Once a card was drawn, besides the great boost it gave to one's morale, the most important thing was… it validated the accuracy of one's memory!
In other words, it was a successful trial-and-error!
The three community cards on the table were the 4 of Hearts, the Ace of Clubs, and the 9 of Hearts.
The key to victory lay in that Ace.
Whoever could find two Aces to make three of a kind would win.
After drawing his card, Mo Pingqiu secretly lifted a corner to peek.
Immediately, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Although I wasn't sure if Mo Pingqiu had actually drawn an Ace, that old geezer's smile sent a shiver down my spine.
When Ke Jie announced it was my turn to draw, I wasn't as confident as Mo Pingqiu.
Instead, I hesitated for a long time before making up my mind to draw a card from the deck and then firmly placed it on the table.
I didn't choose to look at the card because I knew very well that Mo Pingqiu had already seized the initiative.
If I looked at the card and found it wasn't an Ace, to put it bluntly… there would be no point in drawing the second card.
In a duel between masters, one move could be fatal!
At this moment, Mo Pingqiu began to draw his second card.
This card was crucial.
Putting aside personal character for a moment, I had to admit that Mo Pingqiu, who started his career as a dice cheat, possessed finger strength and speed far beyond that of ordinary cheats.
With just a light brush and a flick on the deck, the chosen card was revealed.
It truly felt like the "Sunflower Pointing Finger Technique" from "My Own Swordsman," with fingers as swift as the wind and as lightning-fast as lightning.
After Mo Pingqiu drew the most crucial second card, I followed suit and drew one.
As soon as we both finished drawing our cards, Ke Jie pointed to the hole cards in front of Mo Pingqiu and said, "Please reveal your cards first."
Upon hearing this, Mo Pingqiu gave me a smug and mocking look and sneered, "Young Brother Chen Xiang, don't say I'm bullying you by drawing first!"
"I even saved two Aces for you!"
The moment he finished speaking, Mo Pingqiu revealed the two cards in front of him one by one.
The first was the Ace of Diamonds, and the second was… the 9 of Spades!
The moment these two cards were revealed, the surrounding crowd erupted in an uproar, with people whispering, "Why draw the 9 of Spades as the second card?"
They didn't understand the intricacies, and only a few astute individuals present could grasp it.
And the moment these two cards were shown, my expression changed drastically.
In fact, Mo Pingqiu drawing the 9 of Spades as his second card wasn't due to a memory lapse, but because the other two Aces had been shuffled to the back by Ke Jie during the merging and shuffling of the cards.
You must understand that a cheat is human, not a god.
After several rounds of segmented shuffles, followed by four or five rounds of merged shuffles, and then random cuts…
Even with the utmost effort in memorization, one could only remember about three cards at most.
Of course, before the memory was finalized, one would definitely remember more than three cards.
As for where the memory of the other cards went, it was naturally washed away by the shuffler!
The other two Aces were the memories washed away by Ke Jie.
It wasn't impossible to forcefully search for the positions of the other two Aces, but it was highly likely to lead to memory disorder and errors.
Therefore, the most reliable method was to settle for the next best thing!
This was why my expression suddenly changed.
In fact, I had already realized the impossibility of restoring the card order when Ke Jie was halfway through shuffling.
I believe Mo Pingqiu was in the same boat.
This was because the number of cards Ke Jie took and inserted during each shuffle was not fixed.
Under these circumstances, the only ones who could perfectly restore the card order were super memory masters and surveillance cameras.
Therefore, in the subsequent time, Mo Pingqiu and I were doing our best to find card combinations that could match the community cards.
This was something we both understood implicitly.
After Mo Pingqiu first drew an Ace, as long as he successfully found the 9 of Spades, he would be in an invincible position.
This was because the 9 also had a broken sequence, with one card shuffled to the back in an indeterminate position, not worth the risk.
Of course, it was also possible that after discovering the broken sequences of two Aces and one 9, I had already formulated a new strategy in my mind.
That is, to calculate Mo Pingqiu's every move and then do the opposite, heading straight for the smallest 2.
But… was that even possible?
This maneuver, known in later generations as "I predicted your prediction," would be a legendary feat if achieved.
But if it failed, there were only two words for it: giving it away for free!
...
"It's your turn, Mr. Chen Xiang."
When Ke Jie prompted me to reveal my cards, although my expression was calm, my eyes twitched uncontrollably.
Seeing that I was delaying revealing my cards, Mo Pingqiu stared at me intently and asked coldly, "What? Young Brother Chen Xiang, are you perhaps a sore loser?"
I didn't respond, but turned to look at Ying Baolin.
At this moment, Ying Baolin, sensing that something was amiss with me, his expression immediately turned grim.
When Mo Pingqiu captured this scene, he immediately gave me a thumbs-up.
However, it was upside down.
Seeing this, I still clenched my fists and remained silent.
After Mo Pingqiu gave me the upside-down thumbs-up, the entire gambling hall erupted in cheers and shouts.
After all, onlookers never tired of a good spectacle.
These spectators loved the provocative behavior displayed by Mo Pingqiu, finding it fiery and exciting.
Just then, Yu Shuang, who had been silent until now, suddenly shouted at Mo Pingqiu, "Uncle Mo is indeed Uncle Mo, still sharp as ever!"
"I'll be hosting a welcome dinner for you tonight, you must have a few drinks!"
Upon hearing this, Mo Pingqiu smiled slightly, then pretended to be profound as he replied, "We'll talk about the welcome dinner later, let's focus on the present."
Under the immense pressure, my hand reaching for the two hole cards trembled uncontrollably.
Seeing this, before I could reveal my cards, Yu Shuang suddenly said, "Wait to reveal the cards!"
As soon as Yu Shuang spoke, my hand immediately froze in place.
Seeing that my hand was not touching the cards, Yu Shuang turned her gaze back to Ying Baolin and said with a light laugh, "Boss Ying, would you like to raise the stakes?"
"How do you want to raise them?" Ying Baolin asked with a dark expression.
Upon hearing this, Yu Shuang blurted out without hesitation, "All previous conditions remain unchanged, let's raise the stakes and bet on Tiandu!"
"If I win, the entire Tiandu belongs to me!"
"If you win, it's the same for you!"
"What do you say? Do you dare to accept?"
It was clear that Yu Shuang was using the current immense advantage to play the "discard the donkey after it has served its purpose" tactic.