March 13th, 8 PM.
Unlike the elimination rounds of the previous night, today's main competition began with a drawing ceremony to ensure fair, just, and transparent table assignments.
I drew a relatively early table, number 12, still in the main hall of the Grand Lisboa, and situated in the most eye-catching area.
While, in my personal opinion, the table assignment, seating position, and opponents were all inconsequential, I still had a strange feeling. I felt as though Mr. He was deliberately targeting me, placing me in a prominent position to attract attention and increase the difficulty as much as possible.
Lost in thought, I soon arrived at table 12.
Shortly after I sat down, the other contestants assigned to my table began to arrive.
Soon, the dealer and the referee also appeared.
In the Gambling King competition, the dealer acts somewhat like an assistant; the referee is the one who truly guides the competition and controls the overall situation.
These referees are not only sharp-eyed and sharp-eared but also possess genuine skill.
As the dealer unsealed a brand-new deck of Bee playing cards and handed them to a referee named Xue Chuang, whose name tag was displayed on his chest, the referee immediately showcased his talent in front of all of us.
With a move called "Heavenly Maid Scattering Flowers," he instantly scrambled the four long lines of cards within the 52-card deck.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he restored the cards to their original order, presenting them neatly on the table and inviting us to inspect them.
No one inspected the cards, as there was no need!
After all, how many of those who had fought their way through the ten-to-one elimination rounds from each table lacked a keen eye?
Matters like whether to inspect the cards or not usually only require a glance.
Seeing that no one wished to inspect the cards, Xue Chuang gave us a slight bow and immediately began shuffling the deck with smooth, practiced movements.
After shuffling, Xue Chuang signaled that we could place our ante bets.
I forgot to mention, the event for the second round of the Gambling King competition's main tournament was Stud Poker, at a six-player table, with each player starting with one million in chips.
The second round of the main tournament was divided into an upper and lower half. The upper half had a playing time of only two hours, with a six-to-one elimination format.
The lower half also followed a six-to-one elimination format, but with a shorter time limit of just one hour and higher difficulty.
The total number of participants in the Gambling King competition was around 24,000. The first round of elimination had directly removed nine-tenths of them, leaving 2,400 players.
The upper half of the second round of the main tournament was a six-to-one elimination, meaning only 400 players would successfully advance to the lower half.
The lower half utilized the chips won in the upper half, with a six-to-one elimination format. This meant that within the one-hour playing time, players had to continuously eliminate others while accumulating as many chips as possible with the chips won in the upper half.
After the hour concluded, the eight players with the most chips, after rounding and consolidating, would advance to the finals.
If any players had an equal number of chips, a tie-breaker would be held on the spot.
It was an instant-win competition, decided in a single hand! KA N SHU WU. XI A
The winner would secure a spot among the top eight; the loser would be eliminated immediately.
Regardless of how many players had equal chip counts, there would ultimately be exactly eight players advancing to the finals!
...
After everyone placed their ante bets, Xue Chuang began dealing.
To my immediate left was a successful businessman dressed in a suit and tie, wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
The businessman's upcard was a King, the highest card among the current six upcards, giving him the priority to call the bet.
He didn't bet too high, just a nominal fifty thousand.
Although my upcard was just a single 8, I still called the fifty thousand.
I remembered Uncle Tuo saying that betting in Stud Poker requires careful consideration.
Even if the very first hand is terrible, call a bet to see; never fold immediately.
The player to my right was a foreign woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a provocative low-cut dress and an overpowering amount of perfume.
The foreign woman held her hole card with both hands, lifting the corner to check its value.
After looking at her hole card, she glanced at the upcards in front of her and also chose to call.
The fourth player was a man wearing a retro floral shirt from the 90s; he chose to fold and not call.
The player to the right of the floral-shirted man was another refined man with glasses, who also chose to fold.
Finally, it was the turn of a middle-aged man with a full beard, who was seated directly opposite me.
The bearded man said nothing and decisively threw fifty thousand chips onto the table.
After the nearby dealer collected the chips, Xue Chuang began dealing the second upcard, starting with the businessman.
In the casinos of Macau, the second to fourth upcards in Stud Poker are all revealed by the dealer (the house) and then dealt directly.
The card dealt to the businessman was a 10, neither high nor low.
My second upcard was an awkward, a small 2.
The moment I received this small 2, I decisively chose to fold.
I won't go into detail about the cards of the players after me, but I will mention one thing.
The big-breasted foreign woman to my right had the highest card, an Ace of Spades.
Holding the Ace of Spades, the foreign woman said in broken Chinese, "Fifty thousand!"
The bearded man did not hesitate and directly chose to call.
When it was the businessman's turn, he frowned, pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head, deciding to fold.
In the first hand of the main tournament's upper half, with only the second upcard dealt, only the big-breasted foreign woman and the bearded man remained at our table.
It was evident that everyone was being cautious.
After collecting the chips, Xue Chuang continued dealing.
At this point, the foreign woman's upcards were 8, Ace, 4, and the bearded man's were 5, 6, 7.
According to the rules of Stud Poker, the bearded man had the first call this round.
He didn't raise, but instead, threw another fifty thousand chips onto the table.
Seeing this, the big-breasted foreign woman sneered, "Uncle, why aren't you raising with a hand that could be a straight? Aren't you giving me a chance to hit a pair?"
"I'll match your fifty thousand, and then raise you another hundred thousand!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the big-breasted foreign woman threw all fifteen thousand chips onto the table.
I must admit, the influence of Stud Poker, popularized and refined in Hong Kong and Macau, was still immense in this era, with even blonde, blue-eyed foreigners knowing how to play mind games.
This counter-bet immediately made the previously calm and collected bearded man hesitate.
Based solely on the upcards, the probability of the big-breasted foreign woman and the bearded man winning was fifty-fifty.
Since the crucial fifth card had not yet been dealt, neither side had a clear advantage.
After about two or three minutes.
"I call!"
Finally, the bearded man chose to call.
"Very good!"
The instant Xue Chuang dealt the fifth hole card, and before it was even revealed, the big-breasted foreign woman directly threw twenty thousand chips onto the table!
She did not choose to go all-in to intimidate, which surprised all of us.
Upon seeing the slight smile slowly forming on her lips, I immediately realized... this was a master of Stud Poker!