Wang Yu, having tasted the sweetness of making money so quickly, could no longer control himself.
Moreover, he had silently upgraded from an ordinary gambler to a bona fide gambling addict.
Watching Wang Yu step by step towards the abyss, into the trap meticulously designed by Yu Shuang and me, I found it most welcome.
Thus, after winning back his initial stake, Wang Yu stopped pestering Yu Shuang for more card partners. Instead, he enjoyed himself for two days, until noon on the third day.
Just after the lunch hour, Wang Yu, along with the three disreputable friends who had accompanied him last time, appeared at the Baole Chess and Card Room.
By the time Yu Shuang notified me to attend, a six-player Golden Flower game had already been arranged.
Besides Wang Yu and his three friends, naturally, the room's high-end companion, Shi Jianguo, was also present.
As for the last person, Yu Shuang had temporarily taken my place, playing a couple of rounds with them.
As I approached the door, I heard Yu Shuang, while shuffling cards, say to Wang Yu, "Little Yu, why don't you ever listen to advice?!"
"Do you know how much effort I put in to find two greenhorns for you to play Golden Flower with, and in the end, they didn't suspect you of anything."
"You've already recouped your stake with a surplus, so why couldn't you resist wanting to continue playing?"
"Is it that you're short on cash recently and desperate, or that you simply haven't won enough?"
Wang Yu chuckled and replied, "My dad always taught me that wherever you fall, you must get back up!"
"Since I'm idle anyway, I refuse to believe my luck is worse than a smelly salted fish that has only flipped halfway!"
"Hey, listen! When that salted fish shows up later, all of you should gang up on him and insist on playing 10-100, don't give him a chance to refuse!"
Damn! Listen to that! Listen to him!
How great the magic of gambling is, I don't need to waste any more words explaining it to you all, do I?
According to Yu Shuang, before meeting me, Wang Yu was a very cautious and steady person.
Whether he won or lost, whether he lost more or won more, he possessed extremely strong self-control.
But now, without even discussing the stakes, he's already proactively raising them!
This shows that the guy is truly addicted.
At this moment, Yu Shuang, in a timely manner, played defensively by saying, "How about, I think you should still play 10-50?"
Before Yu Shuang finished speaking, one of Wang Yu's friends chimed in, "Yeah, Little Yu! Let's stick to 10-50."
"Playing this big, you have to consider if our pockets have enough bullets, right? At least let us recoup some of the money we've lost earlier!"
"Stop talking nonsense! It's 10-100. It's exciting and satisfying!"
"I refuse to believe I can't crush that smelly salted fish!"
Seeing Wang Yu make the final decision and firmly agree to play Golden Flower at 10-100, my heart couldn't be happier.
Since you're so eager to jump into the pit, I won't stop you!
...
After entering the private room and the current hand concluded, Yu Shuang yielded his seat to me and voluntarily went to get us drinks.
Without any prior announcement or pleasantries, Wang Yu, upon seeing me sit down, got straight to the point, stating that today's game would be 10-100.
I didn't reply immediately, instead feigning hesitation and indecision before finally nodding in agreement.
Wang Yu glanced at me with a hint of disdain on his face.
I chose to ignore it.
Without further ado, let's get down to business.
In the first round, everyone was cautious, and no one dared to bet recklessly. Basically, each person won one hand.
In the second round, as everyone's minds gradually relaxed, I decided to seize an opportunity.
After Shi Jianguo won a hand, I used the opportunity of cutting the cards to execute the "Falling Leaf Flying Flower" technique.
Cutting, flicking, and concealing the cards, all in one seamless motion!
With the combination of six cards, I won the hand with a Golden Flower starting with a diamond 8.
Immediately after, having quietly returned the cards, I used the Perfect Shuffle technique to deal one of Wang Yu's friends the highest mixed-straight hand on the table.
Before coming, Yu Shuang and I had already discussed the strategy for today: "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits!"
Deal good hands alternately to Wang Yu and his three friends, letting them fight amongst themselves.
Once the sole winner had absorbed most of the losers' chips, I would then turn my attention to dealing with that winner.
At the end of the second round, under my meticulous planning and design, one of Wang Yu's three friends, a young man with a mohawk and dyed red hair, became the sole winner so far.
This red-haired youth was deliberately elevated by me, primarily to draw Wang Yu's ire and let them wear each other down first.
Finally, I would step in to harvest.
Here, I want to share a common piece of sincere advice with all my brothers: Ten bets, nine cheats; not betting is winning!
There is no such thing as "small bets for fun"! Nine out of ten gamblers lose, and a bankrupt person is worse than a pig! This is the true fate of those gamblers and addicts!
Whether you are a bettor, a gambler, or an addict, if you dare to play cards with strangers you don't know, be prepared to go bankrupt in advance!
(PS: Don't think you're safe just because you don't play with strangers. Because the one who often traps you is the one who knows you best, and it's someone you'd never expect!)
With my memory of 52 cards, the "Falling Leaf Flying Flower" cutting technique, and the "Perfect Shuffle" technique, these three skills allowed me to get any card I wanted.
Furthermore, I could ensure others received the cards I intended for them.
Losing or winning, losing more or less, winning more or less... it was all within my control!
Except for the rare triple-card flush, I dealt him sequential flushes, flushes, mixed-straights, pairs, and so on, one after another to that red-haired youth.
While the red-haired youth was continuously winning money, I also intermittently let Wang Yu win back about ten thousand yuan with some medium-sized hands.
Cheating at cards is like boiling a frog in warm water; it's an extremely patient and gradual process.
Once you decide to cheat, you can't just aim to win yourself, nor can you win from start to finish.
Even in Baccarat, when chasing a streak, there's a limit. If you keep winning, even if there are no other cheaters at the table, as long as the stakes are high enough and someone loses their temper, it's hard to avoid causing trouble.
Therefore, the safest and most stable method is to let everyone have both wins and losses.
As for who loses more or wins more... it depends on how you want to conclude the game and harvest.
As long as you can achieve this, I can guarantee that regardless of whether your initial intention is to cheat money or cheat people, in the end... you will have both the money and the people completely in your grasp!
Thus, whenever someone asked me to cut the cards, or when I won a hand myself, I would let everyone take turns winning a hand.
Regardless of the amount of money, at least everyone felt that their luck was good today, and that anyone had a chance to win!
Seeing everyone's emotions and gambling instincts fully ignited, I knew that in the "glory" of money, the spectacular scene of dogs fighting dogs... was about to unfold!