At precisely ten o'clock in the evening, the gambling match began.
It was less of a gambling match and more of a small-scale Texas Hold'em competition.
In order to connect with the Gambling King Tournament in Macau, the casinos on the mainland had gone to great lengths to cater to it.
The small-scale Texas Hold'em competition held at Tianci Tower was essentially identical in nature to the gambling skills competition organized by Ying Baolin on the gambling ship in Wenzhou.
However, this time, they had skipped the tedious preliminary and final rounds, going directly to the final Texas Hold'em stage.
The only difference was that the Texas Hold'em competition in Wenzhou had ten people per table, and only the top two with the most chips advanced from each table.
Tianci Tower, on the other hand, was much simpler and more direct.
Although it was also a ten-person Texas Hold'em competition per table, there were only five tables participating in total, and only the person with the most chips from each table would win and advance.
Beyond that, there was no concept of interchanging points or chips; the simplest form of chip count determined the winner.
Participants first had to undergo verification of their funds by the organizer, Tianci Tower, and only after confirming they met the requirements could they register to compete.
When I sat down at the table to compete on behalf of Tianci Tower, after understanding the rules, I immediately realized why Xiao Tianyu had invited an outsider like me to participate.
To put it simply.
If the Gambling King Tournament were compared to the main tournament of the World Cup finals, then gambling skills competitions like the one in Wenzhou and the Texas Hold'em competition in Longxi would be equivalent to the format of regional qualifiers.
As the host of a regional qualifier, one enjoys certain privileges, such as setting the rules and adjusting personnel quotas.
Taking Longxi as an example.
Longxi is only so large, and the bosses who run underground casinos must all know each other.
If a boss has any gambling masters with outstanding abilities, other bosses will generally know about it.
As the largest casino in Longxi, everyone is aware of how many truly capable individuals Tianci Tower possesses.
If Xiao Tianyu wanted to secure one of the five spots, he would have to be unconventional in his personnel choices.
My performance in the Baccarat game had likely caught Xiao Tianyu's attention, and my background had probably been thoroughly investigated.
Therefore, he chose me!
I don't know how much confidence Xiao Tianyu has in me, but one thing I am certain of is that when my unfamiliar face appears at the gambling table, it will definitely produce the effect he desires!
As for the ultimate decisive factor, it's three parts destiny and seven parts effort.
But with Cheng Minglang and the others under control, I can only put in ten parts of effort to fight for it…
Getting back to the point.
In China, Texas Hold'em is actually not very popular.
One reason is that its hand rankings are exactly the same as in Stud Poker, and Stud Poker, thanks to the immense popularity of films like "God of Gamblers," has become deeply ingrained and irreplaceable.
Another reason is that Texas Hold'em is quite competitive, which affects its audience.
Gambling is inherently about winning money, so who would have nothing better to do than to delve into a card game that relies more on competitive factors?
And the most crucial point is that a round of Texas Hold'em takes a very long time to complete.
Not to mention that gamblers can't stand it, even casinos might not be able to handle it!
Gamblers play cards to make money.
Casinos provide venues and related gambling equipment for gamblers to play, also to make money.
Compared to gamblers, casinos bear many uncertain risk factors.
Therefore, most casinos adhere to the most basic principle: simplify all card games, making them as simple as possible, a method later referred to as "idiot-proof gameplay."
Any card game with "idiot-proof gameplay" is a constant and high-frequency money-making machine, with a game opening every minute or two.
Texas Hold'em cannot achieve this; no matter how simplified, a complete round takes at least five to six minutes.
If it weren't for the desire to connect with Macau and pursue an international path, mainland casinos would not have introduced Texas Hold'em card games.
After the notary public, invited by Tianci Tower, clearly explained the rules of Texas Hold'em, at 22:18…
The Texas Hold'em competition officially commenced!
After their funds were verified, each participant representing a major investor who sat down to compete would be given 1 million in chips by Tianci Tower.
Losing all chips meant being removed from the table and directly eliminated.
Not long after the competition began, the table I was on was filled with a palpable tension.
A scramble for dominance, unseen swordplay!
The most aggressive player among them was Su Liuli.
I don't know how she managed to be seated at the same table as me, but since the game started, she had been acting according to our prior agreement, adopting a stance of killing anyone who stood in her way.
As long as her hand was strong, regardless of the external situation, she would raise the bet.
Essentially, all of us had been raised in bet by her to some extent.
A middle-aged man, wearing glasses and appearing refined, had his chips fluctuating.
He was throwing out more than he was taking back.
He had already been forced to raise several hands by Su Liuli, who had him completely cornered.
There was also another beauty with a high ponytail and a cross tattooed on the side of her neck; her one million in chips had also been depleted by a tenth by Su Liuli.
If Su Liuli could maintain this momentum, the two individuals mentioned earlier would likely be the first to be eliminated.
I wouldn't make a move in the early stages; I understood the principle of the nail that sticks out gets hammered down all too well.
My strategy tonight was to let Su Liuli attract the firepower on the surface, while I would follow behind, trying to pick up some easy wins in secret.
After about half an hour.
After picking up a few easy wins and accumulating some chips, I began to slowly release my bets and raise.
It wasn't that I truly wanted to raise, but the phone in my pocket vibrated again. I didn't even need to guess to know it was a message from Xiao Tianyu.
Although he hadn't appeared yet, he was definitely watching this gambling match.
My mediocre performance in the earlier period was something he couldn't accept.
In fact, when a card sharp plays normally without cheating, they are no different from ordinary people.
As long as your luck is good enough, you can still win against me.
However, when I start to get serious, your luck… won't be enough!
The dealers for tonight's Texas Hold'em competition were all foreign, with blonde hair and blue eyes, clearly hired from Macau at great expense for extra income.
Besides professional players, Texas Hold'em also has professional dealers, who are specially trained and certified.
Just like referees in football matches, they earn money for dealing the entire game (dealing the entire hand), and if no unexpected situations occur, there are additional bonuses.
Therefore, it is very difficult to cheat under the watchful eyes of professional Texas Hold'em dealers!
One must have the right timing, location, and people to have a chance.