In mainstream Texas Hold'em tournaments, there's an unwritten rule.
The player with the fewest chips automatically becomes the common target in everyone else's eyes.
Question: What is this common target?
Answer: The target to be eliminated together!
If you don't want to be ganged up on and eliminated, you either pray the dealer deals you a good hand, or you find a way to change the situation yourself.
And now, it's time for me to find a way to change the situation.
Because a cheat never relies on others!
A new round begins.
In this round, I am in the big blind position, and Shui Miaomiao is in the cutoff position.
After Jiang Bin deals everyone their hole cards, according to the game rules, Shui Miaomiao, sitting in the cutoff, will be the first to bet.
Most players in the cutoff position only have two options: raise or fold.
Shui Miaomiao is no different. After looking at her hole cards, she immediately picked up two chips and threw them into the pot.
One thousand, and five thousand.
Starting with a three-times big blind bet clearly targets me.
Players in the small and big blind positions, although they act last before the three community cards are revealed, are also the first to act after the flop.
Therefore, Shui Miaomiao made a bet that was neither too high nor too low.
If I don't call, I can only choose to fold.
This would mean surrendering the initiative after the three community cards are dealt to others.
If I call, I have to put in six thousand chips, and that's just in the first round before the community cards are dealt.
If this trend continues, others will surely use Shui Miaomiao's lead to tacitly gang up on me.
In other words, if I fold this hand, the result will be to keep my chips and continue to barely survive.
If I call, it's very likely that all my remaining chips will be put on the line.
If I don't win, I will become the first player at this table to lose all their chips and be honorably eliminated.
With this thought, I couldn't help but look down at my hole cards.
A King of Spades, an Ace of Hearts.
A killer hand!
In gambling movies, Andy Lau, playing the gambler-hero Chen Daozai, once said: "Not calling with an Ace-King is foolish!"
Although that was said in the context of Stud Poker, this saying applies equally to Texas Hold'em!
In Texas Hold'em, Ace-King is the fourth-best starting hand, after AA, KK, and QQ, and is even better than any pocket pair including JJ.
However, if a player doesn't hit another Ace or King on the flop, then at best, they only have an Ace-high hand.
But according to relevant statistics and calculations, the probability of hitting an Ace or King on the flop is 30%, which is less than one-third.
Don't underestimate this less than one-third probability; with such a starting hand, you already have the capital to raise before the flop, especially in a ten-player full ring game.
With this in mind, I decided to retrace Shui Miaomiao's professional playing style in my mind.
She is like a precision computer, analyzing and calculating all possible hand combinations based on hole cards and community cards, and then accurately finding the hands with the highest probability of forming.
I can't compete with her in terms of probability; I can only rely on luck, and...
After Shui Miaomiao placed her bet, the player to her left didn't rush to make a decision but first looked at their hole cards.
After about half a minute of thought, that person chose to call.
The player behind is a heavy smoker, who has been smoking continuously since the start of the tournament.
In less than half an hour, he has already smoked half a pack of cigarettes.
The old smoker, with a cigarette in his mouth and his eyes squinted, took the opportunity to look at Shui Miaomiao while shuffling his cards.
Unfortunately, the old smoker couldn't discern any expression on Shui Miaomiao's face.
However, he still chose to call.
The next three players, including the one in the small blind, all chose to fold.
Before it was my turn, two players folded, and one called.
After a moment of thought, I decided to call.
Although I am the thorn in everyone's side, someone they desperately want to eliminate, the prerequisite for eliminating me is that they must still have the capital to stay in the game.
So, in this round, before the community cards were dealt, Shui Miaomiao's raise from the cutoff caused five players to fold directly.
After shuffling the cards, Jiang Bin began to deal the three community cards.
The three cards were the Jack of Hearts, the Seven of Clubs, and the Three of Diamonds.
A board of unconnected, disparate cards, all of different ranks.
With such a board, Shui Miaomiao's delicate eyebrows immediately furrowed slightly, and then she began to ponder intently.
I knew she was calculating probabilities.
While Shui Miaomiao was thinking, I directly called for a bet.
"Six thousand!"
With a board of unconnected cards like this, if you want others to call, you need to make a reasonable bet.
Too high, and opponents might not call.
Too low, and you're digging your own grave.
Not too much, not too little, it's just enough to perfectly weed out those who want to take advantage of the situation.
After I placed my bet, it was Shui Miaomiao's turn.
As a professional Texas Hold'em player, after contemplating intently until Jiang Bin prompted her that time was up, she finally chose to call.
Seeing this, I immediately concluded in my mind that there was a single card among the current three community cards that could pair with Shui Miaomiao's hole cards.
However, the effect of that card pairing with her two hole cards was not too ideal.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken so long to consider.
As for what it was, it's still unknown.
Shui Miaomiao's next opponent did not call and chose to fold directly.
When it was the old smoker's turn, he still had a cigarette in his mouth, but he didn't think much and decisively chose to call.
The player before me, after thinking for a few seconds, ultimately decided to fold.
With the six thousand bet, only three players remained.
At this point, Jiang Bin began to deal the turn card.
A meaningless Two of Spades, which completed the four different suits on the board.
The community cards at this point were: Jack of Hearts, Seven of Clubs, Three of Diamonds, and Two of Spades.
No order, no pattern, no rule.
Unless someone started with a pocket pair, this hand would likely be a chaotic free-for-all.
At this moment, holding Ace-King, I had a slight advantage.
I just need to wait for the final river card to be dealt, and then I can decide whether to risk a cheat based on the situation.
As Jiang Bin began to deal the crucial fifth river card, I took the opportunity to light a cigarette, and using the action of smoking and exhaling, I focused my gaze on Shui Miaomiao.
Currently, Shui Miaomiao is the player with the most chips and the strongest momentum at this table. If I want to make a successful comeback and break through the elimination round, I must first get past her.
Therefore, I need to quickly figure out her strategy...