I cannot draw definitive conclusions about Yun Jin's true intentions behind seeking investors to fund a grand gambling competition, the "Thousand Skills Tournament." However, as the saying goes, "the wool comes from the sheep's back." I am certain that most participants, eager to win the ten million cash prize, will pay a considerable price.
Whether it's fate or supernatural phenomena, some things may not be believed but must be respected. Ever since I discovered significant feng shui issues with the cruise ship's casino, I've been on high alert. I don't want to contribute money and effort only to capsize in a shallow ditch, preventing me from even meeting Yun Jin.
Entering the casino lobby, I saw it was already crowded. As 9:18 struck, Yun Jin, in a red dress, walked onto the stage to deliver the opening speech for the cruise ship's voyage. Following that were the rules for the gambling tournament. It was only then that everyone realized tonight was merely the commencement, not the start of the actual competition.
To achieve ultimate victory, one must first pass through the preliminary and elimination rounds. The first stage, the preliminary round, is simple: bring enough money, exchange it for chips, and in a two-hour game with six players per table, ensure your chips rank among the top three to advance.
As for the elimination rounds, participants must win a sufficient amount of chips each day to pass. If their chips are insufficient or they lose them all, they will be directly eliminated. I will explain the other specific details as the elimination rounds begin, while gambling. For now, the priority is to pass the first stage, the preliminary round.
Participating in the preliminary round is straightforward: go to the counter with enough cash to exchange for chips and register. How much money is needed? A mere hundred thousand! From the preliminary round onwards, Yun Jin's purpose in holding this tournament is to employ the principle of "Jiang Taigong fishing, the willing are caught." For ordinary people who don't know gambling tricks, this preliminary round, with no other obstacles and a mere hundred thousand yuan entry fee, is a death trap! The probability of an ordinary person spending a hundred thousand yuan and progressing through to the end is far less than China's national football team qualifying for the World Cup group stage. It would be better to stake everything on the national football team qualifying from the World Cup group stage than to pay a hundred thousand yuan to enter a professional gambling competition. Even if you lose, at least you can shout into the camera and lens, "Damn it!"
After the two-hour preliminary round, the top three players in chips at each table automatically advance to the next round of elimination. Everyone else is eliminated. By midnight on the first night, participants must use the chips accumulated from the preliminary round to win a full two million to compete and advance to the third round of elimination on the second day. By midnight on the second day, they must win a full ten million in chips to pass. Failure to accumulate enough chips will result in direct elimination, as will losing all chips during the day's competition. After two days and three rounds of competition, those who pass the second day's elimination round will remain for the final showdown. The truly critical point lies in the second day. Using two million as capital to win ten million chips – this stage, aside from professional gamblers, has a very low chance of success for those who are unlearned gamblers or belong to the lower eight ranks of the gambling fraternity.
Before the official start of the competition, I made plans and preparations in my mind. I don't need to be overly conspicuous or dominate. Each day, I'll just win enough chips to advance and then stop. I will hide my strength, maintain a low profile, and conserve my energy.
At precisely 9 AM, the preliminary round officially began. My group of five had their names randomly shuffled by the computer. When drawing table assignments and competition categories, we were completely separated and dispersed into different types of competition areas. For example, Cheng Minglang, who never plays Mahjong, was assigned to the Mahjong group. I don't need to guess that the hundred thousand chips prepared for him are essentially wasted. As for myself, I was assigned to the card group, specifically Texas Hold'em. While Texas Hold'em is simple to play, the competitive pressure is relatively high. This is because it allows for the display of both superb skills and a considerable level of psychological warfare. To be blunt, if there are gamblers and members of the lower eight ranks among the participants assigned to Texas Hold'em and Show Hand in the preliminary round, their characteristics can be exploited to make a small profit! Of course, whether these people who intend to fish in troubled waters make a profit or not is of no concern to me. As long as there are no such people at my table.
Thus, after the first three trial rounds, I decided to unleash my power and dominate the competition. Simultaneously, I began to discreetly observe the other participants at my table. Know yourself and your enemy, and you can win a hundred battles. At our table of six participants, there was a beautiful and slender lady. As the saying goes, "like repels like, opposites attract." Upon seeing a female participant, the other male participants at the table transformed into gambling gods like Gao Jin. They were either combing their hair with saliva or fiddling with their rings on their little fingers. Even more outrageous, one person was pretending to eat chocolate! Seeing these individuals on my table desperately showcasing themselves, like peacocks spreading their tails to compete for favor and mating, I immediately confirmed in my mind...