Chapter 22: 22 Ace of Spades
Chapter 22: Ace of Spades
[How could it be a trick to play dumb to catch the wise?]
[I have some gambling skills myself, and seeing a guy like No. 9 in a short-sleeved T-shirt with nothing in his hands, it’s almost certain he’s not the Gambling King.]
[Why?]
[Gambling King, Gambling King… in reality, that’s just another name for a swindler. Have you ever seen a swindler not wearing long sleeves, rings, and having items like a cigarette case or a lighter in his pockets?]
[The guy upstairs is a professional, huh? Can you elaborate?]
[Think about it, at the poker venue, a swindler’s usual tricks include stealing cards, hiding cards, swapping cards, but with nothing to cover himself, where could he hide cards, in his underwear?]
[Hiss! The guy upstairs makes a good point.]
[I think that No. 13 in the suit and tie, who’s somewhat balding, looks quite like a swindler.]
No. 13 was none other than the anti-gambling expert, Chen Ming.
Anling Police Station.
The live broadcast scene.
In a large function hall, multiple camera positions were filming.
Thirty-six contestants were using the Flush (All-in) style of play, six per table, divided into six tables, with police officers acting as croupiers, responsible for dealing the poker cards.
The winner of each table would advance to the next round of Poker King.
If the winner and the one with the highest votes were the same person, then the voting would proceed to the next person.
“All the contestants are now ready. The audience in the live stream can click on the numbers 1-36 on the right side of the screen to watch each contestant’s exclusive view.”]
“Now, ‘Who is the real Gambling King’ officially begins the competition.”]
Shen Qianqian’s voice was sweet and mellow, her delicate face beaming with a bright smile as she announced the commencement of the ‘Who is the real Gambling King’ event.
The camera turned away.
Her gaze inadvertently looked towards Table No. 2.
Lin Chuan was there.
“As expected of Anling’s flower of the police force, her hosting abilities are indeed strong,” Li Bing praised Shen Qianqian as soon as he arrived.
“Captain Li is flattering me to death again.”
Shen Qianqian replied with a beaming smile.
Li Bing laughed and said, “This is by no means flattery. Right now, there are 60,000 people online in the live stream, and at least 30% are here for you.”]
Shen Qianqian averted her gaze and smiled, “Whether they are here for me is not important. What matters is that our live broadcast can achieve the effect of anti-gambling propaganda.”]
This time.
Anling Police Station had discarded the previous dull ‘reasoning propaganda’ and adopted the ‘Who is the real Gambling King’ competition format to attract the audience.
The ultimate goal was to reveal how their Gambling King used cheating techniques to win every bet, achieving the purpose of persuading people not to gamble.
It had to be said.
When the government gets creative, it’s the most lethal.
And there it was, the host was Anling’s lovely police flower, with a beautiful voice and appearance, the event format catered to popular aesthetics — coupled with promotions on the Kuaidou app, the heat in the live stream rose increasingly, making it to the homepage of the Kuaidou live broadcast.
Many new viewers poured into the live stream.
Some readers who followed Lin Chuan also arrived.
[Let’s see where the suspect Lin Chuan is!]
[I found him. He’s at Table No. 2, just as handsome as in the photos.]
[Who is the real Gambling King? I’ll vote for Lin Chuan first!]
[The cards haven’t even been dealt yet, and you’re already voting?]
[No need to gamble, I already know Lin Chuan is definitely the Gambling King.]
[What number is this Lin Chuan you all are talking about?]
[The contestant No. 9, that handsome guy with the suspect look.]
After all this promotion by the readers, quite a few viewers were intrigued and clicked on the No. 9 position to watch Lin Chuan’s view.
At Table No. 2.
Lin Chuan sat calmly, toying with several ‘mock chips’ in his hand, waiting for the dealer to deal the cards.
Once he was at the table, he was the king.
The other five at the same table had intense gazes, each trying to scout the others, aiming to gain a psychological edge and take the initiative.
The croupier was a police officer.
Though his card-shuffling skills were not professional, his special identity ensured the maximum fairness of the event.
“Please place your bets.”
Each contestant had 20 chips, with a blind of 2 chips. Each round had a minimum bet of 2 chips, with no upper limit.
Lin Chuan bet two chips, and the others followed suit.
The first round dealt two cards.
One hole card, one up card.
Lin Chuan’s up card was a Spade K.
Lin Chuan casually glanced at his hole card, and the Five of Diamonds appeared on the live stream.
His card rank was the highest.
“All-in.”
Lin Chuan pushed all his remaining chips out, then leaned back with his hands on the edge of the table, smiling, his eyes serene.
The other five players at the table were stunned.
The audience in the live room was a bit stunned too.
[Hole card Five of Diamonds, how can he dare to go all-in?]
[Is this the Zhou Xingxing style? Going all-in at the start!]
[A tribute to Brother Xin, I cast my vote for him!]
[Indeed, going all-in truly is a form of wisdom, hahaha!]
[This is getting interesting, Scarred Man at seat 7, you have a pair of Qs, quickly go all-in with him!]
[The other players’ cards aren’t bad either, there’s even one with a pair of 8s.]
Sure enough.
The Scarred Man at seat 7 followed.
“All-in.”
The few others, with a frown, decided to follow through directly as well: “All-in.”
Table 2, everyone goes all-in!
It suddenly got interesting.
After going all-in.
The police officer dealt the remaining three cards promptly.
The current situation.
Three players’ hands didn’t form anything, instantly ousted.
Player 10, only had a pair of 8s.
Scarred Man at seat 7 had one pair of Qs, one pair of 4s, with a Q as the hole card.
And Lin Chuan at seat 9 had a Spade flush with 10, J, Q, K, but his hole card was a 5.
The Scarred Man was confident of victory, looking at Lin Chuan, “Brother at seat 9, is your hole card the Spade 9 or the Ace of Spades?”
In an all-in, the chance of getting a flush is negligible.
Unless you cheat.
But the Scarred Man had been watching Lin Chuan the entire time. Lin Chuan, in a short-sleeved T-shirt, hands resting on the table, had made no suspicious moves.
So there was no possibility of cheating.
The audience in the live room, aware that Lin Chuan’s hole card was the Five of Diamonds, had already written him off.
Most people watching table 2 had cast their first round of votes for the Scarred Man at seat 7.
The Scarred Man’s popularity suddenly topped that of table 2.
“Reveal the cards.”
The Scarred Man confidently revealed his hole card Q.
Three Qs, with a pair on the side.
[The Scarred Man’s gambling skills are obviously much better than those of the handsome guy at seat 9.]
[The handsome guy at seat 9 acted too hastily, going all-in at the start.]
[I judged right from the start, seat 9 doesn’t have the look of a Gambling King.]
[Gamblers who go all-in at the start usually want to gain a psychological edge, to overwhelm the opponent with sheer bravado, but seat 9 has met his match.]
Off-camera.
Shen Qianqian was continuously monitoring the situation at table 2.
She furrowed her brows, muttering, “With a hole card of the Five of Diamonds, how can you compete for the title of Gambling King, how can you reveal the trickery of cheating techniques, how can you promote your book?”
At the gambling table.
Lin Chuan looked at the Scarred Man’s three-of-a-kind with a pair, and smiled, “Indeed, everyone here is talented, the skills are not bad.”
The Scarred Man chuckled and said, “Young brother, we’re both castaways here, you’re also not bad, just slightly less skilled than me.”
“Slightly less skilled?” Lin Chuan smiled.
Then, unhurriedly, he reached for his hole card and slowly flipped it over.
Ace of Spades!