Because I only studied with Uncle Tuo for six years, and spent nearly two years practicing the Perfect Shuffle and the "Shifting Stars" cut alone.
Therefore, naturally, there wasn't enough free time to practice top-tier cutting techniques like "Star Picking."
After all, I couldn't just not eat or drink, practicing intensely day and night without rest. I still needed to balance work and rest, and take breaks, right?
And there was another point: "Star Picking" was particularly difficult to master!
The difficulty of mastering it was more than double that of mastering "Shifting Stars"!
Although I had learned it somewhat, I had never actually used "Star Picking" until now.
Because I knew the probability of error was very high, and the probability of success was very low.
Let me put it this way.
The probability of me succeeding with "Star Picking" was even slightly lower than Chen Xiaodao's probability of producing that 3 of spades in the movie "God of Gamblers."
My apologies, it should be "slightly" lower!
Although I really didn't want to practice the success rate of "Star Picking" on a real gambling table, the arrow was already on the string and had to be fired.
Because I came here with the goal of winning money, not just to look at the cards and then fold.
If I played like that, although the process of losing would be slow, it would essentially be no different from surrendering.
Moreover, they were only playing with me for half an hour.
If I couldn't win back the 200,000 that Leng Meng had lost in this half hour, it would essentially mean I had lost.
Just as the middle-aged man finished shuffling the cards, I saw the expressions of the card sharps in the "Thousand Group" change from gloomy to cheerful.
Especially the pimply guy, who provocatively raised his eyebrows at me.
It seemed he still remembered me giving him a Su Yan cigarette before the game started.
After shuffling, the middle-aged man handed the deck to me, signaling me to cut.
I didn't act immediately because I knew that if I failed the cut... as soon as this round ended, my defeat would be practically declared.
If I couldn't break the Perfect Shuffle, they could continue to lead me by the nose with this move.
Time ticked by, and although I was anxious, I managed to stay calm and not panic, while constantly weighing the pros and cons in my mind.
If "Star Picking" succeeded, the middle-aged man's Perfect Shuffle would be nullified, and they would definitely lose this round.
But if it went the other way, I would lose.
And basically, there would be no more chances.
As long as they kept using the Perfect Shuffle, I would only be able to keep losing money and folding cards!
Just as I was starting a brainstorming session...
Although less than half a minute had passed since I entered a meditative state, perhaps seeing my stillness made him uneasy, Leng Meng, who was watching from the side, suddenly walked towards me.
*Tap...*
Leng Meng, who had only taken one step, was immediately pulled back by Sister Ran.
In an instant, the sudden movement in the silent hall caused everyone at the table, including myself, to instinctively look towards them.
At that moment, a flash of inspiration struck me, and I made my decision.
To prevent the "Thousand Group" from reneging, the moment the middle-aged man turned back, I placed my right hand on the cards.
Without the slightest hesitation, as my thumb and pinky finger hooked the cards, my index, middle, and ring fingers quickly slid them out and flipped them over several times.
With a flick of my wrist, the cards... were cut.
Star Picking, Moon Gathering, Heaven and Earth!
Are there many stars in the sky? Yes!
Can you count them? No!
Even stars that are too numerous to count can be picked down one by one. This is the cutting technique known as "Star Picking," said to be so fast it cannot get any faster!
Honestly, the moment I completed the "Star Picking" move, I had no certainty about whether I had fully succeeded.
Only the middle-aged man could give me the answer.
And at this moment, the card room returned to silent stillness.
Except for the gradually diminishing sound of rain outside, the surroundings were so quiet that it seemed only everyone's heartbeat could be heard.
After I finished the cutting action, a hint of bewilderment appeared in the middle-aged man's eyes.
But immediately, this bewilderment was perfectly replaced by shock.
After staring at the cards in his hand hesitantly for a while, the middle-aged man finally remembered to deal.
He dealt the cards normally, without any special techniques.
The middle-aged man knew that the cards he had shuffled with the Perfect Shuffle had all been disrupted by me.
Once the Perfect Shuffle is broken by Star Picking, it cannot be restored.
Only Star Picking can achieve this!
As he dealt the cards, the middle-aged man's gaze towards me was no longer filled with the anger from the previous hand, but with caution... and even a hint of apprehension!
Seeing this, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief and rejoiced inwardly, "Success!"
If you ask me if I was afraid of failing when I decided to use the "Star Picking" technique, I can confidently answer: Yes!
Because failure would mean not breaking the middle-aged man's Perfect Shuffle.
If that were the case, then this round... I would definitely lose.
Fortunately, I succeeded!
As for whether the middle-aged man could recognize the cards by the patterns on their backs, that's pure nonsense!
Except for fake marked cards which have patterns, there are no issues with the backs of real playing cards.
Moreover, card sharps achieve card memorization through shuffling.
Trying to recognize and memorize cards based on their backs is not something card sharps of our level can do.
To be blunt, without the aid of any high-tech precision instruments, relying solely on one's eyes to distinguish and accurately identify the value of each card on the backs of different models of real playing cards is something card sharps of our level cannot do.
Those are top-tier card sharps, blacklisted by major casinos, executioners who strike fear into the hearts of casino owners!
To hire them, you'd have to talk dollars, and it starts with eight figures.
If such people were to sit in a card room with you and play "Zha Jin Hua" with a limit of 18,000, either they are crazy or you are!
Back to the main topic...
As the old saying goes, everything has its pros and cons.
Shuffling and cutting techniques are like swords and shields; they are mutually restraining.
There is no such thing as one being stronger or weaker; each has its advantages and disadvantages, and they counter each other.
Unlike the "Hundred Flower Hand," which can be restored after being disrupted, "Star Picking," although it can truly break the Perfect Shuffle, means that all card sequences are completely disrupted once broken!
During the two to three seconds of cutting, you can't remember anything or do anything!
Therefore, after using the "Star Picking" technique, unless you have another deck of cards hidden away... you're left to rely on luck!
After the middle-aged man finished dealing, his three accomplices made no move, seemingly waiting for his instructions.
The middle-aged man remained silent, simply asking the pimply guy for another "Nine-Five Supreme" cigarette and lighting it quietly.
At this moment, his next player moved.
The lead player must go all-in, one hundred yuan.
Including the middle-aged man himself, the four of us all followed suit with one hundred yuan.
Then, in the second round, it was still one hundred yuan.
During this time, only one player did not follow the bet, instead choosing to look at their cards and fold.
The third round was the same.
And just like the second round, another player gave up betting and folded after looking at their cards.
From the fourth round onwards, no one folded anymore.
It was in the fourth round that I instantly understood their strategy.
Double ghosts hitting the door, two players supporting one!
The middle-aged man knew that with the Perfect Shuffle broken and no other techniques to counter it, his only chance to win against me was pure luck.
But he was aware that if three or four players went all-in simultaneously, I definitely wouldn't follow.
Therefore, he decisively used the opportunity of taking a cigarette to pass a signal to the others.
Two hundred to one, continuing to raise until the maximum bet is reached!