So, as long as they could control Wang Yu's liquid capital and deliver a fatal blow at the right moment, they were confident he would eventually lose his cool!
After all, the more someone believed they were rational, the more easily they would be thrown off balance by unexpected changes.
Gamblers were no different!
Try letting those who considered themselves rational keep winning, or lose money beyond their psychological tolerance.
As the saying goes, even the best swimmers drown.
There was a reason for that saying.
When gamblers of this type lost their heads, they became far more terrifying than the vast majority of other gamblers!
It was a case of extremes breeding opposites. When a gambler with strong principles lost control, they would become utterly, extremely, and completely without principles!
With no bottom line or lower limit.
Life, death, winning, losing… all decided in a single thought!
…
After much hesitation, I finally "reluctantly" agreed to increase the stakes.
Wang Yu made the decision, raising the stakes from ten to fifty to ten to one hundred.
Just then, Shi Jianguo, whose acting skills were off the charts, suddenly feigned surprise and exclaimed, "Holy hell! They've doubled the stakes!"
"Isn't that a bit too much? Little Yu, how about… a little less?"
"We're all friends here. Playing from ten to fifty until the end, even with big wins or losses, it's at most ten thousand yuan. That's roughly the cost for six people to spend at the Roman Palace."
"But from ten to one hundred… there's no telling!"
"While we can win a lot of money, we'll definitely lose a lot too."
"If this goes on until the end and someone falls into a pit, should I treat them to a bath or not?"
Before Wang Yu could say anything, a young man with an unconventional hairstyle next to him cursed, "F*ck you! Shi Jianguo, what do you mean by that?"
"You were the one who suggested increasing the stakes, and you were the one who said you'd treat everyone to a night out no matter how much we won!"
"Now that the stakes are actually increased, you're pulling this stunt! Are you just afraid of spending more money? Acting like you're guaranteed to win!"
Hearing this, Shi Jianguo immediately slammed the table, clearly displeased. "Huang Feixiang, what the hell are you talking about! Do I look like the kind of person who's stingy when I win money?"
"I'm just worried that someone might lose too much and feel unhappy about it in the end!"
With that, Shi Jianguo turned his gaze to Wang Yu, looking rather aggrieved.
Seeing this, Wang Yu first glared at the unconventional young man named Huang Feixiang, then offered Shi Jianguo a seemingly apologetic smile and said, "Brother Shi has a point. But…"
"If the losers agree to increase the stakes and want to win back their losses, shouldn't we at least respect them?"
Money was a powerful motivator. The ancestors' words were indeed profound and wise.
Wang Yu, who could both win money and continuously strike at me, having tasted the sweetness of victory, wouldn't easily back down.
Seeing this, I said at the opportune moment, "I've lost the most so far, almost ten thousand down! Ten to one hundred it is, no changes! Let's start quickly so I can win it back."
Seeing that I, the biggest loser, had agreed to the doubling, Shi Jianguo could only spread his hands helplessly. "Alright then! I have no objections."
Thus, the doubling battle officially began!
With everyone's unanimous agreement, for the first hand of the doubled stakes, Yu Shuang replaced the previous winner to shuffle and deal the cards, to show fairness and justice.
The moment I saw Yu Shuang's slender fingers begin to shuffle, a barely perceptible gleam of joy flashed in the depths of my eyes.
The "翹洗" (qiào xǐ) shuffle!
The "qiào xǐ" shuffling technique was similar to the shuffling methods used by most gamblers.
At least, without a professional cheater present, it was impossible to detect any trickery.
The "qiào xǐ" shuffle had a very obvious advantage: it allowed you to pre-shuffle the cards you wanted, and no matter how the next person cut the deck, it was useless!
When dealing, you could still deal the cards that were shuffled using the "qiào xǐ" method.
However, it also had a significant drawback: the technique was somewhat flashy and could easily be caught by an opponent.
But Yu Shuang's technique… did not exhibit any flashy characteristics.
If she hadn't slowed down her movements slightly during the interleaving, I might not have even noticed.
I inferred that Yu Shuang had deliberately shown it to me.
Her intention was to inform me that she had made a move this hand.
According to our previous agreement, I knew that Yu Shuang's purpose in shuffling this hand with the "qiào xǐ" method was to send Wang Yu soaring to the clouds before completely bringing him down!
Before losing one's head, one must first reach the heavens; only then will the fall be boundless and regrettable!
Five minutes later…
As expected, Wang Yu was still the winner of this hand.
A flush of Ace, King, Jack of hearts, directly toppled all opposition, unstoppable, crushing everyone, and dominating the table!
Setting aside the ante and lucky money, just the initial bets alone, I roughly estimated them to be around 3,000 yuan.
Combined with the calls on the face-up cards and the doubled payout from the losers at the end, this single hand earned Wang Yu over 8,000 yuan!
That guy, his grin was so wide it was practically split!
After settling the money, Wang Yu took out five crisp banknotes, and as he handed them to Yu Shuang, he even lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand.
I noticed that after Wang Yu made that gesture, a chilling glint flashed in Yu Shuang's eyes.
With an unchanged expression, Yu Shuang took the money, withdrew her hand, and said with a light smile, "Thank you, Young Master Wang! Young Master Wang is so generous!"
"What does everyone want to drink? I'll use Young Master Wang's money to treat you to a drink as a gesture of goodwill."
"Anything is fine with me! How about a Red Bull?"
As the winner, Wang Yu was the first to state his preference, and his cronies certainly had no objections.
Shi Jianguo also agreed. As for me, my opinion wouldn't have much impact whether I stated it or not.
Therefore, I chose to go with the flow.
…
Next, while Yu Shuang went out to buy drinks, without the enhancement of the cheating techniques, Wang Yu's luck plummeted.
For the next five or six hands, except for Wang Yu, almost everyone else took turns winning a hand. After the stakes were increased, the over 8,000 yuan he had won with his Ace-King-Jack flush was halved in just a few hands.
Wang Yu's dark face was a sight to behold!
To salvage Wang Yu's confidence, after winning another round with his own luck, I dealt him a good hand using my perfect shuffling technique.
With the help of my perfect shuffling technique, Wang Yu's playing style finally improved, and he won a round with a "拖拉机" (tuō lā jī), which is essentially a straight flush.
The so-called "tuō lā jī" is actually a mixed straight.
In this hand, I dealt good cards to four players, including myself.
Two pairs, two mixed straights.
The ones who received the mixed straights were naturally Wang Yu and myself.
And he was the one who won the final round!
This hand allowed Wang Yu to win nearly 4,000 yuan again, essentially returning all the money he had lost earlier.
Not only that, but I was once again trampled under his feet, and that guy Wang Yu was beside himself with excitement and smugness!
Just as Wang Yu began to guide the shuffling and dealing, Yu Shuang walked in with a large bag of drinks.
The moment Yu Shuang took out a can of Red Bull from the bag and bent down to hand it to me, I gave her a subtle glance.
Seeing this, Yu Shuang immediately nodded slightly in acknowledgment.