After the middle-aged alluring woman placed her bet, it was the uncle's turn, his temples flecked with white.
Because the former had done a good job of casting a long line to catch a big fish, the uncle, without even considering it, directly threw fifty thousand chips onto the table to call.
In a five-card stud game, raising on the first card is the most painful.
And the subsequent calls with flat bets bring a sense of luck and joy.
As long as the chips are still plentiful, the risk of calling with flat bets is very small.
Few people would retreat early from such a gamble hoping to win big with little.
Next, it was the square-faced man's turn.
The square-faced man frowned, picking up a fifty-thousand chip with one hand and cupping his cheek with the other, his eyes showing deep thought.
Seeing this, the fat man immediately glared at the square-faced man and shouted, "Hey, hey, hey!"
"Can you stop wasting everyone's time every time it's your turn to bet?"
"If you keep this up, I'll go straight to the tournament officials and complain about you!"
"This is damn annoying! You dawdle and waste time with every hand!"
It must be said that the square-faced man had a truly good temper. Despite being scolded by the fat man to his face, he remained calm and didn't get angry, indicating he was someone who could achieve great things.
Thus, after another ten seconds of deliberation, just as the fat man could no longer stand it and stood up to call for the tournament officials...
Finally, the square-faced man decided to call.
After the square-faced man called, it was my turn.
I certainly wouldn't appear hesitant, as there was no need for it.
After all, the fat man's attention was solely on the middle-aged alluring woman, his most direct competitor.
The difference in my points from him was a full hundred thousand, so he couldn't possibly pay too much attention to me.
Of course, when it was time to look at cards and anticipate the opponent's moves, I had to be diligent.
After I placed my bet, only the fat man remained to call.
When the dealer announced it, even though the card distribution wasn't ideal, the fat man very casually tossed a fifty-thousand chip onto the table.
Seeing this, the dealer began dealing the third face-up card.
The first was dealt to the middle-aged alluring woman, as she held a pair of 6s.
In a proper stud competition, straights and straight flushes were only eligible to be declared after all four face-up cards had been revealed.
The middle-aged alluring woman received a low card, the 4 of Hearts.
The uncle received the 9 of Diamonds, and the straight flush potential remained unbroken.
The square-faced young man was the same, receiving the connecting 7 of Spades, forming a Spade straight flush of 7-8-9.
As for me, I received the 9 of Clubs.
In this hand, all four 9s had been dealt.
On the surface, my hand consisted of the 8 of Diamonds, the 9 of Hearts, and the 9 of Clubs.
Hidden, I also had a single 10 of Clubs, which had already been discarded, falling out of the range of threatening cards.
Of this, besides myself, only the fat man was aware.
Therefore, when the dealer placed that 10 of Clubs in front of me, the fat man's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.
Clearly, he had already dismissed me.
Little did he know, this was exactly what I wanted him to do!
Otherwise, how could I later use that marked 10 of Clubs to give him a big surprise?
When the dealer dealt a 2 of Hearts to the fat man, it signaled that his hand had officially exited the competition.
Of course, if the last card was a bust for everyone, and he got lucky with an Ace, he might still have a chance to fight for it.
Upon receiving the lowest card, the 2 of Hearts, the fat man slammed his hand on the gambling table in anger, spewing a torrent of curses.
After the last face-up card was dealt, before the crucial fifth hole card was distributed, the dealer signaled me, as the one with the highest single card, to speak.
In this round, the face-up cards dealt to the five of us were, in order: 4, 9, 7, 9, 2.
The highest single cards were those two 9s.
And among them, my 9 of Clubs was slightly superior to the uncle's 9 of Diamonds.
As soon as I received the marked 10 of Clubs, I had already formulated my plan in my mind.
As long as the visible cards were passable, I would definitely use that 10 of Clubs to make a move (cheat).
Originally, I had planned to raise the stakes significantly in the showdown after all five cards were dealt to intimidate everyone.
But unexpectedly, this opportunity arrived earlier.
So, after a brief moment of thought, I decisively chose to raise.
Not too much, not too little, I added another one hundred and fifty thousand chips on top of the original fifty thousand.
The act of betting two hundred thousand on a pair, in the eyes of everyone except the fat man, could be seen as a bluff, or perhaps my hole cards combined with the face-up cards to form two pairs.
According to the hand rankings in stud poker, a straight flush is superior to everything.
I intended to cut off the opportunity for those holding straight flushes to call flat until the crucial card.
Therefore, they began to hesitate.
Unlike the middle-aged alluring woman and the others, the moment the fat man saw my raise, a strange smile appeared on his lips.
I knew what he was smiling about.
But he didn't know that the true purpose of my two hundred thousand chip bet was not to bluff at all, but simply to bait him!
Earlier, I mentioned that two people outside had received marked cards secretly welded by the fat man.
One was himself.
The other was the uncle.
Although I didn't know what the uncle's hole card was, the instigator, the fat man, did!
If he dared to bet two hundred thousand chips to gamble for an Ace, I could then definitively conclude that the uncle's hole card was definitely not a flush, as indicated by the visible cards!
As for the square-faced man's Spade straight flush...
Heh heh ~ Don't be ridiculous!
How easy is it to get a Spade straight flush?
The middle-aged alluring woman had a 6 of Hearts and a 6 of Clubs face-up. If her hole card was a 6, it would inevitably be a choice between the 6 of Spades and the 6 of Diamonds.
The fat man had a 10 of Hearts face-up, the uncle had a 10 of Diamonds face-up, and my hole card was the 10 of Clubs.
The probability of getting a Spade straight flush of 7-8-9, whether betting on the low end or the high end, was extremely slim.
If I could actually get it without cheating, then I'd consider myself unlucky and accept it!
Therefore, the opponents who posed the greatest threat to me from the beginning were the fat man and the middle-aged alluring woman.
I was gambling, betting that the fat man could accurately assess the situation based on the marked cards and use two hundred thousand chips to gamble for any one of the three Aces.
This requires a certain amount of courage and daring.
Clearly, the fat man possessed these qualities.
The moment he picked up the chips, without even thinking for a few seconds, the fat man pushed all his chips onto the table.
Seeing this, my heart couldn't help but tremble.
I knew that my unique and excellent opportunity... had arrived!