Gamblers like Brother Shi, who relied purely on luck to win money, were the easiest targets for cheaters.
Moreover, he was arrogant! He was flashy!
However, I didn't rush to make a move. I continued to play casually.
Discarding the bottom card, playing a blind card, peeking at the card, folding the card...
During this time, I only played one good hand, a mixed straight of 789.
That hand earned me about three hundred.
In our game, the first round of Golden Flower always requires a blind card; without it, there's no "lucky money."
And there's no concept of "opening." To open the card, you must discard double the money!
Therefore, as long as you have a big card, the bottom card plus the money others pay to open guarantees at least 140.
If someone raises and others follow with good cards, a single round can easily yield 400-500.
Brother Shi's hand earlier, an AKJ flush, plus 30 in lucky money, directly earned him nearly 1000!
After winning the first hand with pure luck and a mixed straight of 789, I didn't choose to cheat. Instead, I casually shuffled the cards.
I asked around, and no one was willing to cut the deck, so I cut it haphazardly and then dealt the cards again.
The hand dealt after the mixed straight was won by the bald middle-aged man sitting on my next turn.
A pair of Aces, neither big nor small.
The bald middle-aged man's hand, because someone raised, ultimately earned him over 600, more than double what I won with my mixed straight!
And so, the game continued. Even though Sister Ran, who was sitting next to me, had already gotten up and left, I still didn't rush to cheat.
It wasn't until I had thoroughly understood the playing styles and habits of all three of them, and the person who won the previous hand was the short-haired young man sitting on my previous turn...
I knew my chance had come!
Because according to the rules, after the short-haired young man finished shuffling, he had to hand the deck out for someone to cut.
So, after waiting for him to finish shuffling, I decisively made my move!
The moment I cut the cards, my right hand moved with the speed of flying clouds and flashing lightning. Right under the short-haired young man's nose, I stole three cards and hid them!
While performing this series of actions, although I felt a bit nervous, the moment I succeeded, that nervousness vanished.
I still remember Uncle Tuo saying that the top cheaters, besides having masterful cheating skills, also possessed an unshakeable and unbreakable state of mind!
In short!
When cheating, don't entertain any distracting thoughts. You should be like thunder in your heart but calm on the surface.
Simply put, just treat everyone at the table as a fool.
The move I just used is called "stealing cards."
Stealing cards is one of the most practical cheating skills.
It sounds simple, but it's actually very difficult to master. Without spending a lot of time practicing repeatedly, it's basically impossible.
This move, stealing cards, is not suitable for use in front of other cheaters.
Because forget about three cards; even if you steal just one card, a cheater can accurately gauge that the thickness of the cards in their hand is off.
Besides that, you shouldn't steal too many cards; try to keep it to around three to five.
If you try to steal more, not only will you have to worry about being discovered, but even if the dealer is a complete fool, they'll feel that the thickness of the cards in their hand has suddenly decreased!
(ps: The above paragraphs are not instructional content but a statement of fact. Please, esteemed readers, do not try this yourself.)
Alright, back to the main topic.
After I cut the cards, the short-haired young man began to deal. This hand, my luck was good; I received a diamond 9, 8, 6 of the same suit.
However, Brother Shi, sitting opposite me, seemed to have even better luck, receiving a diamond J, 7, 3 of the same suit.
All of this was information I already knew after I had finished cutting the cards.
As a qualified cheater, the most basic skills of recognizing and remembering cards are essential.
Earlier, while the short-haired young man was shuffling, I had already silently memorized the order of all 52 cards.
Therefore, besides Brother Shi opposite me, I was perfectly aware of what cards the players on my left and right, the previous and next dealers, had.
The short-haired young man on my left had a mixed straight of 456.
The bald middle-aged man on my right had a pair of 8s.
In a four-player Golden Flower game, it's rare for all four players to have cards.
It serves the short-haired young man right for losing big money. This guy is truly unlucky; after finally winning a round, the cards he shuffled out were like this!
However, his bad luck made me.
This is why I chose to cheat this hand.
Because, the timing, the location, and the people... everything was perfect!
The main act officially begins now!
.........
In the first round, I spoke first.
Lighting a red Nanjing cigarette, I took a slow puff and then, symbolically, put in 10 yuan as a blind bet.
The bald man and Brother Shi both followed.
"Damn it! After finally shuffling a hand, I'm going all-in with the blind! 15!"
After saying that, and taking a hard drag from his cigarette, the short-haired young man directly threw in 15 yuan.
I followed, and the bald man also followed.
As the sole big winner so far, Brother Shi naturally wouldn't be outdone and followed suit.
And so, with no one looking at their cards, we all blind-bet for three consecutive rounds.
It wasn't until the end of the third round, when the fourth round began, that I looked at my cards first.
Having played with me this long, Brother Shi and the others already knew my playing style: the limit was three blind rounds.
However, they didn't know that this "three blind rounds" was a playing style I had deliberately cultivated.
Although my goal was to cheat, and I had already succeeded, to avoid leaving any loopholes or evidence, I chose to continue maintaining the playing style I had created.
As the saying goes: details determine success or failure!
If a loophole in the details creates a coincidence, people might not care. But what if there are two, three, or even more coincidences?
And in the end, if you are also the winner... how will you explain it?
For example, before this game, I always waited for the winner to ask others, and only when no one was willing to cut the deck would I passively cut.
And this time, it was the first time I actively cut the deck.
Another example, before this, I had never blind-bet for more than three rounds, and then this hand, I suddenly felt like continuing to blind-bet for a fourth round?
They might not pay attention to these small details now, but once it comes to the moment of opening the cards, the moment that decides the victory or defeat, everything... is unpredictable!
.........
After pretending to look at my cards, I immediately bet 30 yuan.
The bald middle-aged man, sitting on my next turn, was a typical opportunist.
If someone blind-bets, he follows. Once someone looks at their cards and bets, he immediately looks at his cards.
After looking at his cards, the bald middle-aged man also matched the 30 yuan bet.
Brother Shi, sitting opposite me, "righteously" raised the bet, blind-betting 15 yuan.
Seeing this, the short-haired young man mindlessly followed suit, blind-betting 15 yuan.
Looking at this situation, I knew this hand... was going to be amazing!