An hour later.
With 4.5 million chips, I ranked first at the small table and successfully advanced to the main tournament's second half.
At this moment, the host of the event calmly and composedly walked onto the stage, looking at the audience with a smile, and said with a strong voice: "After two hours of intense and fierce duels, all the qualifying spots for the first half of this round of the main tournament have been decided. Let us give them our most resounding applause for their warmest affirmation and praise!"
Clap clap clap clap clap...
After a thunderous applause.
"After the fifteen-minute halftime break, all qualified contestants, please adjust your state and prepare for the second half of the competition."
With that, the host quickly walked off the stage.
The fifteen-minute halftime break passed in a flash. When I walked out of the lounge and returned to the main hall, the vast Xinpu京 hall was once again crowded.
The contestants who had successfully advanced to the second half of the competition were almost all sitting upright in the competition area.
As for those contestants who were eliminated in the first half, the vast majority of them had become spectators, appearing in the viewing area.
In the face of the once-a-decade Blue Road Grand Gathering, even though they were eliminated, many people still chose to stay, ready to witness firsthand which eight lucky winners would break through and advance to the final in the second half of the competition tonight.
After all the contestants were seated, the host immediately announced the start of the second round of the drawing ceremony, still in groups of six, with one advancing from six.
To be honest, I don't know if I should consider myself lucky or unlucky.
In the second round of the computer random drawing ceremony, my name actually appeared at table number 1, which was the center of attention and the focus of everyone's gaze!
After the drawing ceremony ended, a server immediately led us contestants to our assigned tables.
As soon as I reached table number 1, I saw two contestants already seated with the assistance of a server.
One was a young man in a sharp suit, muscular, looking like a bodyguard.
The other was a young woman with skin as white as snow and striking purple hair.
The young woman not only had a cold and aloof demeanor but also carried an air of dominance, suggesting she was either very wealthy or of noble background.
When I sat down, the other three contestants also arrived and took their seats with the assistance of the servers.
After all the contestants were seated, a beautiful female referee with light makeup and a high ponytail, and a flat chest, walked over.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gu Jingjing. I am the head of the VIP hall on the second floor of Xinpu京 Entertainment City, and also the referee and dealer for table number 1!"
"Being able to advance from the elimination rounds, where all sorts of characters gathered, to the main tournament, and then successfully breaking through the first half of the main tournament, is enough to prove that you are all very skilled contestants! However..."
"Let me be clear from the outset... no matter what your identity is, how strong your skills are, or what special talents you possess, do not expect to easily pull off any tricks under my watch!"
"I am different from other referees. Once I discover any suspicious actions or behavior, I will immediately stop the game!"
"So, if you don't want me to catch you doing anything wrong, it's best for you to compete honestly. That way, you'll be at ease, and so will I!"
"Alright~ Get ready!"
With that, Gu Jingjing began to unseal the cards.
After asking if we needed to inspect the cards and receiving a negative answer, Gu Jingjing, without any further ado, proceeded to shuffle the cards.
It was evident that Gu Jingjing, being the head of the VIP hall in a place like Xinpu京, was a decisive woman with hidden depths.
This self-introduction, which was both concise and clear, had subtly put pressure on the six of us.
In an imperceptible manner, Gu Jingjing had used her advantage to give us a show of force.
Without further ado, we got straight to the point.
After everyone had placed their ante bets, Gu Jingjing began to deal the cards.
To be honest, I was quite nervous.
Apart from the excessive spotlight near table number 1, I noticed that the chips in front of each contestant at the table were almost no less than four million.
In other words, in the first half of the first round, these five people, like me, had used a starting chip of one million and advanced to the second half by eliminating at least two people.
This is something that ordinary cheaters might be able to do outside, but in the Thousand King Order... it's absolutely impossible!
If there were still situations of defeating superiors with inferior means or winning with fewer resources, it would further indicate how unfathomable and formidable the winner's skills and ability to seize opportunities were.
In summary: the second half of the competition... will be tough!
Although I had traveled extensively and sparred with many masters in various places, this was the first time I had personally experienced such a high-quality, high-level, peak confrontation as tonight.
So, from the start, I defined my playing style: defense to await offense!
In the first hand, my face-up card wasn't significant enough to warrant speaking.
The purple-haired woman had the right to speak, having received an absolute big card, the Ace of Clubs.
Seeing this Ace, the purple-haired woman didn't say a word and threw in 500,000 chips.
With such a large bet, the rest of us who had medium-sized face-up cards all chose to fold.
Only the bodyguard-like young man followed suit.
There was no other way, as he had a King!
In the game of Stud, there is a playing style that can achieve a decent win rate without relying on cheating, called "Enemies Entangled."
This is the term used in my hometown.
As the name suggests, "Enemies Entangled" means to target only one person to play against. As for who that person is... it depends on the face-up card in front of you.
Taking the purple-haired woman and the bodyguard man as an example, one has an Ace and the other has a King face-up; this is the embryonic form of an enemy pair.
If the suits were also the same, it would undoubtedly be a perfect enemy pair.
Once this situation occurs, and you feel that your cards are decent, don't worry about anyone else. Focus on the person you have an enemy pair with and relentlessly pursue them.
If they bet normally, you raise. If they raise, you bet heavily. If they bet heavily, you go all-in!
No matter what, you must outplay them and achieve victory in that round!
Don't ask me why. Anyone who plays cards often knows that once an enemy pair appears, the losing side's luck will inevitably plummet!
Luck is mysterious and intangible, yet it truly exists.
When you're lucky, you can get consecutive good hands.
Once your luck runs out, you'll just keep losing.
So, as I said before.
You can choose not to believe, but please be respectful.