novelraw Chapter 177: Setting the Game
Chapter 177: Setting the Game
The gamblers instantly lost their composure.
"Triple Aces!"
"Damn! It really is triple Aces! This luck is absolutely insane!"
"Who said they wanted to lend him money earlier? What a huge loss!"
"Dammit, I should have called!"
"How much is he going to win... The jeweler is finished!"
...
The man in black immediately burst into wild laughter, the ferocious expression on his face intensifying.
While reaching out to pull all the chips on the table toward himself, he arrogantly mocked the jeweler:
"You old fool! See this? Triple Aces! What did I tell you? If I hadn't been short on chips earlier, I would have made you lose everything down to your underwear!With your pathetic little thumb rings, you dare challenge me?
Consider yourself lucky today, only losing this much! If we were outside, I'd chop off all ten of your fingers!"
"Wait!"
The jeweler remained completely unflustered, raising his hand with a wave: "I haven't revealed my cards yet, why are you in such a hurry?"
The man in black froze, a bad premonition stirring in his heart, but he still didn't believe he could lose: "What difference does it make whether you show your cards or not? I have triple Aces! What could you possibly have to beat that?"
Su Zhan watched from the side.
Seeing the jeweler's completely calm demeanor.
A bold thought suddenly emerged in his mind.
Could there still be a reversal?
Otherwise, what would be the point of the jeweler's behavior? Putting on a brave face wouldn't change his losing fate.
Unless he could actually win!
The man in black had triple Aces!
If you were a beginner or an outsider, you'd think triple Aces was the strongest hand in Three Card Brag...
And that's technically true.
But there's one special exception.
2, 3, 5 - these three cards form the smallest possible hand in Three Card Brag.
When these three cards combine, they can't beat any other hand.
But they specifically defeat triple cards!
This is a very unique rule in the game.
It rarely happens in normal circumstances.
Because when you get 2, 3, 5 - the smallest possible hand - your first instinct would definitely be to fold.
235 can only beat triple cards, but loses to everything else.
But seeing the jeweler's confident expression...
Could he actually have 235?
The man in black dismissed it as the other trying to scare him with a bluff.
He continued gathering all the chips into his embrace.
Suddenly, the jeweler reached out and pressed down on the final stack of chips.
"What's the rush?"
The jeweler curled his lips into an eerie smile: "Didn't you hear what I said earlier? I haven't revealed my cards yet."
The man in black froze, then sneered contemptuously: "What? Still refusing to accept defeat? Don't tell me you actually have 235 to beat my triple cards?"
"What a coincidence."
The jeweler gently flipped over his first card.
Three of Spades.
The crowd let out a collective murmur.
"Could he really have the foundation for 235?"
"He's done for, this guy is going to lose badly!"
"Well, what if he's actually bluffing? Normally anyone with 235 would have folded long ago. This situation happens maybe once in ten thousand games."
Seeing this, the man in black grew even more triumphant: "Old man, accept your fate! Do you think I was born yesterday?"
The jeweler calmly and unhurriedly flipped over his second card.
Two of Hearts.
The surrounding crowd instantly fell silent.
Everyone's gaze focused on that final card.
The man in black's smile froze on his face: "No... impossible... stop trying to scare me."
"Anything is possible."
The jeweler slowly revealed his final card.
Five of Spades!
Three full seconds of dead silence.
Then the crowd erupted with excitement, practically jumping up and down!
"235! It really is 235!"
"Beating triple Aces! The probability of that..."
"Hahahaha! Triple Aces lost! If I were an Aberrant, I'd probably find a wall to crash into! Hahahaha... This isn't just losing everything he owns, he borrowed 10 million too!"
The man in black was completely stunned, his eyes wide, his entire body trembling: "No... this can't be... you cheated!"
The jeweler leisurely lit a cigarette, blowing out a deep blue smoke ring: "Young man, winning and losing is normal at the gambling table.
But... didn't you say earlier you were going to chop off my fingers? Now let's see who chops whose?"
The man in black suddenly stood up: "You fucking cheated! I want the cards inspected!"
The dealer intervened appropriately: "According to the rules, the winner has the right to demand payment from the loser. Please remain calm."
The jeweler laughed heartily, pulling all the chips in front of himself: "Thanks for the hospitality, little brother! Next time you gamble, remember to bring more chips - this amount isn't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth!"
Su Zhan was completely dumbfounded by this.
Seriously, dude, triple Aces actually lost.
The probability of that is ridiculously small.
235 can only beat triple cards, but loses to everything else.
Holding 235 without folding, and actually beating someone with triple Aces...
This...
Su Zhan didn't even know what words to use to describe it anymore.
But he felt the man in black had been set up.
The man in black stared blankly at those three cards.
Three of Spades, Two of Hearts, Five of Spades.
His lips trembled, the muscles on his face beginning to twitch uncontrollably.
Suddenly.
He slammed the table with tremendous force, and the entire gambling table cracked with a visible fissure!
"A setup! This is absolutely a fucking setup!"
The man in black's mutated claws extended sharply again as he pointed at the jeweler and roared: "235 beating triple Aces? Who the hell would believe that! Who wouldn't fold when they get 235? You clearly knew I had triple Aces!"
The jeweler leisurely blew smoke rings: "Just good luck, young man. If you can't handle losing, then don't gamble."
"Bullshit!"
The man in black completely lost his temper, his mutation features fully manifesting, his voice becoming hoarse: "The probability of this is lower than winning the lottery! The casino must be in cahoots with you! You're working together to scam me!"
He turned to the dealer, his eyes bloodshot: "Where's the fairness in your Black Gold Casino? Using these cheap tricks to cheat customers?"
The dealer remained expressionless: "All gambling equipment in this establishment undergoes strict inspection. The situation you describe doesn't exist. If you dispute the result, you may request to review the surveillance footage."
"Surveillance? What fucking good is surveillance!"
The man in black wildly waved his mutated arm: "You planned this all along! 235 specifically beating triple cards? That's a story for three-year-olds! Any normal person with 235 would have folded long ago, how could they possibly stay in until the final round?"
The gamblers also began whispering among themselves.
"He has a point... 235 would run even from a pair, why would it go head-to-head with triple cards?"
"Could it really be a setup?"
"But Black Gold Casino has never had this kind of incident before..."
The jeweler sneered coldly, stubbing out his cigarette on a chip: "You're right, I did know you had triple cards."
The entire room erupted in uproar!
The man in black grinned ferociously: "Admitting it? Finally admitting it?"
The jeweler calmly adjusted his cuffs: "Because you have a bad habit - every time you get a strong hand, the expression on your face becomes extremely excited.
And it's that suppressed excitement. This round was no different - that restrained excitement on your face was impossible to hide...
So I gambled that you had a strong hand. Honestly, I was quite nervous at first too, but as I watched you continuously raise and raise, I actually became less anxious.
Because there are many strong hands, but the strongest is still triple cards. I bet that your hand was triple cards! When you're so obviously telling everyone you have triple cards, if I'm holding 235 and don't take you down, should I just fold instead?"
The man in black stood frozen.
The jeweler leisurely collected all his chips: "Gambling isn't just about luck, it's about psychology. If you can't even control your own facial expressions, how dare you come to a casino and make a scene?"