It seemed Isabella wasn't inexperienced or incapable of disguise, but rather disdained it.
Putting my thoughts aside, I lost all anticipation and interest in the upcoming gambling match, eager for it to conclude so I could move on to the final showdown.
Precisely at 9:18 AM, accompanied by a melodious saxophone tune, the Texas Hold'em tournament, named after the gambling arts competition, officially commenced.
As soon as the competition began, I saw Yun Jin, surrounded by Shen Mengqing and several others, walk into the central position of the spectator area.
As for the rumored financier who partnered with Yun Jin, they had yet to appear.
Frankly, I didn't understand any of the moves Yun Jin had orchestrated on this cruise ship!
What exactly was this woman doing!?
With a sigh, I refocused all my attention back on the game...
As the saying goes: the core principles remain the same!
Regardless of the poker game, the key is simple, summarized by four words.
Be ready to strike!
At the start, one must never think of playing aggressively from the outset.
It's like playing a fighting game; while dodging the opponent's attacks, continuously use small moves to build energy and wear down the opponent, then find the right moment to unleash a big move and win!
Looking at the unfamiliar faces at the surrounding tables, I could guarantee...
Among these new faces, at least half were disguised, like myself, participating in the competition with altered appearances.
Therefore, my strategy was to play conservatively at first.
Simultaneously, I would keep a close eye on the people at my table, observing whether they were genuine or not, and if they would be unable to resist using gambling tricks...
To be fair, no one who made it to the finals was a pushover.
At the gambling table I was at, during the initial period of the game, those who took turns posting the big and small blinds in a clockwise direction, including myself...
All were conservatively placing the minimum bet, and others didn't raise, simply calling.
Besides that, the fold frequency at our table was also very high.
In each hand, no more than three people would actually reach the showdown and reveal their cards!
Clearly, all six of us were tacitly understanding each other, using this opening period to observe each other, paying attention to everyone's playing style and patterns, besides our own.
Here, playing style refers to the thought process behind the game.
Apart from Isabella, whose identity I had seen through from the start, I still had no clue whether the other four competitors were genuine or not.
However, as time went by and everyone began to make increasing bets on the initial blinds, I started to take the opportunity to understand each opponent and slowly get into the real game.
It's worth mentioning that although the final competition event was Texas Hold'em, the influence of gambling tricks was extremely limited, but...
Here, a new deck of cards was used for each game.
And the discarded cards were not collected; the dealer directly threw them into the shredding machine placed at their feet.
Obviously, this was a way for the casino to secretly encourage cheating.
Of course, this implicit allowance for cheating didn't mean that players didn't need any cover when cheating.
Besides the dealer, one also needed to be wary of being called out by competing opponents at the same table.
In essence, the casino was indirectly testing the skill level of the cheaters.
Understanding the casino's intention, I seized an opportunity to test the waters with a minor trick.
To avoid being discovered, I very cautiously used a move called "Sleeve Concealment."
And immediately after I cheated and replaced my hole cards, I took the opportunity to light a cigarette and constantly observed the competitors at my table from the corner of my eye.
The first person I focused on was Isabella.
Since Isabella was a professional poker player, she must have dealt with many seasoned cheaters in Texas Hold'em.
If she could spot any abnormality, it would indicate her sharp perception.
Fortunately, she maintained the same expression throughout, her gaze unwavering.
The others also appeared as usual.
After this test, I could feel a little relieved that there were no opponents at my table with exceptionally high cheating skills.
Of course, it was also possible that some were playing the "disguise a pig to eat a tiger" tactic.
As for the specific situation, let's see what happens next...
As I began to exert my efforts, Isabella also made her move not long after.
Isabella, who didn't know any cheating techniques, had no extra or suspicious movements; her strategy was simple.
Betting based on hole cards!
Whenever she received good hole cards, she would raise after the big and small blinds, even reaching over a million for a single bet twice!
Initially, some people didn't believe her and thought she was bluffing or trying to steal chips. Only after calling and seeing the cards did they realize... she was playing for real!
Later, whenever they saw her making a heavy bet, those who had lost chips before would immediately fold.
Over time, Isabella surprisingly became the fastest chip accumulator at our table.
For others, including myself, there were many complex things to consider and worry about, making it impossible to openly raise the stakes with good cards like Isabella.
Of course, more importantly, Isabella also had the advantage of home turf, which allowed her to be so unrestrained.
...
Unknowingly, it was lunchtime.
At 12:00 PM, when the competition was paused, one person at our table was eliminated because they had lost all their chips.
And the person who had gained the most of his chips was Isabella.
Among the remaining four people, my chips ranked second to last.
This wasn't because I had lost too much, but rather because my chips were the lowest among the six before the gambling began.
Now, with one person eliminated, and me still ranking second to last, I had actually won a little.
The reason for the small win was that in Texas Hold'em, cheating heavily relied on the community cards dealt by the dealer.
After all, I only had two cards in my hand, and most of the time, I had to wait for all five cards to be dealt before I could cheat and replace the cards.
In addition, I also had to infer the approximate range of other opponents' hole cards based on their performance in the current hand, to avoid the risk of a card clash as much as possible.
After all, you couldn't expect that every time you replaced a card to win a bet, there wouldn't be a chance of a card clash, right?
According to the rules of Texas Hold'em, in case of a card clash, the person who reveals their cards first wins, and the person who reveals their cards later loses.
Therefore, under these numerous restrictions, the space for a cheater to operate was very limited.
Taking advantage of the mid-game break, while eating, I began to ponder in my mind how to break through the current predicament...