A new round began.
Just as the dealer dealt the three community cards and it was my turn to bet, I raised the stakes.
This was a change I initiated after seeing Isabella make no move for a long time.
Seize the initiative!
Of course, I wasn't blindly attacking, but rather making decisions based on the community cards and my hole cards.
In the movie "The God of Gamblers," Chen Xiaodao once said,
"Anyone who doesn't bet with an Ace and a King is a fool!"
At this very moment, my two hole cards were an Ace and a King, both spades.
And, most importantly...
The three community cards dealt by the dealer, a 3, 7, and 9, were also all spades!
Just like my "borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha" card-switching technique, and before the last two community cards were even dealt, I had already locked in a spade flush.
And it was the highest spade flush!
The difference was, this time I didn't cut the deck; it was purely the dealer's bad luck!
As long as the opponent didn't deal a pair or a consecutive spade card to go with the 7 and 9, I had a high probability of winning this hand.
This was why I chose to raise the bet proactively.
Seeing my sudden raise, Isabella, unsure of my intentions, finally reacted.
As if preparing to test me, Isabella chose to call without raising.
After Isabella called, the others also followed suit without hesitation.
They only called, not raised.
Having seen this kind of open-card strategy many times in the final rounds, I wasn't surprised.
With less than an hour left until the end of the competition, Isabella knew very well that it was practically impossible to completely crush me and take all my chips at this point.
The best approach was to employ both the "encirclement" and "delay" tactics simultaneously.
And I, of course, understood Isabella's strategy, so I wasn't the least bit surprised by her attempt to corner me with her teammates.
Since there was no opportunity to deal with Isabella directly, I decided to switch targets and find a way to deal with the others first.
After all, it wasn't necessary to win by constantly eliminating people; as long as I accumulated the most chips before the competition ended, I could still win directly.
Therefore, in this round, everyone on Isabella's side chose to call, except for Xu Shiyu.
Seeing this, the dealer began to deal the fourth community card...
The 8 of Spades!
Unexpectedly, the fourth community card dealt by the dealer was not only a spade flush but also an 8, which could form a straight on either side!
To form a straight in Texas Hold'em, especially the highest hand, a straight flush, one's hole cards would also need to be consecutive spades.
However, how easy is it to get a straight flush?
After this intriguing 8 of Spades was revealed, I immediately decided to change my strategy and play a move of "retreat to advance," to probe what Isabella was really up to.
Lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag, I gritted my teeth and feigned hesitation, then raised the bet to five million.
To lure Isabella into a trap, the micro-expressions and reactions I displayed were all performed in a seamless sequence.
You can act when you have good cards, but don't overdo it.
Dealing with professional players like Isabella, who are highly logical and analytical, requires exceptional acting skills.
Raising the bet without any hesitation or going all-in directly is akin to openly telling the opponent that you have a flush.
You need to put yourself in the mindset of holding a mediocre hand, rather than hesitating and deliberating for a long time.
Ordinary people might not grasp the concept of "too much is as bad as too little," but Isabella, as a professional player, would surely understand.
As expected, after seeing my moment of "accidental" hesitation...
After exchanging a subtle glance with one of her teammates, the latter coldly declared, "All-in!"
At this point, Isabella wouldn't be overly worried about me cheating.
The only thing to guard against was accidentally flipping over her cards.
Because after my deck was cut in the previous round, the cameras in the hall and at the table had all been subtly adjusted to focus on my direction.
As long as I made any extraneous movements, the dealer, wearing a wireless earpiece, could receive feedback from the backend and immediately halt the game.
Therefore, Isabella signaling her teammate to go all-in not only prevented the possibility of her own cards being flipped but also forced me into a deadly choice between two options, without the ability to cheat.
Either I go against five people, gambling that none of them hold cards that could form a spade straight flush.
Or I grit my teeth and accept the loss of a three-million-chip bet, not only getting "rivered" but also watching Isabella regain momentum!
...
After considering for a long time while holding the cigarette, I ultimately chose to call the all-in.
As soon as I called, Isabella and her other three teammates pushed all their chips in front of them into the pot.
In an instant, the situation became exceptionally heated and intense.
Tension on the stage, excitement from the audience.
The reason for this was that, apart from Isabella, everyone else's chips were roughly the same.
With an all-in bet, no matter who won or lost among us five, only one person could survive!
As soon as the all-in round was set, I instantly saw through Isabella's intentions.
If I lost, her two teammates would face Xu Shiyu, and with a pure chip advantage, they could win directly.
If I won, it would be a two-on-two situation with similar chip stacks, and the final showdown would occur in the remaining hour.
In either scenario, she would profit.
Although the other four people had a very low presence from start to finish, who wouldn't want to win?
Their losses earlier were partly to cooperate with Isabella, and partly because Isabella's status gave her a unique advantage, rising too quickly for others to react.
Now, with this move, she had maximized her chances of winning.
Seemingly feeling that she had finally achieved the result she most desired, Isabella let out a long sigh, and a faint smile reappeared on her lips.
At this moment, under the dealer's guidance, everyone began to reveal their cards one by one...