Five minutes passed quickly, and the bell in the middle of the table rang with a clear "ding." The boy collected all the playing cards on the table and said, "Please get ready."
All eyes turned to him.
The boy's slender hands began to shuffle the cards rapidly, the 52 playing cards overlapping in his hands into a blur of light and shadow.
The room was completely quiet, except for the rustling sound of him shuffling the cards.
A moment later, the boy finished shuffling the cards and said calmly, "This game will not have a dealer. The seven of us will play individually, comparing our hand rankings, and the player with the highest hand will win."
"You can fold at any time during the game, but each player only has five fold opportunities, after which you must call. You can only use the Luck Bead once in seven games. The Luck Bead will try to give you one of the best hand combinations, so please pay attention to when you use it."
"The game begins. Everyone, please place a bet of 1000."
Everyone cooperated by tossing a gold coin into the prize pool in the middle of the table.
"The first round of card dealing will start with number 1 and proceed counter-clockwise."
The seven Challengers each received a card face down, with the back of the card being pure black.
Xiao Lou gently flipped over a corner of the playing card— the 2 of Red Hearts.
He glanced around; everyone's faces were covered by masks, so his expression was obscured, but some people's eyes revealed obvious frustration, probably because they had received bad cards in the first round.
The boy said, "The second round of card dealing starts with number 1. Do you want a card?"
Xiao Lou: "I want the cards."
The boy dealt him a card.
Square 3.
Xiao Lou thought for a moment and said, "Add 1000."
With a red heart 2 and a diamond 3, his hand only has a total of 5 points, so he can continue playing.
The boy said, "Position 2, please choose."
The Number 2 girl sitting to Xiao Lou's right had pale skin and a frail, thin figure that was heartbreaking to look at. She whispered, "I want a card." After receiving a card and turning it over, the girl's voice trembled slightly, "Fold, fold."
She threw out a diamond 9 and a red heart 8, which added up to more than 10.5 points, so her luck was really bad.
Number 3.
Yu Hanjiang calmly said, "I want the cards."
The boy dealt him a card, and after Yu Hanjiang looked at it, he simply threw the two cards into the discard pile in the middle of the table: "Fold."
After receiving her cards, Curly-haired Woman number 4 hesitated for a moment before putting a coin into the prize pool: "Call."
At this point, players in positions 2 and 3 folded, while players in positions 1 and 4 each called with a bet of 1000, bringing the prize pool to 9000 coins.
Position 5.
The man with the braid took the cards. He gently lifted a corner of the deck with his fingers, glanced at the rank of the two cards, and then did something that surprised everyone—
The man shoved all the gold coins in his hand onto the center of the card table with a "whoosh".
He calmly said, "All in."
Xiao Lou: "..."
Others: "..."
Are you fucking playing this high in the very first game?!
Most people would choose to observe in the first round, and after only two rounds of dealing, he actually went all in with all his coins. If he lost, the Guardian would immediately throw him into the Nightmare Secret Room!
No normal person would push themselves this hard.
He chose to go all in, which suggests only two possibilities—
First, the two cards he has drawn are so good that it's worth betting everything on them. For example, if the first card is a 10 and the second is a J/Q/K, he can make a "ten and a half" hand. Then he can pass and force people who haven't made a ten and a half hand to call or fold.
The second possibility is that he actually doesn't have a good hand, but he deliberately goes all in to force others to call, as a psychological tactic.
If it's the second type, this person is playing like their life depends on it!
Xiao Lou looked up at the other person; through the silver mask, he could only see the eyes of the man number 5.
Those were long, narrow phoenix eyes. Single eyelids, slightly upturned corners, and a calm, unwavering gaze, as if he weren't at a life-or-death card table in Secret Room World, but rather at a karaoke table where a few good buddies were bored and gathered together, drinking, singing, chatting, and playing cards.
When number 5 went all in, the air in the room seemed to be instantly sucked away, and a tense and oppressive feeling immediately enveloped the surroundings.
Number 2 Girl nervously rolled her eyes, while Number 3 Yu Hanjiang sat there observing the situation. Xiao Lou and Number 4 Curly-haired Woman, who were still following the bet, immediately tensed up.
Guardian: "Position 6, please select."
Fat guy number 6: "Fold."
Girl #7 with a high ponytail: "Fold."
Guardian: "In the third round of dealing, number 1, please select."
Xiao Lou asked for a card, the spade 4.
He currently holds 2, 3, and 4, totaling 9 points. He can use a Luck Bead to make five small or ten and a half. However, if he calls, the bet cannot be less than the previous player's bet—since player number 5 went all-in, he must also go all-in to call.
"Bet on number 5? There's no need for that. " Xiao Lou said decisively, "Fold."
Number 4, Curly-haired Woman, also threw her cards onto the table: "Fold."
Number 5 is so crazy, she doesn't want to fight alongside him.
life.
Xiao Lou had a strange intuition—at this moment, the face of the man number 5, hidden behind the mask, should be full of smiles.
Since players 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 all discarded their cards, player 5 automatically became the winner of the first round.
Guardian turned over his cards.
One plum blossom 7 and one plum blossom 2, together they make 9.
His hand is terrible; if he plays another round, there's a good chance he'll bust with more than 10.30 points.
Everyone: "..."
Holy crap!
Everyone was probably cursing under their breath.
With such a terrible hand, you actually dared to go all in? Dude, are you bluffing us?!
However, when the man pushed all the coins into the prize pool, his movements were exceptionally swift and decisive, his voice calm, and his gaze composed. Everyone was convinced that he had an exceptionally good hand, likely a 10 and a J/Q/K, making a total of 10.30.
As a result, a 7 and a 2, totaling 9 points, made this hand even worse than the hands of several people who folded!
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance.
There is no doubt that they encountered a very daring bettor.
Xiao Lou rarely plays poker, but he knows that there are many professional casinos in Macau, and Las Vegas is a gathering place for gambling gods from all over the world, where it is common for a single game to involve bets of tens of millions.
In poker games, you don't necessarily need a good hand; if you know how to play mind games, you can still outmaneuver your opponent.
Number 5 played the psychological warfare quite well. In the first round, he went all in, forcing everyone to fold and winning 9,000 gold coins. With 18,000 gold coins in hand, he instantly became the biggest tycoon in the room.
As long as he doesn't play too recklessly, he won't lose all his coins and be eliminated to go to the Nightmare Secret Room for punishment, no matter how he plays.
If he accurately calculates the chips others hold and raises his bet accordingly, the others will be placed in an extremely passive position.
What's most terrifying about the Plum Blossom Secret Chamber isn't the rules of the game—it's the unpredictable opponents.
***
Guardian begins to reshuffle the cards: "Second round, get ready."
Xiao Lou sat up straight, making sure her mind was absolutely clear.
Each player is forced to place 1000 coins into the prize pool in the center of the table. The fewer coins they have, the more nervous they become. If Xiao Lou's estimate is correct, many people should use Luck Bead in this round.
After dealing the first round of cards, Guardian looked at the thin girl: "Second round, starting with number 2—number 2, please choose."
The girl in position 2 said nervously, her voice trembling with fear, "Fold." She had just blown her hand again, with an 8 on the first card and a 5 on the second, bringing her total to over 10.50. Her luck was truly terrible.
This time, Yu Hanjiang (number 3) did not fold but instead raised: "Raise 1000".
Player #4, Curly-haired Woman, had an 8 and a 7, which exceeded 10:30, so she had to fold.
It's number 5's turn.
All eyes were on the richest tycoon in the room.
Everyone thought he would raise a large bet to force others to fold, but unexpectedly, player number 5 folded decisively, which surprised everyone.
The fat guy, number 6, snapped out of his daze, flipped over his cards, looked at them, took a card, and said, "Call."
The girl with the ponytail, number 7, folded.
Only Xiao Lou, who was speaking last, remained.
Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang; their gazes met across the long table, and they couldn't see each other's expressions.
But Xiao Lou sensed the man's determination from his calm gaze— Yu Hanjiang must have used Luck Bead.
It's only the second round, and Yu Hanjiang is so confident, which means he clearly has a very good hand. Otherwise, given this man's calm personality, he wouldn't have called inexplicably in the second round.
Xiao Lou drew two Aces, a pretty good hand. But since Yu Hanjiang wanted to win this round, there was no need for him to gamble with Captain Yu's luck. Without hesitation, Xiao Lou threw his two Aces into the discard pile: "Fold."
Only Yu Hanjiang and player number 6 remained at the table, marking the third round of the game.
Yu Hanjiang put the gold coins into the prize pool: "Add 1000."
Number 6: "Follow."
In the fourth round, Yu Hanjiang continued to draw cards and raised the bet by 1000.
The man's calm and indifferent voice put immense psychological pressure on Number 6.
Number 6 took the cards, and his hands began to tremble slightly.
So far, number 6 has placed a bet of 2,000, and with the initial bet of 1,000, there are 3,000 coins in the prize pool.
He used Luck Bead in this round, and his hand consisted of Hearts J, Spade Q, Diamond K, and Diamonds J. If all goes well, he should be able to get a human card in the fifth round, making it a "human five small" hand with all JQK cards.
Without Luck Bead's help, the probability of getting five human cards in a row would be extremely low.
However, there's an even bigger card above the fifth-ranked player—the Heavenly King!
To gamble or not to gamble?
The fat man was extremely conflicted. He had already used Luck Bead in this round, and his cards couldn't possibly be better than this one. If he missed this opportunity, he would have no chance of winning in the future.
After hesitating for a long time, just as the countdown was about to end with 10 seconds left, the fat man gritted his teeth and threw a gold coin into the prize pool.
His lips trembled slightly as he spoke: "Call."
Guardian said expressionlessly, "Final round, number 3, please choose."
At this point, both players already have four cards in their hands and can ask for their last card.
Yu Hanjiang had always played with unwavering composure, but in the final round, after receiving his cards...
He decisively pushed all the gold coins into the prize pool: "All in."
The man's deep voice echoed in the quiet space, striking everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.
Unlike player number 5's aggressive start, player number 3 was frighteningly calm.
It's as if he's guaranteed to win when he bets.
That imposing aura, even without anger, made the hearts of those around him tremble.
Upon meeting Yu Hanjiang's deep eyes, Number 6 immediately broke out in a fine layer of cold sweat.
At this point, he had already determined that he and player number 3 had both used Luck Bead in this round.
Guardian only told him that Luck Bead could improve his luck in the current hand and give him one of the best hands, but he didn't tell him—if two or more people were using Luck Bead at the same time, whose hand would be better?
Having followed through with this bet, he's now in a bind!
He only has 5,000 gold coins left. If he folds now, he won't be able to play at all. He'll lose 1,000 gold coins every round, which won't be enough to cover the losses. He'll be eliminated in the seventh round!
We have no choice but to take a gamble.
Number 6 took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying, "Follow!"
All the players gasped – the Luck Bead crash was truly devastating; both players went all in at the same time, and neither of them had any coins left – it was either you or me.
Unexpectedly, the game became so intense in just the second round.
The existence of Luck Bead has both advantages and disadvantages.
Guardian said coldly, "The game is over. Please show your cards."
The cards will be revealed starting on the 6th.
His hands were trembling as he flipped all five cards over with a "whoosh".
hearts J, spade Q, diamond k, diamonds J... king of hearts.
He actually managed to assemble a hand consisting entirely of Jacks, Queens, and Kings!
The atmosphere inside the room grew increasingly tense.
All eyes were on Yu Hanjiang.
Unlike the fat man whose hands were trembling, Yu Hanjiang's long, strong fingers remained steady.
He gently turned over the first card—it was the 2 of plum blossoms.
The fat man's eyes widened suddenly.
Could it be five cards less than 10.30? If it's five small cards, they can't beat his hand, and he'll still win in the end.
Yu Hanjiang turned over the second card: Plum Blossom 3.
The third one: Red Heart 2.
Fourth card: Diamond 3.
Everyone in the room held their breath. Xiao Lou's palms were sweaty, and he felt like his heart was about to stop beating.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Yu Hanjiang calmly turned over the last card—
spade k.
2, 3, 3, 2, K, five cards, perfectly forming "ten and a half".
Heavenly King.
Yu Hanjiang received the highest-ranking hand in the 10:30 game – the King!
Author's Note:
The game of 10:30 is supposed to have a dealer, but in order to make the game more intense, Plum Blossom Secret Chamber does not have a dealer, and the 7 players each play their own game.
I'll try to keep it simple; even if you don't understand the rules, just be able to feel the tense atmosphere.:)
I'd give Captain Yu a shout-out today!