I wasn't concerned about whether or not there would be rewards.
Rather than rewards, I was more curious about what kind of master gambler Ying Baolin had found to compete, as their secrecy was so thorough.
Not only that, but as Ying Baolin was boastfully explaining the rules, swarms of staff began to move through the hall, installing various equipment.
Most of this equipment consisted of various miniature cameras and camcorders.
This scale of operation was something I had never witnessed before.
It was no wonder that the Gambling King competition, which Ying Baolin was hosting, was linked to the qualifying spots for the Gambling King Tournament to be held in Macau on March 12th next year.
In addition to using the same competition format, even security and monitoring were to be conducted in the most stringent manner.
Under these conditions, maintaining one's composure while cheating was secondary; the primary concern was how to ensure one's techniques remained undetected!
This truly tested the contestants' mental fortitude and on-the-spot performance, much like the college entrance examinations.
Furthermore, the vast first-floor hall was clearly demarcated into several distinct zones.
The competition areas were all designated in the center of the hall, exposed to the public gaze.
As I was looking around, I heard Ying Baolin on stage say, "Before we announce the events for the first round of the main competition, let's first focus on the penalties for cheating and fraudulent behavior."
"This competition will adopt the monitoring standards of the Gambling King Tournament. In addition to the various cameras and monitoring equipment in the main hall, we will also have professional undercover operatives seconded from various casinos serving as judges!"
"Here, I might as well reveal this in advance. While the various camera and monitoring equipment are fixed, the judges... are not!"
"The undercover operatives in the judging panel will move among the various gambling tables at irregular intervals."
"Once any act of cheating or fraud is discovered, they will immediately halt the game and apprehend the cheater!"
"Anyone caught cheating or committing fraud will not only be disqualified from this competition but will also be strictly prohibited and blacklisted from participating in next year's Gambling King Tournament!"
"Although the theme of this competition is 'Gambling Tournament,' it's not for any Tom, Dick, or Harry who has learned a trick or two to come and make a fool of themselves!"
"In short, to put it plainly, in one sentence!"
"You can cheat, but you must remember not to get caught red-handed!"
I understood Ying Baolin's intention.
Cheating was neither forbidden nor encouraged; it was purely a matter of everyone doing their best to showcase their skills.
If you won, you were considered amazing and would advance directly to the next round.
If you lost, you accepted your fate and were eliminated.
After the topic of cheating and fraud concluded, Ying Baolin then proceeded to announce the events for the first round of the main competition.
Golden Flower!
This was a competition event that, while unexpected, was also within the realm of reason. It was very down-to-earth.
I say that because Golden Flower can be considered an entry-level poker game that tests a gambler's skill.
To put it bluntly, this round was specifically designed to eliminate those who were trying to muddle through and pass off with half-baked techniques and certain "high-tech products."
However, unlike a standard Golden Flower game, the preliminary round of Golden Flower would adopt a point-scoring system.
That is, points would be used in place of chips.
Before the competition began, each participating contestant would receive one hundred thousand points.
Upon entering the competition stage, a dedicated scoring judge would be responsible for tracking the changes in points.
A minimum of ten points, with a maximum of one hundred points, and no limit on the number of times one could raise their bet, meaning the number of times one could choose to keep their cards hidden.
In other words, you could choose to keep your cards hidden throughout, betting one hundred points each time, but...
If a contestant who revealed their cards later found themselves with insufficient points but still refused to reveal their cards or open them, the on-site judge would immediately open the cards to determine the winner.
This rule directly prevented a situation where one might be eliminated due to insufficient points and being forced to wait.
The implication of this measure was to inform those who wanted to play slyly: If your cards are not good and you want to bluff... I'm very sorry! The final outcome will be that your bluff fails and you lose even more!
Each table was limited to 6 contestants, and the competition time was exactly two hours.
After two hours, the contestant who ranked first in points at each table, along with the points accumulated in the preliminary rounds, would directly advance to the main competition stage.
As for the other five contestants, their points would be reset to zero, and they would be directly eliminated.
The points obtained from the preliminary stage could be carried over to the final round, which was a very interesting rule setting.
This meant that the two rounds before the finals would not allow for any holding back.
To gain a sufficient advantage, one would have to exert continuous effort from the opening stages.
.........
After explaining the complete rules for the preliminary round, Ying Baolin began to instruct the staff to use computers to match the participants into tables of six.
No one could obtain information about their opponents in advance; it was entirely random...
After a short while, I saw the names of the six-person tables being randomly selected and matched on the large screen controlled by the computer.
I was at table 63. From the names matched, it seemed there were two female contestants.
As expected, after seeing their names appear on the big screen, some contestants began to walk to their corresponding gambling tables and take their seats, awaiting the start of the preliminary round.
When I reached table number 63, a female contestant, wearing black stiletto heels, walked in with a swaying gait and took her seat.
She was the first, and I was the second.
The moment she saw me, the woman smiled and nodded to greet me, saying, "Hello, handsome! Later, remember to go easy on me!"
As soon as she finished speaking, I saw the woman wink at me playfully.
Her posture and demeanor were charming and graceful.
I nodded imperceptibly in response, and in my heart, I sneered: A woman's mouth is a deceitful ghost!
Although the woman in front of me was quite beautiful, with fair skin and a tall figure, I wouldn't let my guard down because of that.
The old saying that you shouldn't marry a woman who gambles has profound reasoning behind it.
If a woman values money greatly, it inevitably means she values other things or people lightly.
A woman who is only loyal to money is terrifying.
Especially a woman who appears in public to participate in gambling competitions, so it's best for me to keep a respectful distance...
While I was lost in thought, the other four contestants at the table had already come and taken their seats one after another.
It was exactly as I had deduced from the names I saw earlier: four men and two women.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the referee, standing in the center of the gambling table, immediately signaled the dealer and the person responsible for scoring to begin the preparatory work.
At precisely ten o'clock, with the sound of gongs, the competition officially began...