Actually, as early as when He Chenguang was leisurely shuffling the cards there, I had already noticed something was wrong.
Master He Zhonghua was remotely controlling things, and then with Hu Dinggui, that traitorous scoundrel, everyone was trying their best to help He Chenguang, wanting him to firmly establish his advantage in the first two rounds of the competition.
Why would he himself have any reason not to try his best? There was absolutely no logic for him to show signs of decline after losing a small round just as the second round began.
If there were, it must have been an act!
And the purpose of the act was to perform for Yu Shuang and me.
First, show weakness, then wait for the opportune moment to strike.
So, the moment I saw through He Chenguang's intentions, to avoid him realizing it, I decisively chose to cooperate, wanting to see in what form this guy intended to make a comeback in this game.
And seeing it, I discovered the problem.
Unlike Yu Shuang's sudden attack, and my method of winning through skill, He Chenguang took a different path, choosing to make the fake look real and the virtual lead the substantial.
To put it plainly: early on, when the cards were opened and shuffled, He Chenguang had already casually hidden the Big Joker.
As everyone knows, when new decks of cards are opened, the Big Joker is the card on the very top.
Of course, in the decks of playing cards sold in stores outside, there's also an advertisement card placed on top of the Big Joker, but in the Bee poker cards used exclusively in the Macau casinos, advertisement cards are impossible.
Therefore, casually hiding the card doesn't require removing an advertisement card, and it wouldn't be delayed by even a second.
The sleight-of-hand technique He Chenguang used for stealing and hiding cards is what I mentioned earlier, "Palm Thunder."
Palm Thunder, when not in use, is silent, but when it is, it makes a stunning debut!
Once this technique of stealing and hiding cards is mastered, it can hide up to about 3 cards in the palm simultaneously without being detected.
It is commonly seen in card games like "Zha Jin Hua" (Flower) and "Dou Niu" (Bullfighting).
If someone around you always gets a flush in "Zha Jin Hua," or always gets a "Niuniu" in "Dou Niu," stop playing immediately.
Because people who know "Palm Thunder" are, nine times out of ten, cheaters.
Gambling with a cheater can make even the wealthiest lose everything!
Returning to the main topic.
Strictly speaking, hiding cards is an entry-level technique in cheating, very low-end.
No cheater would openly steal and hide cards in a large venue, unless they were forced into it by circumstances.
And He Chenguang was precisely using this factor, wanting us to subconsciously believe that he wouldn't use such a low-level technique to cheat in the finals.
Even if possible, he would definitely try to steer my and Yu Shuang's thoughts towards the dice that appeared out of nowhere in the first round, making us believe that an outsider was helping him.
Unfortunately, he made a mistake that only intelligent people make.
Overshooting the mark!
Before, with "Palm Thunder" to steal and hide cards, He Chenguang's performance was impeccable; I didn't detect anything.
I didn't see any movement of him hiding cards, my attention was entirely on the shuffling technique that followed.
It was one thing for him to shuffle slowly, and another for me to seize the opportunity to remember about half of the card order, but the most important Big Joker was nowhere to be seen, and the Small Joker hadn't appeared either.
As the saying goes: "When something is abnormal, there must be a demon!"
From that moment on, I was certain that He Chenguang had hidden cards, and that he deliberately shuffled slowly to give me a wrong memory sequence, letting me infer and deduce the rhythm myself.
...
Seeing that I was unwilling to provide an explanation, a terrifying cold glint flashed in He Chenguang's eyes.
However, it vanished in the next second.
With a flip and a turn of his right hand, the Big Joker that had been secretly hidden leaped into view.
"Heh heh~ This is interesting! It seems you do have some skills."
"Very well! If we both have 3 points, then we'll settle it in the deciding round!"
As soon as he finished speaking, He Chenguang tossed the Big Joker in his hand into the pile of poker cards on the gambling table and signaled Hu Dinggui to announce the result of the match.
Facing this situation, even though Hu Dinggui was unwilling in his heart, he had to force a smile and pretend, saying, "Neither arrogant in victory nor discouraged in defeat, our elder brother from Wynn indeed has the demeanor of a king..."
After a bunch of meaningless nonsense.
"After the first two rounds of competition, all three contestants now have the same score of 3 points each. Who will ultimately win the competition and take home the crown of the Gambling King? Let's wait and see!"
"After a short break, the final battle of the Gambling King Championship will officially begin!"
Originally, as long as the contestants did not voluntarily request a pause in the match, the event should have proceeded normally, but...
He Chenguang made a big mistake in the second round, which caused his point advantage to be wiped out. Therefore, Hu Dinggui had to step in as the official representative of the event to pause the match.
According to the rules of the finals, the officials only had one opportunity to pause the match.
However, the official pause time was longer than the pause time requested by the contestants.
It was obvious that Hu Dinggui intended to tamper with the drawing of lots again before the third round began.
I didn't need to guess to know that although I would be drawing lots in the third round, the actual competition event would definitely be tampered with behind the scenes!
No matter how I drew, the content written on the slips of paper would be what He Chenguang was best at!
And what happened next directly confirmed my guess...
After nearly twenty minutes of rest, the final battle of the Gambling King Championship officially began.
The competition event for the final round would be announced by me drawing lots.
Since the so-called fairness, justice, and openness were all illusions, it didn't matter which ball I picked.
When two bunny girls jointly brought the glass box to the center of the stage, I didn't hesitate or pause at all. I directly reached in and picked out a ball, then opened it in front of everyone.
At this moment, just like the audience below, I also wanted to quickly find out what He Chenguang was best at.
And now, the answer was here!
Pai Gow!
Hearing this name, many people would probably feel unfamiliar. In fact, they might have seen it in movies.
To briefly introduce Pai Gow.
Pai Gow has thirty-two dominoes (or sometimes twenty), 3-4 dice (Note: If 3 dice, they are the same color; if 4 dice, one is a different color. The number of dice, 3 or 4, varies by casino), and one dice cup.
The basic gameplay of Pai Gow is to determine the winner by the point value of the dominoes.
Domino Pai Gow is divided into Big Pai Gow and Small Pai Gow. In Big Pai Gow, each person gets four dominoes, divided into two sets of two, and plays against the dealer. Winning both sets or losing both sets determines the outcome.
In Small Pai Gow, each person gets two dominoes, and the outcome is immediate. Due to its straightforward and quick gameplay, Small Pai Gow is more popular.
What is uncertain now is, after He Chenguang revealed what he is best at, as the person who can slightly adjust the rules for this round, should I choose Big Pai Gow or Small Pai Gow?