Just as I finished speaking, I saw Wang Yu reach into his pocket. After fumbling around for a while, he pulled out three stacks of hundred-yuan bills, still sealed with their wrappers.
"Thirty thousand, all in!!!"
After throwing the thirty thousand yuan onto the card table, Wang Yu stared directly at me. There was a hint of arrogance in his eyes, but more so, a burning resentment.
It was clear he couldn't accept defeat.
Especially defeat in a direct confrontation with me at the card table!
People like Wang Yu are the typical kind who feel worse when you make money than when they lose it themselves – utter scoundrels!
In his worldview, those inferior to him must be kept under his heel forever, never to rise again!
In life, people with personalities as extremely selfish and self-serving as Wang Yu's are not rare, especially in certain environments.
Particularly at the card table, if you encounter a card player who becomes overly animated and talks incessantly when winning, but sulks and becomes withdrawn when losing… they're almost certainly one of these types!
When you meet such a person, if you have the opportunity and the ability, there are only two words:
Deal with him! Just deal with him!
Who plays cards without the goal of winning?
But for those who only accept their own wins, not others', and throw tantrums or ignore everyone when they lose, those players with no sportsmanship – regardless of any personal grudges – deal with them directly!
...
"I call!!!"
As I finished speaking, I directly took out the large envelope I had used to store my money earlier and slammed it onto the table.
Bringing the money envelope with me was the most correct decision I made before leaving the house that day.
I knew that this inexplicable class reunion must have some hidden, unspeakable secret behind it.
In an instant, the entire room fell silent.
Looking at the stacks of bright red hundred-yuan bills on the table, and the bulging envelope, a flicker of greed flashed in Wang Yu's eyes.
"You guys play your game, the two of us... we'll have an outside bet!"
As he said this, Wang Yu's entire face contorted with excitement, so much so that it seemed to twist and distort slightly.
It was obvious he cared deeply about the sixty thousand yuan on the table.
Judging by his demeanor, it seemed all of Wang Yu's financial sources had been cut off by his father after he ran away from home.
Therefore, he was betting his entire current fortune on this hand!
If he won, he could enjoy a period of free and easy living on the outside...
I didn't need to guess; Wang Yu was likely planning exactly that.
Unfortunately... he was overthinking it.
As I accepted the outside bet, a cold smile flashed across Wang Yu's lips.
I knew why he was smiling; it was undoubtedly because he felt his hand had me cornered.
A straight, in Golden Flower, is already a relatively strong hand. If I didn't get a flush in this outside bet, I would likely lose.
But unfortunately, in the dictionary of a cheat, there are no hands that cannot be obtained if desired!
Even though the cards had already been shuffled and dealt, it couldn't stop me from cheating.
As for why, let me explain...
Those who often play outside must have heard this saying to some extent, right?
The Rong Men have two knives, the Qian Men has one needle!
The meaning of this saying is that those who walk the path of the Rong Men in the martial world carry two knives.
The first knife is specifically for picking pockets to steal money, its purpose being to facilitate theft.
And the second knife is a life-saving blade, only revealed when facing danger and seeking an escape!
Generally, Rong Men masters would choose to hide the second knife in a place completely unexpected by others.
As for where... I won't say.
Because I simply don't know!
Unlike the Rong Men's two knives, the Qian Men's one needle is not meant in the literal sense of a needle.
The "needle" here refers to the Bee playing cards, which are universally used, even exclusively, in casinos!
Bee playing cards, foreign name Bee, are the specialized playing cards in casinos worldwide and indispensable for professional gambling.
Their characteristic is a single pattern on the back of the cards, and they are borderless, which can effectively prevent cheats from cheating.
Note that I said "can effectively prevent."
As I said before! In the face of absolute skill, everything is futile!
Just like Rong Men masters hiding their second life-saving knife, top-tier cheats will secretly hide four Aces of different suits in certain hidden parts of their bodies.
Of course, they don't need to hide a whole deck, because in most casinos, popular card games like Blackjack, Baccarat, Stud Poker, and Texas Hold'em are played.
They only need to carry the Aces that play a crucial winning role in these card games!
Just like a bee that launches a desperate counterattack when facing danger, the Ace is the "winning needle" clutched in the cheat's hand, capable of turning the tide and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in adversity!
This is where the Qian Men's one needle comes from.
Of course, specialized gambling decks like Bee playing cards are only carried by those who specifically operate in casinos.
It's important to remember that the popular playing cards vary from place to place.
Therefore, the "one needle" mentioned earlier depends on the situation.
For instance, in Anhai County, especially for a novice like me just entering the gambling world, I would generally carry Bin Wang playing cards or Yao Ji playing cards.
This is because these two brands are the most popular in our area.
And since my skill level hasn't reached the point where I can freely enter and exit major casinos, I would carry a deck of Bin Wang playing cards and a deck of Yao Ji playing cards with me at all times.
Alright, let's get back to the point.
Although Wang Yu was using Bin Wang's specially marked cards, I was still confident that I could cheat without him noticing.
Of course, if I hadn't used the "stack and deal" technique earlier, all of this would be in vain.
Except for the back of the first card, which Wang Yu could clearly see without any effort, he couldn't see anything of the two cards beneath it!
There was plenty of room for maneuver with those two cards!
After the other four people had decided the outcome of the game on the table, the fate of this outside bet happening beneath the table would also be revealed!
At this moment, to conceal the fact that he had already seen the cards, Wang Yu lit a cigarette and began to perform with great emotion.
He angrily picked up the three cards in front of him, just like in the movies, raised them high into the air, and then yelled hysterically, "Gambling God, bless me with a pair or better!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Yu slammed the three cards he had raised high in the air onto the table.
With a "bang"... the sound ended, and the cards were revealed.