The dealer's face-up card was a ten of spades, and Zhou Xuan also detected the face-down card, which was a queen of hearts, making a total of twenty points, slightly higher than his own.
Zhou Xuan also tested the cards in the glass box. The first card was the seven of diamonds, the second was the two of spades, the third was the jack of spades, and the fourth was the four of hearts. He didn't look at the cards below that, as he couldn't remember them all and they were useless.
Players don't gamble; they only gamble against the banker. In other words, the banker gambles against the six players. Based on the card values, it's possible for the banker to win all of them, lose all of them, or win half and lose half. But no one knows the exact number of wins because if the banker thinks they have a better chance of winning after looking at the card values, they can raise the bet.
Zhou Xuan considered it for a moment. Based on the dealer's current points, he had already lost. However, if he were to bid, the first card was a seven, and if he bid, he would bust. The second card was a two, and if he bid, he would win at exactly twenty-one against the dealer. If the cards were any of the later ones, he would bust if he bid. He could only bid the second card. But there were two players ahead of him, and he didn't know if they would bid. If they did bid, only one person could bid and the other could not, so that he could get the two of spades!
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Volume One: The First Budding Buds, Chapter Fourteen: Games
Of course, whether or not someone bids is beyond anyone's control; it's a matter of fate. (WenXueMi.coM)
The first player was a middle-aged white man, Zhou Xuan estimated his age that way. His face-up card was a five of clubs, and his face-down card was a king of diamonds, which was fifteen points. The card value wasn't high. Looking at the dealer's card, his face-up card was a ten of spades. If you looked at it, the dealer's chances of winning were higher than his.
If the dealer's face-up card is another face card, then it's 20 points. If it's 5 points or higher, then it's at least a tie. If the dealer wants to bid, then it can only bid A to 6 points. If it's 7 to K points, then it's a bust.
The white man bet fifty dollars, hesitated for a moment, then pushed his cards forward and said, "I Surrender!"
Fu Ying bent down and whispered in Zhou Xuan's ear, "He surrendered!"
The dealer took half of the white man's chips and then returned half of them. According to the rules, if a player has only two cards and has not bid, he can return half of his chips if he surrenders.
The second remaining player was also a middle-aged white man with a thick, bushy beard.
His face-up card was a six of clubs, and his face-down card was a nine of hearts, also a 15. The white man stared at his cards for a long time, then clenched his fist and said, "Hit!"
Seeing that he was asking for another card, Zhou Xuan felt a surge of excitement. He wanted to get rid of the seven of diamonds. If the white man took the seven, he would bust and wouldn't be able to call again. Then it would be his turn. It was truly a stroke of luck!
The dealer cut the card from the glass box, turned it over, and sure enough, it was a seven of diamonds. The white man exclaimed "Oh!" and looked very regretful.
The white man who was the first to fold seemed quite pleased, because he had escaped; if he had called, he would have busted anyway.
The dealer collected the chips from the white man's face, then shrugged at Zhou Xuan, signaling to continue.
Zhou Xuan revealed the ten of diamonds hidden in the card face down. Fu Ying and Wang Jue were both excited. Nineteen points, which was quite a good number.
Wang Jue whispered in Zhou Xuan's ear, "Don't call anymore. At nineteen points, if the dealer's hidden card isn't a face card or an Ace, we at least won't lose."
Unconsciously, Wang Jue had already referred to Zhou Xuan's cards as "our" side.
Zhou Xuan thought to himself, if he called the next two of spades, he would have 20 points, and he would not lose no matter what, because the dealer's 20 points were not two cards. Even if he called again, it would still be a tie, and he would not lose to him.
Having made up his mind, Zhou Xuan smiled, then added another hundred US dollars and signaled the dealer to deal the cards.
Wang Jue exclaimed "Oops!" and muttered to himself, "What if I call for the cards and then blow my hand?"
But when the dealer revealed the card, everyone saw it was a two of spades, and they couldn't help but cheer. At this point, as long as the dealer's hole card wasn't an Ace, then the dealer's two cards wouldn't be blackjack, and Zhou Xuan wouldn't lose, with a 90% chance of winning.
Wang Jue and Fu Ying were both taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. Wang Jue patted his chest and said, "Thank goodness, we said we didn't want it, but who knew we'd end up with blackjack!"
The player after Zhou Xuan had two cards totaling fourteen points, so he called for a card, which turned out to be the Jack of Spades, resulting in a bust. The next player had fifteen points and called for a card as well, which turned up to be the Four of Hearts, immediately increasing his hand to nineteen points, a very high number. The player was excited; it's always exciting to have a high number of points without busting.
The dealer turned over his face-down card, which was the Queen of Hearts. Combined with the face-up Ten of Spades, he had twenty points. In this case, the dealer's points would win against the other player, while Zhou Xuan would lose.
The dealer shook his head; he no longer wanted cards and gestured to the player with 19 points to ask if they wanted cards again.
At this point, the player would naturally call out, "Gambling for 0.1 is still gambling, and not gambling is also losing." He immediately nodded to ask for the cards, and as a result, a five of hearts was revealed, resulting in a bust.
The house wins five and loses one, so Zhou Xuan won two hundred US dollars.
After playing this round, Zhou Xuan had a better understanding of the situation. Knowing the cards already gave him a 90% chance of winning, and he only needed 10% luck.
In the second round, Zhou Xuan no longer hesitated and bet all 2,200 US dollars on the table.
This immediately drew attention, as none of the players at the table were betting more than three or four hundred US dollars, especially at this particular table, since the main hall was filled with ordinary players who were betting relatively small amounts.
Fu Ying wasn't particularly interested in money, so she wasn't too surprised when Zhou Xuan bet over two thousand US dollars. But Wang Jue was a little nervous, mainly because of the atmosphere in the casino.
This time, Zhou Xuan received two cards: the face-up card was the eight of spades, and the face-down card was the five of spades, totaling thirteen points.
In the United States, the number thirteen has always been considered unlucky.
Wang Jue exclaimed "Oh dear!" Zhou Xuan didn't show much expression and simply turned over the hidden card as well.
The dealer's face-up card is a ten of diamonds, and his face-down card is a five of diamonds, with a total value of fifteen.
This round was strange; the two players in front of Zhou Xuan both called for cards and both busted.
When it was Zhou Xuan's turn, he drew three consecutive Aces, the fourth was the Nine of Hearts, and the fifth was the Jack of Diamonds.
Zhou Xuan said, "I'll call!"
The dealer didn't understand Chinese, but he understood the meaning, and Wang Jue added in English, "Hit!"
The dealer flipped over a red ace. Zhou Xuan made a gesture to continue, and another ace followed. Wang Jue watched with a tense expression, clenching her fists as if she, not Zhou Xuan, was the one betting.
Fu Ying, both amused and annoyed, gave her a push.
Zhou Xuan still wanted a card, and the dealer flipped over another Ace, bringing Zhou Xuan's total to sixteen points, but it was still not considered a high-ranking hand.
Zhou Xuan smiled, shook his head, and said, "I won't call you that anymore!"
"You're not going to call at only sixteen points?" Wang Jue couldn't help but ask. Last time, when he was told not to call, he insisted on calling, but now that it's time to call, he's not.
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Sixteen points is not bad. You will win when you should, and you will lose even with twenty points when you shouldn't."
Zhou Xuan tested the last eight cards: two sevens and one eight, followed by five face cards, and the ninth card was a two. If the next two players after Zhou Xuan won't bid more than eight cards, then the dealer will overdraw as soon as they bid!