Unfortunately, the middle-aged man couldn't detect any anomaly until I finished dealing.
Not only that, but he also ended up being the winner of this round!
With pure luck, the middle-aged man got a straight of 789, winning back nearly 2000.
While collecting the money, the middle-aged man looked at me with a furrowed brow and a hint of suspicion in his eyes. He seemed to be trying to discern any unusual signs from the micro-expressions on my face.
However, my expression was as calm as a placid lake, without a ripple.
He stared at me for a good minute, until Shi Jianguo urged him to sort and shuffle the cards, before the middle-aged man finally came back to his senses.
At this moment, I was sure the middle-aged man's mind was filled with confusion, and he would definitely think of probing further.
As expected, my guess proved to be correct.
After shuffling the cards, the middle-aged man directly handed them to me, signaling me to cut the deck.
Glancing around and seeing that none of the others had any intention of cutting, I cut the deck without hesitation.
I cut it properly, without any tricks.
For this hand, I only placed the mandatory blind bet, then casually looked at my cards and folded.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man was completely dumbfounded, his eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.
In response, I simply smiled noncommittally, lit up a Red Nanjing cigarette, exhaled a long plume of smoke, and put on a bit of a show.
Of course, I understood why the middle-aged man was stunned and found it unbelievable, because the outcome of this hand... had already been seen through by me!
To test me, he had used fake shuffling and the "touch two cards" technique to deal himself the lowest hand, and Shi Jianguo the highest hand, a spade flush of 9s.
He dealt me a pair of Queens, which wasn't small, but definitely not large.
If I didn't fold, as long as someone kept betting the blinds, I would have to call for three rounds before I could compare cards.
In this round, only Shi Jianguo's hand was better than mine.
But this scoundrel had received a hint from the middle-aged man and kept betting the blinds, with no intention of even looking at his cards.
So, even if I beat the cards of the other four players, I would still lose to him.
Whether he kept betting the blinds to drag me along, or revealed his hand to pressure me, I was bound to lose.
And among these possibilities, the former was the most likely. Because Shi Jianguo had already received the hint and was preparing to play the role of someone who would keep betting the blinds until the end, then reveal his hand for a decisive win to turn his luck around.
Therefore, as long as I didn't fold in advance, I would lose terribly this round.
Otherwise, why would I, with my hand exposed, holding a pair of Queens, feign weakness and directly double-bet against Shi Jianguo who was already betting the blinds?
So, I decisively chose to look at my cards and then fold, letting someone else be the fall guy.
This unexpected outcome finally made the middle-aged man realize: I was a cheat.
In fact, this hand was less about the middle-aged man testing me, and more about me testing him as well!
After this hand, I was certain that the middle-aged man had no such thing as holding back. His cheating skills... were definitely inferior to mine!
At least, if I were in his shoes, I would never use such a method of staying out of it to test my opponent.
The game was not over yet, and the clueless Shi Jianguo was still adhering to his resolution of betting the blinds all the way, continuing his clumsy performance.
He had no idea that the middle-aged man, whom he had placed so much hope in, now had an extremely grim expression, with fine sweat beading on his forehead and the tip of his nose.
After I folded, the middle-aged man followed suit, directly looking at his cards and folding.
Not only that, but he also did not speak up to expose me. Of course, if he had done so, he would not only have broken the unspoken rules but also exposed himself.
So, I deduced that, at his wit's end, he would either give up or... make a desperate gamble!
As for which choice he would make, it was none of my concern. Because no matter what, I would play along until the end!
...
As the previous hand concluded, and Shi Jianguo began to sort the cards, I saw the middle-aged man suddenly wave the money in front of him and say to Shi Jianguo and me, "It's almost five o'clock. We haven't had any significant wins or losses so far. How about this?"
"Let's speed things up for the last hand!"
"We'll go straight from 10 to 100, with no limit on the number of blind bets after looking at the cards. You can keep betting the blinds until the end if you want! If you win, you win big, and if you lose... you lose big!"
"One hand decides the winner, let's see whose luck is better!"
"What do you say?"
Hearing this, I immediately understood. This guy... was preparing to make a desperate gamble with me!
Whether it was intentional or not, I felt that as he spoke, he seemed to be constantly exchanging glances with the muscular man and Cao Jie.
It seemed that to deal with me, he had put aside his pride and was actively trying to appease the muscular man, whom he had previously looked down upon.
As expected, at this critical moment, Cao Jie and the muscular man agreed without hesitation.
They united and turned their guns on me.
Shi Jianguo, on the other hand, excitedly agreed, shouting that he wanted to send me back to poverty in one hand.
Seeing this, I pretended to look up at the wall clock, nodded, and said, "The guest follows the host's lead. I'm fine with however you want to play."
"But there's one thing I need to state in advance."
"We agreed on one hand, so it's just one hand!"
"Regardless of the win or loss, it must end after this hand!"
Hearing this, the middle-aged man did not answer immediately but turned to look at Shi Jianguo.
Although the two did not speak, I knew they must be communicating with their eyes.
As expected, about a minute later.
Shi Jianguo nodded confidently and said, "Agreed! But the premise for ending is... the chips on the table must not be less than thirty thousand!"
What Shi Jianguo meant by thirty thousand was that in a six-player game, each person, including blinds and bets, must put in at least 5,000.
This bastard, his heart is truly black!
The win or loss of one hand was equivalent to the entire year's hard-earned salary of an ordinary worker outside, and that too, without eating or drinking!
I didn't answer him, just smiled slightly, then nodded again, indicating my agreement.
As for the virtually non-existent "kidney-weak man," regardless of whether he agreed or not, with the five of us having already agreed, he had no choice but to go with the flow.
"Good! Since everyone agrees, then for the last hand, let's make it absolutely fair, just, and open!"
As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, I immediately realized... there was something more to this!
"For such a big game, whoever deals the cards among us would be unfair to the others!"
"What if someone gets good cards and someone gets bad cards? Who are we going to complain to?"
"So, I propose that for the last hand, we find an unrelated person to deal! Besides the normal card inspection, the dealing person will also cut the deck!"
"Before the duel begins, no one's hands... are allowed to touch the cards!"