A new round began.
After opening a new deck of Bee playing cards, as the dealer was about to shuffle, I suddenly asked him, "I haven't checked the cards at all so far. Could you let me check them?"
The dealer remained silent but turned to look at He Guan first.
After a few seconds of hesitation, He Guan nodded slightly.
With He Guan's approval, the dealer directly handed the Bee playing cards to me.
Taking the cards, I casually cut a few from the deck, flipping and touching them repeatedly.
Then, I returned the playing cards to the dealer.
The moment I extended my left hand to return the cards, my middle finger and ring finger moved slightly.
Without a moment's pause, I flicked them silently towards the inside of my sleeve.
With just over an hour left, I was twenty million chips short. Considering the dealer opening new cards, shuffling, dealing, and then gathering the chips for each round...
If He Guan changed his strategy and switched to a defensive approach, he could potentially drag the game out until the end with his twenty million chip advantage.
Therefore, I took the risk of attempting to steal a card.
Otherwise, if He Guan decided to change his strategy, what awaited me would be a slow death!
...
The moment I stole the card, everyone in the hall stared intently at me, including the surveillance cameras in every corner, which began working frantically.
He Guan, sitting directly opposite me, didn't even blink.
Perhaps due to the life-and-death nature of the gamble, under everyone's gaze, I inexplicably felt a surge of nervousness.
This feeling of tension was akin to being called out in public.
This was the first time since I started my career that I felt like I had been caught cheating.
Just as a bad feeling began to creep into my mind, suddenly...
A staff member in uniform walked down from upstairs.
In the silent environment, the heavy, rhythmic footsteps sent tremors through my heart.
Looking up, I saw the staff member quickly approach Xiao Tianci and whisper a few words into his ear.
Afterward, Xiao Tianci dismissed him.
Then, Xiao Tianci gave He Guan a slight nod with his eyes. He Guan calmly nodded back.
However, his gaze towards me suddenly turned somewhat strange and cunning.
This guy was skilled at psychological tactics, and he might be plotting something devious. I absolutely could not let my guard down.
"Deal the cards!"
He Guan said, and the dealer followed suit and began dealing.
My face-up card was a Club 10. As for my face-down card, I slightly lifted an edge and glanced at it before immediately covering it.
He Guan's face-up card was a Heart 5, and I spoke first in the first round.
"Club 10 speaks!"
After the dealer's words, I thought for a moment, picked up a chip worth five million, and threw it directly into the pot.
"Five million."
Hearing this, He Guan glanced at me and said in a tone full of disdain and mockery, "Well, well, it's not easy! You're finally willing to raise the bet?"
"I call!"
Ignoring He Guan's taunts, I silently calculated the chip difference between us.
Unlike Texas Hold'em, in the casinos of Longxi, the betting in Stud poker could only increase from the first round; it couldn't go down.
Xiao Tianci had already clearly stated this rule when introducing it, possibly as an adjustment targeting me.
This meant that if the starting bet in the first round was five million, the minimum bet in the second round would also be five million.
Assuming each subsequent round had a bet of five million, if I won this hand, I could close the twenty million chip gap.
Moreover, I would definitely be able to overtake He Guan.
After the first round, the dealer continued to deal.
My third card was a Spade 10, and He Guan's was a Club 9. This round, I still had to call the bet.
"Five million!"
To be safe, I didn't increase the bet, planning to make the final decision after seeing the hole card on the fourth card.
If the card sequence was favorable, I would strive to turn the tables and win this hand.
Seeing that I didn't increase the bet, a sneer reappeared on He Guan's face. Without any hesitation or pause, he directly threw five million chips into the pot.
"I call!"
Honestly speaking, with face-up cards like a Heart 5 and a Club 9 for He Guan, if his hole card wasn't one of those two cards, calling the bet would be completely meaningless.
The probability of forming a straight with a 5 and a 9 as face-up cards was extremely low.
Under these circumstances, why would he call?
Before I could figure out why He Guan was calling, the dealer had already dealt the fourth face-up card.
In front of me was a Heart 6, while He Guan received a Spade 8.
This round, it was He Guan's turn to speak.
"Five million, just to see the last card!"
He Guan made a bet that I couldn't refuse, and without hesitation, I chose to call.
The final hole card was crucial.
He Guan, aiming for a straight, revealed a Diamond 5.
As for me, I was dealt a Spade Ace.
Although it was a high card, it was useless.
At this point, my face-up cards were a mixed-suit 10, 10, 6, and Ace.
He Guan's face-up cards were also mixed-suit, consisting of a 5, 9, 8, and 5.
Both of us had pairs as face-up cards.
For either side to win, the crucial hole card had to be a card that could form three of a kind in a mixed straight, or a single card that could form two pairs.
To be honest... it was difficult!
After all, you couldn't expect the dealer to only give you good cards and bad cards to your opponent, right?
At the very least, a skilled gambler would never rely on such luck.
Because a skilled gambler never entrusted their fate to the dealer's decision.
Therefore, in this round, I either had to take another risk and cheat to swap cards to ensure victory, or I had to rely on my gambling skills to take a chance.
I could not lose this round. If I lost, the chip deficit would start at forty million.
He Guan would definitely not give me a chance to make up such a large gap.
In a sense, the current round was already a battle for survival between He Guan and me...
...
After the fifth card was dealt, the dealer said to me, "Pair of 10s speaks."
"Pass!" I replied without hesitation.
I couldn't initiate the betting in this round because He Guan might immediately go all-in.
Therefore, I had to cede the initiative to him.
At this moment, He Guan didn't mock my lack of courage to bet. His expression had become very serious.
Staring intently at the cards in front of me, He Guan picked up a chip worth fifty million from his side and threw it directly into the center of the pot.
"Fifty million!"