The Years I Was The Gambling God

I commenced dealing with the cards.

With 52 playing cards, I possessed the capability to choose which card to deal with at will.

Even if one were to stare at me intently without a single blink, my hand's speed slowed down several folds, yet remained imperceptible.

For me, these actions were but child's play, belonging to the basic skills of cheating.

Because I'd lost quite a bit.

This time, both Ranulph and Filla stood up.

Both fixed their gazes firmly on the cards in my hand, ensuring that with every card dealt, they could see clearly.

When dealing with the cards to others, I adopted a regular method.

But when it came to dealing with myself, I made sure to block the markings on the back with my fingers.

Upon placing the cards on the table, I immediately covered them with a cigarette box lid.

No matter how hard they tried, neither Ranulph nor Filla could catch a glimpse of any of my hole cards.

After the cards were dealt, Ranulph and Filla appeared somewhat excited.

More accurately, they seemed anxious.

Because his hand was strong, so formidable that he feared others might fold and not match.

As the banker, it was my turn to place a bet.

Before I could even take out the money, Ranulph suddenly spoke to me, saying,

"Lupan, dare you go All-In with me again? I don't believe you can win this round."

Filla immediately chimed in,

"Lupan, if you want to prove you're a man, continue matching with my husband! If you win this round, I'll find you a girl tomorrow, a girl from our bathhouse, you can choose anyone!"

They both goaded me on, using both provocation and allure.

"Alright, I'll match!"

With that, I placed a ten-dollar bet.

My next opponent was Dark.

He, as before, chose not to go All-In and instead opted to see his cards.

His method of viewing the cards was akin to many novice gamblers.

First, he vigorously rubbed the cards, then proceeded to scrutinize them bit by bit, as if by doing so the cards would magically enlarge.

When Dark finally saw the three cards in his hand, his breathing noticeably intensified.

His normally dark complexion is now tinged with a flush of red.

Dark held an exceptional hand.

Since starting Three Card Poker, he had yet to catch such a strong hand.

Of course, I knew what his hand was, as did Ranulph and Filla.

Three Jacks!

Suppressing his excitement, Dark promptly matched the twenty-dollar bet.

Naturally, Ranulph didn't bother to see his cards and matched them with ten dollars.

The following players, one by one, opted to see their cards without matching.

And so, the three of us continued betting round after round.

Around the year 2000, Three Card Poker had a particular rule that could catch people off guard—only two players could remain in to compare hands.

This sometimes led to a sleazy manoeuvre known as "Two Ghosts Pressing One."

In this method, regardless of hand strength, as long as one had enough money, they'd keep betting relentlessly.

The side being pressed, even with a strong hand, couldn't compare cards if they ran out of funds.

Ultimately, without money to bet, they'd naturally be eliminated.

I once heard of a gambler who had a hand of three Aces but ran out of funds to bet.

Suffering from depression, holding those three Aces, he jumped off a building.

In the blink of an eye, over a thousand dollars had accumulated on the table.

Due to Dark examining his cards in advance, he matched with twenty dollars each round.

This resulted in him having barely over one hundred dollars left on the table.

Glancing at Ranulph, Dark suggested,

"Why not fold your hand and let's just compare...?"

As he spoke, Dark winked at Ranulph.

It was meant as a friendly gesture, an indication that Dark held a strong hand.

However, Ranulph immediately refused.

"Why should I fold? I'll see this through with him to the end today! What's the matter, if you lack funds, I can lend you some!"

This was where the bastard Ranulph revealed his true colours.

He often claimed Dark was his best friend.

Yet, knowing his hand was stronger than Dark's, he still chose to lend money for Dark to match.

This guy would cheat anyone.

With that statement, he withdrew eight hundred dollars and lent it to Dark.

His own stack now dwindled to just over a thousand dollars.

Due to my prior wins, I still had around fifteen hundred dollars in front of me.

The three of us continued betting.

After several more rounds, Dark's eight hundred dollars had dwindled to a mere few tens.

Clutching his cards, he addressed both Ranulph and me,

"Let's just leave it at this for now. No more bets. Let's compare and see who wins!"

I remained silent.

Because I had a feeling that Ranulph would disagree.

Sure enough, Ranulph firmly stated,

"No comparison. If you're out of funds, go borrow more or just fold!"

Ranulph's tone was resolute, with no room for compromise.

Dark was infuriated, his face contorted in anger.

In a sudden movement, he slammed his cards onto the table and shouted,

"I've got three Jacks! How could I not match?"

No one had expected the hot-tempered Dark to reveal his cards.

Gasps and whispers filled the room around the table.

In Three Card Poker, a Three of a Kind is the highest hand, especially when it's three Jacks.

Only a trio of Queen, King, and Ace could beat it.

"Lend me the money, and I'll match him!"

As Dark revealed his hand, he attempted to persuade Ranulph.

However, Ranulph clearly disapproved of Dark showing his cards.

With a grim expression, he curtly stated,

"No loans. This is all I have left. I will see this through to the end with him!"

Dark was furious but helpless.

He had run out of money and could only grit his teeth, saying,

"Fine, you two play; I won't match! Let's see whose hand beats mine!"

Now, only Ranulph and I remained in the game.

Ranulph seemed afraid that I might look at my cards now and fold to run away.

He directly addressed me, proposing,

"Lupan, how about we forgo this tedious ten-dollar increment and go All-In? Let's go all out, and the winner takes all. What do you say?"

Internally, I sneered, but my expression remained impassive.

I lit a cigarette, observing the several hundred dollars in front of Ranulph and asked,

"If we go All-In, will you put all you have left on the table?"

My indifferent tone seemed to provoke Ranulph.

"Why bother asking how much I have? If I have more money than you, that's all that matters. You bet I'll match whatever you put down!"

"How much I bet, you'll match it all?"

"Correct!"

I was waiting for that very response.

Slowly, I reached into my pocket, retrieving a wad of hundred-dollar bills.

This was the reward money Mei had given me after we finished playing mahjong in the afternoon.

"Ten thousand dollars. I'm going All-In!"

Ten thousand?

The onlookers at the table were all astounded.

Everyone turned to look at me.

They were all perplexed at how I had so much money.

You see, Ranulph was the highest earner among us.

But he only made one thousand five hundred dollars a month.

For us, the lowest strata of society, ten thousand dollars was no small sum.

Ranulph stared at the stack of hundred-dollar bills totalling ten thousand on the table.

There was a surprise in his gaze, but more importantly, there was greed.

He seemed to have already decided that all that money belonged to him.

"Boss, come over here!"

Ranulph shouted towards the door.

The boss entered, and Ranulph immediately demanded,

"How much money do you have? Lend it all to me. I'll pay you back later!"

The boss frowned, somewhat helplessly responding,

"I've already paid out most of my money this morning. I only have a little over eight hundred dollars left..."

Eight hundred was too little.

Ranulph furrowed his brow in frustration.

He turned to the others at the table.

"How much money do the rest of you have? Lend it to me!"

Unfortunately, all their funds combined didn't reach two thousand.

With no other options, he turned to Filla.

"And you? How much money do you have left?"

At the mention of money, Filla was visibly displeased.

"I only have three hundred left. Haven't I given you everything already? Where would I have any money left? If you want, you can just have me wager!"

With that, she shot Ranulph a disdainful glance.

Helpless, Ranulph looked back at me, proposing,

"Lupan, how about you wait for me? I'll go out and borrow some money, then I'll return!"

I didn't refuse, but I added a condition.

"Sure, but the clock starts now. If you're not back within an hour, consider this round forfeited, and you lose!"

Ranulph hesitated.

His friends were also from the lowest rungs of society.

It would be difficult to borrow ten thousand dollars within an hour.

Observing the stack of crimson hundred-dollar bills on the table, he was unwilling to let it slip away.

Suddenly, he turned his gaze back to Filla.