The popularity of Stud poker in mainland China owes a significant part of its success to the series of films derived from "The God of Gamblers."
In Anhai, besides "Golden Flower" and "Bull Bull," Stud poker is also one of the strongest money-generating card games in major casinos.
Stud poker involves dealing five cards, with the first round dealing two cards: one face down and one face up.
This aspect is completely consistent with Texas Hold'em, which became popular later.
In Stud poker, the first card is dealt face down, and the second card is dealt face up.
Under normal circumstances, after the face-down and face-up cards are dealt, players can freely decide to bet, call, raise, or fold based on the strength of their face-up and face-down cards.
Starting from the first round, in every subsequent round, the player with the highest visible cards is the first to call the bet.
In other words, from the second card dealt (including the second card) onwards, for every card dealt, the player with the higher visible cards takes priority in calling and betting.
Of course, calling the bet doesn't solely depend on the face-up cards; players can also utilize their crucial face-down cards to maximize their advantage.
In each round, as long as the player with the highest visible cards calls and bets, any player who wishes to continue playing must choose to call.
After calling, a player can bet the same amount of chips as the previous player, or they can choose to raise the bet appropriately.
If a player feels that their hand or playing style is unfavorable and they don't wish to continue, they can directly choose to fold, forfeiting their chips and waiting for the hand to end.
However, the chips previously bet cannot be retrieved.
In addition to this, the betting in the final round is also the key to the entire game.
In the final round, players can go "all-in." Going all-in means betting all the chips that the remaining players who haven't folded can match.
Once all players have declared their bets, they can reveal their hole cards to determine the winner.
At this point, the player with the highest hand wins all the chips on the table.
Those who have watched the "God of Gamblers" film series should know that the highest hand in Stud poker is a straight flush, and the lowest is a high card. [PS: For those who don't understand the ranking of other hands, you can search it on Baidu.]
Unlike casino rules, the common folk rules for Stud poker are entirely different from those in casinos.
In common Stud poker, typically only cards from 8 to Ace, a total of 28 cards, are used. In some places, even the 8 is omitted, and only cards from 9 to Ace are used, with Ace serving as both high and low.
It can be an Ace itself, or it can be treated as an 8.
Not only that, but I recall during New Year's when I was a child, watching my father play Stud poker at a neighbor's house, players could choose whether to go all-in as soon as the third card was dealt.
Casinos, however, are different.
Excluding the big and small jokers, casino Stud poker uses all 52 cards.
This is also why I didn't go into detail about the hand rankings earlier.
When playing Stud poker with 52 cards, forget about unreliable hands like straight flushes. Being able to get three of a kind in a single hand is practically a guaranteed win.
...
As Lin Xinyu began dealing the cards, Uncle Qiu, sitting opposite me, looked at me with a knowing smile.
His expression suggested he had me completely figured out!
I, on the other hand, stared at him without a word, not choosing to immediately change my demeanor.
The mask would eventually be torn off.
It just wasn't time yet.
Although in the first two rounds I had cultivated an image for Uncle Qiu and the others as a weak and incompetent young man who was all brawn and no brain, I knew...
I knew they wouldn't completely let down their guard because of it. They would only relax a little.
Therefore, the difficulties that should exist would still exist.
And the first test before me, concerning this final showdown, seemed to have arrived prematurely with Lin Xinyu's dealing of the cards!
The first round of dealing concluded.
Uncle Qiu received an Ace of Spades as his face-up card.
My face-up card was an Ace of Diamonds.
As for my face-down card, I hadn't looked yet.
I'm not familiar with the rules in other places, but the Stud poker rules in Shanghai are exactly the same as in our Anhai.
In a showdown with unpaired cards, suits don't matter; players holding an Ace are prioritized.
If both players have unpaired hands starting with an Ace, then the second card's rank is compared.
If they are still the same, the comparison continues in the same manner down the line.
Only if all five unpaired cards have the exact same rank will the suits be compared.
Spades are the highest, and Diamonds are the lowest.
Without looking at my face-down card, although both Uncle Qiu and I had the highest single card, an Ace, in Stud poker, there was no doubt that Spades and Diamonds were worlds apart!
And this was merely secondary.
More importantly, if both Uncle Qiu and I were to cheat, it would likely revolve around the Aces.
I'm not sure how gamblers and addicts view an Ace as a face-up card.
But as for a professional cheat, I know it all too well!
To a cheat, a face-up Ace means that the face-down card... must also be an Ace!
Whether it's a pair of Aces or three Aces depends on what the face-up card Lin Xinyu deals next will be.
As long as Uncle Qiu and I don't get an Ace of Hearts or an Ace of Clubs as face-up cards, I can guarantee... he will at least swap an Ace into his hole cards!
Once he does that, I will inevitably be pushed into an infinitely passive situation.
It seems I need to make a decision soon...
As I was deep in thought, Lin Xinyu, having finished dealing, smiled slightly at Uncle Qiu and me and said, "Gentlemen, if you have no issues after looking at your cards, I will continue dealing."
I don't know if Lin Jiahuan's ultimate goal was always to seize the Thousand King Token, but seeing that I had fallen into his trap, he seemed to be getting carried away with his success.
Before Uncle Qiu could speak, Lin Jiahuan suddenly said, "Pause the dealing for a moment!"
"A Stud poker game without chips has no soul!"
"Kid, don't think that I, the Lin family, am just bullying you with our power and using the Thousand King Token to lure you in."
"This round, we'll gamble with chips!"
"I'll give you and Uncle Qiu 500,000 chips each. Whatever you have left in your hands, win or lose, you can take it all with you!"
He's gotten too arrogant! Lin Jiahuan has truly become arrogant!
To say such a thing proves his confidence in this round is very high, so high that he is certain Uncle Qiu will win again.
And he wants to use this method to indirectly force me to concede and leave with the money.
But what Lin Jiahuan doesn't know is that my previous strategy of hiding my strength and biding my time was precisely to deliver a fatal blow to Uncle Qiu and the Lin family behind him in this very round!
Since you insist on sending money my way, I'll make sure you lose both your money and your pride!