Chapter 838: Newcomer Xiao He, all in!
In the gambling world, there has long been a widely circulated legend.
That is, newcomers will always be favored by the God of Luck.
Although the veracity of this legend still awaits verification by probability theory, there is no doubt that Xiao He, this "newcomer," has displayed incredible "gambling luck" at the gambling table.
After Dong Huai successfully secured an initial victory, the following few rounds of gambling saw everyone winning and losing; however, what drew extra attention was that the chips in front of Xiao He were piling up more and more without anyone noticing.
Conversely, Dong Huai, who increased the stakes every time and won much but also lost much, had fewer and fewer chips on the table.
Meanwhile, the chips of the others all maintained a subtle balance.
Finally, someone noticed this.
While the others were still immersed in the current gambling round, Joyce, the foreigner who still had a clear head, examined the chips of the few people in front of him, silently recalled the wins and losses of the recent rounds, and finally cast his gaze upon Xiao He at the side.
This time, his originally indifferent attitude gradually evolved into another kind of complex emotion.
And Xiao He, noticing his gaze, only looked up and glanced at him indifferently.
That look contained no emotion, yet it seemed to hide some kind of warning.
Joyce's heart skipped a beat, and a look of inquiry appeared on his face.
"Raise."
Thus, in the latest round, Joyce changed from a conservative style to an aggressive one for the first time.
Dong Huai, who always loved to raise, couldn't help but glance at Joyce. Not only did he fail to detect the hidden probing in Joyce's move, but he actually showed appreciation, praising: "That's right, that's right! Everyone should raise together and drive up the pot. It's not like we can't afford to lose."
Then, in his frenzy, he raised again, instantly pushing the stakes of this game to the million-level.
Zheng Ji, seemingly sensing something, looked left and right.
A person who was able to start in the underworld and successfully wash their hands of it is best at assessing the situation and sensing danger; thus, in this situation, he decisively chose to fold.
However, Bao Wenqi and He Ziye, who loved to join in the fun regardless of the severity, both whistled. The two, who had become a bit listless due to the calm gambling session, once again felt an excitement as if injected with a stimulant and followed the bet without hesitation.
In the blink of an eye, the chip amount for this gambling round reached an astronomical figure.
Regarding this, Xiao He's answer was naturally just as generous; pushing the small mountain of chips in front of itself forward, it directly bet its current "entire net worth": "Sorry everyone, this is all I have, so let's go All-in!"
【All-in: The betting action where a player puts all currently held chips into the pot】
Finally, the first "all-in" player appeared at the table, and it was actually Xiao He, the most low-key person in the past few rounds; to think it would play so big right from the start!
Everyone's gaze naturally turned over.
He Ziye had originally been chatting and laughing while holding the young woman beside him who had exited the game early. When he noticed that the chips Xiao He had pushed forward were piled up like a small mountain, his smiling face finally paused, but he quickly returned to normal.
Bao Wenqi also looked at Xiao He's chips, deep in thought.
Joyce, meanwhile, was considering the community cards in front of him, his mind racing with thoughts.
The current community cards were the 10 of Spades, Ace of Spades, and 9 of Diamonds.
This was a very subtle hand; it could be used for offense or defense. If his current hole cards paired with these, he still had a very good chance of winning.
So, in the following phase, when the dealer revealed the fourth community card as the 6 of Spades, everyone's eyes fell upon this specific suit.
In the cards currently known, the 6 of Spades, 10 of Spades, and Ace of Spades had already appeared, equivalent to three cards of the same suit.
If anyone's hole cards also consisted of two Spades, then a flush might already be present.
【Flush: A hand consisting of five cards of the same suit, not in sequence; a relatively strong hand】
However, everyone also knew that this probability was actually very low.
Unless the dealer continued to deal another Spade, with such scattered ranks, it was very easy to crash and burn, possibly resulting in not being able to form any hand at all.
However, whether it was because Xiao He's direct "all-in" successfully ignited the others' competitive spirit, in this round, instead of retreating, the others advanced; all three remaining people chose to call, only He Ziye tapped on the table, not knowing what he was thinking.
The young woman beside him tugged at his sleeve and climbed onto his neck, successfully diverting his attention. So, He Ziye simply went back to holding the woman beside him, chose not to continue calling, and exited the gambling game.
Thus, in the blink of an eye, the only players left on the table continuing to call were Bao Wenqi, Dong Huai, Xiao He, and Joyce, who had deliberately started the conflict from the beginning.
Joyce looked at the cards in his hand, then at Xiao He over there, his eyes narrowing slightly.
His card luck this time was not bad; otherwise, he wouldn't have taken the initiative to enter the game and raise the stakes in the first round. Furthermore, the community cards this time were also quite good. If he gambled on the subsequent community cards, with good luck, he might really be able to make Xiao He "go bankrupt."
Joyce's mind was racing, and finally, he moved his gaze away from Xiao He and placed it on the others.
Dong Huai's betting style could already be seen from the previous rounds; this person loved to raise, and the way he raised was by doubling his bets. He bet a lot, lost a lot, and won a lot. The number of chips fluctuated, and people's heartbeats rose and fell accordingly. At the same time, this was also a way for him to pressure his opponents, so when others didn't have very good hole cards, they usually chose to avoid his sharp edge.
And the other one—
Joyce cast his gaze onto Bao Wenqi again.
If Dong Huai was the one charging forward recklessly, then Bao Wenqi was undoubtedly the one fanning the flames from the side, following up with raises at the right moment, primarily focused on joining the fun regardless of the consequences.
But thinking carefully, one would realize that he was actually using Dong Huai as a gun.
Dong Huai was a brainless fool, but he was different; instead, he used Dong Huai's existence to cover up his own probing, even letting Dong Huai do higher-risk things, while he could sit on the sidelines and reap the benefits.
Therefore, in the early stages, he usually loved to flatter Dong Huai and the others, inducing them to raise; this made it easier to observe the expressions and psychological states of others, thereby better inferring the hole cards in their hands.
It's just that this behavior was still too straightforward and naive for the others present; everyone saw it clearly and would not be fooled by Bao Wenqi's flattery, continuing to raise recklessly. Only Dong Huai, that fool, kept jumping into the trap without knowing it.
Therefore, based on the calculations from the previous few rounds of everyone's playing style, Joyce could roughly guess: Dong Huai's hand this time might not be particularly good; otherwise, according to his habits, when Xiao He went "all-in," he would have followed with a raise. The reason he called this time was because Bao Wenqi was flattering him from the side, and this was the first time an "all-in" had appeared in this gambling game, so he wanted even more to meet the challenge.
As for Bao Wenqi, that guy's hand probably wasn't any better. He was using Dong Huai as a gun this time, and in the next round, he should follow Dong Huai and retreat.
So, the ones who would ultimately bet on the hand would still be him and Xiao He.
Considering this, Joyce actually started to hesitate.
As a shrewd investor, he could see that Xiao He's target this time was actually just Dong Huai and Bao Wenqi; the others were just incidental passersby who couldn't play much of a role in this gambling game.
Perhaps the only one Xiao He needed to pay extra attention to was itself.
Therefore, as an "outsider" in this game, he had to consider whether he should continue to call, whether to participate in the matchup between Xiao He and those two, or choose to avoid their sharp edge.
But—
Joyce thought for a long time, but the soul of the gambler within him was still stirring.
Who comes to a casino if they don't enjoy this kind of thing?
Encountering such a hidden expert who could subtly manipulate the battle and balance everyone's wins and losses, how could he not want to test them?