Chapter 400 Straight Flush VS Three of a Kind
Stevenson had regained his composure. His face remained calm, but inwardly he was bitter. Although he had won a few rounds, they were all small wins, which were of little use and did not help much. Moreover, he was still being suppressed by Zhuang Rui in terms of momentum.
Since Zhuang Rui now cuts the deck every hand, Stevenson's card counting skills are no longer useful. Trying to bluff or cheat is even more impossible, because Zhuang Rui doesn't even look at his hole cards. If he tries to bluff, he might end up losing more than he gains. Zhuang Rui's chips on the table are already lower than Zhuang Rui's, so he is becoming more and more cautious.
Zhuang Rui appeared nonchalant, continuing his lighthearted conversation with Qin Xuanbing. However, he was anything but relaxed. His losses in the previous rounds were intentional, given the relatively low bets on the table. Now, he was searching for an opportunity—a chance for both sides to have strong hands, a clash of titans.
Time flies, and before we knew it, it was almost noon. According to the rules, there would be a one-hour break at noon, and then the game would resume at 1 p.m. Ji Yi, who was shuffling the cards, knew that this hand should be the last game of the morning.
"Mr. Stevenson has 10 of Hearts, please place your bet..."
Ji Yi dealt two cards to each person, one face up and one face down. Stevenson's name card was the 10 of hearts, while Zhuang Rui's was the 9 of spades. According to the rules, Stevenson was to speak.
"100,000..."
Stevenson threw out the chips he had been playing with in his hand. He had a little-known habit of betting with chips he had been playing with, which meant he was going to bet big this time. Stevenson's face-down card was a 10, a 10 of clubs. He had no reason not to take advantage of this hand to win back some chips.
"Followed..."
Zhuang Rui also threw out a 100,000 chip. His expression was the same as before, but his heart was not at peace. He knew that this round might end the battle.
“Mr. Stevenson spoke.”
"Five hundred thousand."
On the third card, Stevenson received a Jack of Clubs, while Zhuang Rui received a Jack of Diamonds. Although both were Jacks, Zhuang Rui's hand was lower than Stevenson's based on the order of Spades > Hearts > Clubs > Diamonds.
"I'll give you five hundred thousand!"
After so many rounds, the onlookers could see that Zhuang Rui had never folded in the previous rounds. Only in two rounds did he fold when he had no better hand than his opponent, regardless of the bottom card. No one could argue with that, since it's unlikely that someone would give you money when they know they have a weak hand.
"Mr. Stevenson, Ace of Spades, please place your bet!"
After the fourth card was dealt, Stevenson still beat Zhuang Rui with the Ace of Spades, while Zhuang Rui got the 7 of Clubs. It was a terrible hand, with only a theoretical chance of making a straight. However, it was missing the 8 and 10, which was not considered a good hand by the others.
Two million!
"I'll go with it!"
"Zhuang Rui, you're still going to call with that hand?"
Qin Xuanbing, standing beside him, was speechless. With the current hand, whether comparing single cards or pairs, Zhuang Rui didn't have a single card higher than his opponent's. Wasn't this just handing money away for free?
"Hehe, Xuanbing, it's worth spending a few million to see someone else's hand."
Zhuang Rui smiled nonchalantly. Although Stevenson had won several million from him in the previous rounds, he still had around 43 million chips in total.
"You think you can see my hand with just a few million?"
Stevenson sneered inwardly. His previous bets were just a way to lure Zhuang Rui in little by little, then place a heavy bet in the last hand to force Zhuang Rui to fold and escape, and then take all the chips on the table to avenge the humiliation of being bluffed by Zhuang Rui earlier. In this hand, as long as Zhuang Rui doesn't play a Jack on his last card, his pair of 10s will basically secure the victory.
"Mr. Zhuang has a strong straight hand, please place your bet!"
After the last card was dealt, the whole room erupted in an uproar. The reason was simple: Stevenson had somehow gotten another 10 of spades, giving him a pair of 10s. Zhuang Rui, on the other hand, got an 8 of clubs, which strangely formed a straight of 7, 8, 9, and J. However, his chances of getting a 10 in his hole cards were slim, as his opponents already had three 10s.
"I've already given you over two million, let me take out another two million to see what you have to offer."
To everyone's surprise, Zhuang Rui frowned, pondered for a moment, and then pushed out two million in chips. The crowd shook their heads; the young man was too impulsive. At this crucial moment, he still didn't look at his cards—wasn't he just handing money away?
"Mr. Zhuang, aren't you going to look at your cards yet?"
Stevenson was secretly delighted. He was afraid that Zhuang Rui would fold after seeing his hole cards, leaving him with nothing but empty bets. But to his surprise, Zhuang Rui still didn't look at his cards and threw out two million.
"I won't look. Maybe my hole card is a 10, then I can easily beat your two pairs with a straight."
Zhuang Rui shook his head, looking resigned to fate; he was determined to gamble on luck to the very end today.
"Shunzi? Humph!"
Stevenson sneered inwardly. He already had three 10s in his hand, and there was only one 10 of diamonds left. Calculating from 52 cards, Zhuang Rui's chance of getting that 10 was no more than 3%, and he needed that 10 of diamonds to make a straight, a probability that was almost negligible.
With a 3% chance of betting against a 97% chance, Stevenson wouldn't deserve the title of "King of Gamblers" if he didn't dare to bet. He smiled and said, "Since Mr. Zhuang is so confident, I'll go with it. But two million won't let you see my hand."
"oh?"
Zhuang Rui raised an eyebrow. He didn't answer, knowing Stevenson would say something more.
"I still have 12.8 million chips left, I'm going all in this hand!"
Stevenson suddenly stood up and pushed the chips in front of him out with both hands. More than ten million chips fell like dominoes, making a crisp sound as they were scattered across the entire gambling table. Stevenson's momentum reached its peak with this all-in move, and he finally showed some of the demeanor of a gambling king.
"Huh? Stevenson went all in?"
"Of course. If I had that kind of hand, I would have gone all in too."
"What if the other side has a straight? There are still two 10s left outside."
"In my opinion, Stevenson's trump card is most likely 10, otherwise he wouldn't dare to go all in."
This person is quite perceptive; even though he was just watching from the sidelines, he guessed most of the answer.
The casino suddenly became noisy. People, whether they knew how to play Texas Hold'em or not, started to express their opinions. They thought the morning's games would pass uneventfully, but unexpectedly, the last hand brought the game to a climax when the gambling king, Stevenson, went all in.
"Zhuang Rui, take a look at our cards. If it's not good, we're not playing this round."
Qin Xuanbing pleaded with Zhuang Rui, saying that she didn't want to see her lover lose both money and face. If they didn't look at their cards now and called the bet and lost, they would only be laughed at by others.
Zhuang Rui smiled and shook his head, then said loudly, "After the Living Buddha Luozhu bestowed upon me the Dzi Bead, he said that I would have endless good fortune and great luck in my life. I refuse to believe that I will lose to this foreigner. If you want to go all in, I'll go with you. Twelve million eight hundred thousand, all in!"
Zhuang Rui also stood up, without even counting the chips in front of him, and pushed them out directly. He had a lot more chips than his opponent, and now the betting area of the gambling table was full of scattered chips.
"This young man has actually been blessed by a Living Buddha. No wonder he's so lucky."
"What is a dzi bead? Is it the one that the young man is wearing on his wrist?"
“Lozhu Living Buddha is the reincarnation of the Jokhang Temple, and I heard that he is also the Panchen Lama’s mentor.”
"Yes, but Lodro Rinpoche passed away last month. His reincarnation is already being arranged in Tibet."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, half of the wealthy people in the room were drawn to the fact that Zhuang Rui had been blessed by the Living Buddha.
It is important to know that most of Hong Kong's wealthy people are followers of Tibetan Buddhism and are lay Buddhists who have not shaved their heads. They respectfully call Tibetan lamas "gurus" and many of them invite gurus from famous Tibetan temples to give initiations and transmit scriptures at home. They are chauffeured around in luxury cars every day and live in mansions. Often, they will support a guru for several years after they invite him.
However, the ones they invited were just lamas from some temples, whose status was not very high. Even if they invited a Living Buddha, he was not a reincarnated Living Buddha. A reincarnated Living Buddha with a reputation like Lodro Living Buddha was not someone they could invite. Now that Zhuang Rui said that he had been blessed by Lodro Living Buddha, these people immediately attributed Zhuang Rui's good luck to the fact that he had been empowered by the Living Buddha.
Of course, there are still many people in this gambling hall who don't believe in Buddhism. Stevenson, for example, believes in God. He doesn't understand what it means to receive initiation from a living Buddha. And even if he believes in God, he doesn't believe that God can help him win money. Otherwise, when gambling with others, if he kept chanting "God blesses me" a few times, wouldn't he be able to rob everyone?
"I have three 10s, Mr. Zhuang, please reveal your hand."
Stevenson was the first to reveal his hand, eliciting gasps from the crowd. There were only four 10s in a deck, and Stevenson had three of them. Zhuang Rui's chances of losing had now become infinitely high.
"Mr. Zhuang, please reveal your hand!"
Zhuang Rui seemed stunned as well, silently watching Stevenson's three 10s. Ji Yi couldn't help but urge him on.
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui extended his right hand and placed it on the bottom card. He did not reveal the card directly, but instead lifted a corner to take a look. This was the first time Zhuang Rui had seen the bottom card since the start of the bet today.
Chapter 401 Complete Victory
All eyes were fixed on the card in front of Zhuang Rui. The room was completely silent; you could hear the breathing of those around you.
After seeing his hole cards, Zhuang Rui wore a half-smile on his face, then suddenly flipped his cards over and said to Stevenson, "Sorry, I have a straight, three 10s higher than you!"
"ah!"
"Shunzi?"
"How is that possible?"
"As expected of someone blessed by the Living Buddha, their luck is truly amazing..."
"I'm going to Tibet tomorrow to see if I can invite a reincarnated Living Buddha to spread the scriptures?"
Suddenly, a thunderous sound echoed throughout the gambling hall. Amidst the astonishment, people began to discuss among themselves. Some of the elderly men, even those in their seventies and eighties, even gave orders to invite a Tibetan Living Buddha to bestow blessings, thinking that even though they themselves would not live much longer, they could at least make life better for their descendants.
"Zhuang Rui, 7, 8, 9, 10, J is a straight! We won! We won! You're amazing!"
Qin Xuanbing was also incredibly excited. She actually kissed Zhuang Rui in front of everyone; it's unclear whether this gesture was a declaration that he was taken and not worth considering.
"Am I not good at other things?"
Zhuang Rui chuckled and whispered in Qin Xuanbing's ear, making her blush with embarrassment.
"Mr. Zhuang has a straight, and Mr. Stevenson has three of a kind. Mr. Zhuang wins this hand. Since Mr. Stevenson has run out of chips, today's bet is over. Mr. Zhuang can win your bet."
Although Ji Yi was also secretly marveling at Zhuang Rui's good luck, as the gambling supervisor, he still announced that Zhuang Rui was the final winner, and that the 60 million chips on the table, along with the four cultural relics brought by Shu Wen, all belonged to Zhuang Rui.
In today's bet, Zhuang Rui has completely defeated Stevenson.
"Impossible, how could this be? It can't be, is even God helping him?"
Stevenson muttered to himself, ignoring Ji Yi's words. It wasn't that he had never lost before, nor was it that he couldn't accept defeat, but today's game was just too bizarre.
This ordinary man, who wasn't even a novice in the gambling world, had somehow managed to manipulate him with sheer luck. Not only had he cheated at the beginning, but he'd also lured him into going all in. He lost everything. If Zhuang Rui hadn't been wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt, Stevenson would have even suspected he'd cheated.
At this moment, Stevenson's face was pale and ashen, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead. He was no longer the gambling king. He looked like a defeated rooster, dejected and crestfallen.
“Mr. Stevenson, you didn’t lose this hand to me, you lost to luck. I won by sheer luck; luck just happened to be on my side in the last hand…”
Zhuang Rui stood up, walked to Stevenson's side, and extended his right hand.
"ah?"
Stevenson was startled by Zhuang Rui's words. He quickly stood up, grasped Zhuang Rui's hand, and said, "Perhaps, luck? Does it really exist? Heh..."
Stevenson chuckled self-deprecatingly, then said, "Even without relying on luck, Mr. Zhuang's ability to keep his emotions hidden is enough to guarantee a nine-out-of-ten win rate in gambling. If there's another opportunity in the future, I'd like to gamble with Mr. Zhuang again."
"Gambling again? Forget it, Mr. Stevenson. You can't rely on luck your whole life, but if you had these things..."
Zhuang Rui pointed to the antiques next to the gambling table and continued, "Then I don't mind playing this game with you again. In my eyes, these things are more valuable than money. If Dr. Shu has any more of these items, our game can continue today..."
"I'd have to be crazy to keep gambling with you!"
Shu Wen was exasperated by Zhuang Rui's words. This young man was simply a prodigy. He hadn't even seen a single card, yet he had managed to beat Stevenson. This had never happened before in the gambling industry. Even Ye Han, who was once crowned with a bunch of titles like God of Gamblers and Saint of Gamblers, might not be able to beat Stevenson if he were to be resurrected.
Even if you wanted to accuse Zhuang Rui of cheating, you couldn't find a reason. In the previous few hands, Zhuang Rui hadn't even touched a single card. After thinking it over, Shu Wen couldn't help but sigh. This time, he had truly lost both his wife and his army.
"Old friend, anything can happen in a casino, don't worry too much about it."
Stanley Ho, the gambling tycoon, remained expressionless. He had weathered decades of storms in Macau and experienced countless wins and losses in life. Even the loss of his own gambling king to Zhuang Rui was hardly a cause for any emotional fluctuation in him.