The moment the three cards were revealed, Zhou Xi and the others watching involuntarily let out gasps and exclamations of awe.
"Holy crap! Earth Dragon!!!"
"Xiangzi's done for!"
Earth Dragon, meaning A23 in a straight flush.
Heavenly Dragon, on the other hand, was a straight flush ending in QKA.
Since A was the highest single card, the two straight flushes with an Ace were designated Heavenly Dragon and Earth Dragon respectively.
In our Anhai, the hierarchy of straight flushes in Golden Flower was Heavenly Dragon beats Earth Dragon, and Earth Dragon beats all others.
That is: QKA > A23 > all other straight flushes.
Whether it was a side bet or a regular game at the gambling table, to beat Earth Dragon, one could only have Heavenly Dragon or a higher Golden Flower hand.
Wang Yu, who already knew the bottom card, couldn't help but burst into laughter at this moment, taking advantage of the break in revealing the cards.
"Hahahaha~"
"The one who wins first gets the paper, the one who wins last gets the money!"
"An Earth Dragon worth sixty thousand yuan, it's damn valuable! This hand, I won it with a blast!!!" wap.kanshuwu.net
The reason Wang Yu was so openly triumphant was that, in his opinion, the outcome of this hand was already a foregone conclusion.
Unless he got incredibly lucky and hit a Heavenly Dragon or a Golden Flower, otherwise... I was doomed!
But were Heavenly Dragons and Golden Flowers that easy to hit?
Without any external help or tricks, could such a thing really happen at the gambling table?
Was it possible or not?
Heh! The answer... lay in everyone's own heart.
Why did people say that nine out of ten bets are rigged?
Because out of ten bets, nine are indeed rigged!
...
At this moment, besides Wang Yu, even Zhou Xi's face showed a hint of excitement.
Wang Yu winning actually meant he would win too.
Even if Wang Yu took the lion's share, Zhou Xi would at least get a few thousand yuan.
A profit of several thousand yuan in one night was enough to match two to three months' salary from those factories outside.
Playing one hand, and then cooperating with others to cheat and rig the game, earning nearly ten thousand in one night, who wouldn't want to do that?
After the initial excitement, Wang Yu didn't even wait for me to reveal my cards. He reached out to scoop up the sixty thousand yuan on the table.
Just as Wang Yu was about to pocket the money, I suddenly stubbed out my cigarette and coldly shouted, "Wait!"
Hearing this, Wang Yu immediately looked up at me and said in a mocking and playful tone, "What? Are you going to perform a 'God of Gamblers' possession on the spot and hit a Golden Flower?"
As soon as Wang Yu finished speaking, everyone else in the room also turned their attention to me.
Although their expressions varied, their eyes were all filled with a deep sense of disbelief.
It was clear that no one believed my luck could be so good as to produce such an incredible hand as in the previous round.
But what they didn't realize was that this kind of self-righteous assumption had nothing to do with me.
Because I never played cards based on luck!
So, after a noncommittal smile, I directly retorted, "An Earth Dragon means an assured win!? Aren't you afraid I'll have a Golden Flower?"
The last sentence was added deliberately.
The purpose was to instill in everyone, including Wang Yu, the idea that I was going for a Golden Flower.
But in reality, for this hand, I still planned to let Xu Xiaobo, who had a Golden Flower hand on the table, be the one to sweep the board.
Since the cards were dealt at the same time, Xu Xiaobo winning at the table and me winning off the table... there was no problem at all!
If Xu Xiaobo felt he wasn't winning enough, he could only blame Wang Yu for insisting on side bets. Otherwise, this hand at the table would likely have yielded several thousand... or even tens of thousands.
Therefore, I planned to use a highly dramatic "rival" hand like a Heavenly Dragon QKA to decisively defeat Wang Yu.
I was fortunate that the strategy from the previous hand was completely correct.
When dealing Xu Xiaobo a Golden Flower and Wang Yu an Earth Dragon, I dealt myself a scattered hand starting with an Ace, and this Ace was positioned on the outside.
Without this prior foreshadowing, everything... would have been in vain.
What I needed to do next was to switch the cards.
...
Upon hearing my words, Wang Yu immediately yelled at me, "You call yourself fat and you're still panting?"
"Do you really think luck will always be on your side?! Come on! Hurry up and reveal your cards!"
"Quickly blind me with your Golden Flower!"
"If you win this hand... I'll eat shit on the spot!!!"
"And I mean a big helping!"
Hearing this, I calmly took out my cigarette case.
As I lit a Hong Nanjing cigarette, I also picked up the three cards on the table.
During this seemingly ordinary process of taking out the cigarette case, lighting it, and smoking, I had already completed the card switch.
In high-stakes games, especially those with large sums involved, cigarette cases are strictly forbidden on the table.
Do you know why?
Because the size of a cigarette case... can perfectly cover a deck of playing cards!!!
So if you have the skill and want to cheat, remember to utilize everything you can, including your cigarette case!
As long as... you don't feel fear!
One minute on stage, ten years of practice off stage.
In essence, card sharps are like magicians, dancers on the edge of a knife.
If a magician messes up, they lose their livelihood.
If a card sharp messes up, their fingers, or even their life, could be at stake!
Fortunately, I grew up under Uncle Tuo. Under his sharp eyes, my progress was astonishingly rapid.
Therefore, switching cards right under people's noses, especially when facing a group of muggles who don't know any cheating techniques, was completely stress-free for me.
The card switching technique I use is called "Shifting Forms" in the art of cheating.
Perfect shuffling is the technique I practiced the most, and "Star Shift" is the cutting technique I practiced the most.
And "Shifting Forms" is the card switching technique I practiced the most!
As the saying goes: In all martial arts, speed is the ultimate weapon!
As for how fast my "Shifting Forms" is, when I break out of Anhai County and head to high-stakes gambling dens in various places, I will let you witness it thoroughly.
For now, I can only vaguely answer you: as fast as a magician's hands are when performing a trick... my hands are one to two times faster, or even two to three times faster, depending on my state.
If a top card sharp like Uncle Tuo were to act, it would be at least five times faster! You might not be able to discern anything even with slow-motion playback!
Back to the main point...
After exhaling a large puff of smoke, I deliberately revealed the Ace of Diamonds, which Wang Yu had seen countless times, and placed it on the table.
With the first card revealed, Wang Yu remained unmoved.
This reaction was entirely within my expectations.
Next, while keeping the back of the card completely covered by my palm, I held the switched Queen of Diamonds between my index and middle fingers of my left hand, and then, with a flourish, spun it onto the table.
The reason for this maneuver was to dispel Wang Yu's suspicion.
Cheating techniques are not just about those miraculous sleights of hand.
Psychological tactics are also incredibly effective!
An Ace of Diamonds, a Queen of Diamonds, and an incredibly stylish spinning card...
All of these were meant to signal how lucky I was and how cocky I was acting!
At this moment, the atmosphere in the entire room became tense.
Xu Xiaobo, in particular, let out a mournful cry, "Damn it! Don't tell me it's another Golden Flower!"
"Can I get some of my money back?"
As soon as Xu Xiaobo finished speaking, everyone's gaze unanimously shifted to the last card, which was tightly held in my palm!