Upon hearing this, the gamblers who had been clamoring and cursing the dealer and the casino fell silent, all agreeing to accept the result as a push.
This was typical gambler's psychology: a gamble not lost is not a loss!
Their core objection had been about the chips, as many had placed heavy bets with me.
Once they lost, it meant all hope of recouping their losses was gone.
Now, the casino declared the previous result a push, allowing them to get their money back intact. For these gamblers, this was naturally the best outcome.
However, it wasn't quite fair or just for me.
But I didn't mind.
My purpose for being here wasn't to win money, but to cause trouble!
After quelling the commotion, the man, citing issues with the gambling tools, took over the table and announced he would be the one to shake the dice from now on.
I knew this was the casino's warning: "Kid, keep your eyes open and don't go looking for trouble!"
I chose to ignore this veiled display of strength and intimidation.
Seeing this, a cold smile curved the man's lips.
After slightly warming up his fingers, the man took the new dice cup from a server.
The moment he placed the dice into the cup, he abruptly tossed the cup into the air.
Showing off! Pure, unadulterated showing off!
Catching, tossing, catching, tossing…
After about four or five repetitions, as the man caught the dice cup again, he suddenly, without any warning, performed a "scoop from the bottom of the sea," finally landing it on the table with a bang.
The movements were fluid and seamless, executed in one go.
Especially the final sound of the cup hitting the table, which perfectly masked the subtle sound of the dice changing numbers before the cup landed.
Of course, this change would be absolutely imperceptible to an outsider.
After completing this maneuver, the man placed his hands directly above the dice cup and, with a chilling gaze, looked at me and said, "Place your bets, everyone!"
As he said this, a smile of absolute confidence played on his lips, believing I wouldn't be able to guess it.
Although Sic Bo has a true fifty-fifty win/loss ratio unlike card games, it's not that easy to beat the house.
Because everything has two sides, and the downside of Sic Bo is the environment.
A noisy, chaotic environment is the fatal flaw of dice games.
Fortunately, while practicing dice listening with Uncle Tuo, I had already adapted to training my hearing in all sorts of noisy environments.
Otherwise, that last move might have really caused me to fail!
At this moment, all the gamblers at the table were staring intently at me.
They were waiting for me to bet, hoping to strike it rich again.
I didn't hesitate, placing all the 42,000 chips that had been returned to me onto "Big."
This time, I didn't choose to bet on specific numbers.
The reason wasn't that I couldn't hear it, but that I had learned from the previous lesson.
The casino's response in the last round was swift.
While I was here to stir things up, I wasn't doing it with my life on the line.
Tian Ci Lou was different from other casinos; their reaction and decision-making in handling such troublemaking incidents were very fast. As soon as there was a hint of trouble, they would send in undercover agents to stop it.
In this new round, if I continued to bet like this, many bold gamblers would follow my lead and place heavy bets. If we won then, I wasn't sure if the casino would be willing to pay.
But one thing I was certain of was that I would most likely be carried out of here.
Therefore, I could only play it safe and bet on Big or Small.
Leaving some room for maneuver, so we can meet again later.
A one-to-one payout meant I hadn't completely sealed off my escape route…
After I placed my bet, the other gamblers at the table immediately followed suit, all placing their chips on "Big."
Seeing this, the cold smile on the undercover agent's lips vanished, replaced by a furrowed brow.
He seemed surprised by my decisive bet, as if I were very confident of winning.
After everyone had placed their bets, the undercover agent looked around and said, "Everyone, bets are closed! Come, open…"
The moment his voice fell, the dice cup was opened.
Upon seeing the dice inside, many people in the room exclaimed, cursing loudly.
Because the dice shaken by this undercover agent were strikingly similar to the scene in "God of Gamblers 2: The Shanghai Gambler" where Stephen Chow battled Kawashima Yoshiko.
Out of the three dice, one clearly showed a 4, while the other two were stacked on top of each other.
The top die showed a 3 on its face, while the number on the hidden bottom die was unknown.
According to Sic Bo rules, 4 to 10 are Small, 11 to 17 are Big, and Triplets win all.
One die showed 3, another showed 4, and one was completely covered.
Besides the true fifty-fifty probability of winning or losing, the probability of getting Big or Small was also fifty-fifty!
If that hidden die showed any number from 1, 2, or 3, it would be a definite 10 or less, meaning Small, and I would lose.
Conversely, I would win.
Before the undercover agent could reach out to reveal the hidden die, the gamblers at the table spontaneously shouted in unison.
"Big! Big! Big!!!"
Man dies for wealth, birds die for food!
At this moment, every gambler who had bet had a tense expression on their face.
Everyone knew clearly that this was a battle of life and death decided by a single thought.
Taking a deep breath, the undercover agent reached out and touched the top die, gently moving it aside.
As he moved the die and saw the number on the hidden die beneath, he froze on the spot.
Five points!
The hidden die beneath showed a 5, symbolizing Big!
3, 4, 5, totaling 12 points, which is Big!
I won! The gamblers who followed me won!
"Holy shit! We won!!!"
"Hahahaha~ It feels so damn good to win without lifting a finger!"
"Damn it! I should have bet everything!"
In an instant, all the gamblers who had bet on Big were almost ecstatic.
The extreme feeling of going from heaven to hell in a single moment was vividly displayed in the one or two minutes it took for the dice to be revealed.
After venting their excitement, the gamblers began urging the dealer to pay out.
Seeing this, even though the undercover agent was grinding his teeth in anger, he finally had to signal the dealer next to him to pay chips to all of us.
The total chips for me and this group of gamblers amounted to about 300,000. With this bet on Big or Small, the casino paid out 300,000 at once.
If I had bet on the specific number 12, it would have been a one-in-six payout of 1.8 million!
Just as I was calculating these possibilities in my mind…