's sudden move made my heart involuntarily pause.
What was this woman trying to do?
All-in? Was she that confident?
While I was lost in thought, the elegant lady's all-in move immediately caused a stir among the other contestants at the table.
Besides me, she was the second person to voluntarily declare an all-in.
Could it be that a "river kill" was about to happen again?
This is the greatest charm of Texas Hold'em compared to Five Card Draw.
Before the fifth and most important community card, the river card, is dealt, if you feel that your hole cards and the community cards on the table are good, you can directly execute a river kill, cutting off the hope of some people to bet on the last card.
In Texas Hold'em tournaments, with the community cards as a foundation, many other potential card combinations can be deduced through calculation.
Many people have died from river kills, and many have been ruined by them.
Therefore, for a long time after the elegant lady finished speaking, no one outside dared to speak rashly or bet casually.
Time ticked by, second by second.
After an unknown amount of time.
As the contestants sitting behind the elegant lady successively folded, it was soon the bearded man's turn.
"I call!"
This time, the bearded man showed no hesitation and went all-in with his chips.
After the bearded man declared his intention, it was my turn.
I knew very well that the elegant lady chose to go all-in because she had received a very good hand.
And the most important point was that she wanted to emulate the young woman's previous all-in against me and hit me hard again.
If I called this hand and lost, there would basically be no chance of a comeback.
The sting of the wasp's tail, the most poisonous heart of a woman!
When a woman gets ruthless, she is definitely more terrifying than a man!
Even though I knew she was targeting me, I had to call this round.
No choice! Who told me I also had good cards!
If I didn't call and take a gamble, judging by the elegant lady's confident demeanor, she would likely win this round.
I still haven't concluded which of them, her or the young woman, is the mysterious helper invited by Ying Baolin.
If the elegant lady also went all-in, it would be impossible to take both of them down simultaneously.
Therefore, after the bearded man called, I gritted my teeth fiercely and pushed all my chips onto the table.
Upon seeing me choose to go all-in, when it was the young woman's turn to bet next, she very decisively chose to fold.
Unlike Five Card Draw, in Texas Hold'em, if you choose to go all-in early, players must reveal their cards first.
After a round of betting, the dealer immediately signaled that the three of us could start revealing our cards.
The elegant lady was the first to reveal her cards.
Eight of spades, and another... Five of spades!
As expected, it was not much different from my earlier prediction.
Before the final river card was dealt, the elegant lady had already locked in a flush, and she could also aim for a straight flush.
No wonder she went all-in, as this hand was already considered the best in this round.
Even if others held a pair and formed three of a kind with any of the four cards on the table, it wouldn't be enough.
Because: Three of a kind < Flush < Full House.
The bearded man, who revealed his cards next, confirmed my previous point.
A pair of fours.
A solid three of a kind hand.
And unfortunately, the bearded man getting a pair of fours meant that my hole card, the four of hearts... was now void!
Because all four fours had already come out.
I could only rely on that King of spades to aim for a final flush, or a straight flush...