Chapter 34
Chapter 34 – Ill-Fated Relationship from a Past Life #5
“This is something like a talisman. Can I put it on the table?"
Tae-hyuk pulled out the Demon Revealing Mirror. Now he was ready to play this game.
"A mirror? No, it doesn’t matter.”
"Thank you."
Tae-hyuk checked his hand, revealing Two aces and a King.
'They gave me very good cards.'
It was the best beginning, but also the worst one. He now had to reveal one of the three cards that he received.
Seven Card Stud Poker was a game where he couldn't get a lot of money based on only good cards. Most of the cards were revealed. If an opponent's hand was overwhelmingly stronger than one's own hand, then a majority of players would forfeit early. Even if he completed the hand, he wouldn't be able to get anything out of it but the most basic of bets.
He had to win while raising the stakes as much as possible. That was the way to get a lot of money.
‘If I reveal the King in this situation, then it is like I am telling them that I have a pair of Aces. However, it is even worse to reveal the Ace here.'
The dealer gave this type of hand to check for Tae-hyuk's ability. In this case, skilled card cheats would boldly reveal the Ace. Tae-hyuk didn't care about his poker face as he showed the King, receiving his next card.
Once again, it was a King. With the fourth card, his two pairs were completed.
The dealer said,
“Please make a bet."
“Wow, that is nice. Hehe… I will go half!"
That meant that he would bet half as much as the current bet on the table.
The total amount was huge. There were five bundles of one million won on the table. In the end, Tae-hyuk added another 2.5 million won. If they accepted, then the stakes would increase tremendously.
However, experienced gamblers could completely predict the hand of their opponent just by looking at the open cards and the bet.
“Aigoo. I am being killed from beginning to end, so I will just forfeit."
“I will also forfeit."
“Forfeit.”
With the exception of the dealer, all of the other players forfeited. In that case, Tae-hyuk would only receive the basic betting amount, even if he got a good hand.
The dealer said,
“You have a good hand, congratulations. I am curious about the completion, so I will stay with you until the end. I will bet."
It was one of the boss' privileges to ignore half-bets and to only add the base amount of money.
“Give me the next card."
In the end, Tae-hyuk received an Ace and finished with a full house. Tae-hyuk won seven million won in an instant.
'There is a trick of losing money to the opponent, and then taking their entire fortune.’
Tae-hyuk had been watching the other players on the table as soon as the hand started.
'I thought they were just guests, but everyone here is a card cheat. I will receive a triple whammy. Are they trying to make me into a beggar? By the way, the Gambling skill…is amazing!'
The Gambling skill alone had no power, but if he activated the skill along with all his other skills, then he would be optimized for gambling.
He literally became a card cheat.
'I can see the opponent's hand with the Spying skill, draw my desired hand with the Robbery skill, and put on a professional poker face with the Voice Modulation skill. In addition, with the Forgery skill, I can manipulate the cards in my hand…'
It would literally be a strange situation if he lost. However, the opponents were also card cheats, and Tae-Hyuk didn't know the extent of their strengths. He had to remain vigilant.
Tae-hyuk laughed exaggeratedly.
"Ahaha! I was lucky."
The professional gamblers made dying sounds.
"Aigoo! You are too strong."
“I have to try not to lose all my money."
The card cheats were all acting in order to receive money from Tae-hyuk. However, they weren't the only predators here.
Tae-hyuk said,
“Shall we start the next hand?"
With the use of Voice Modulation, Tae-hyuk simulated the voice of an excited, young man.
The game began.
“Half. Is anybody else coming along?"
"Kuoong!"
Tae-hyuk dominated the next four hands at the table. Two full houses and one four of a kind. He also got a straight. The other players couldn't follow through to the end, and most of them had to forfeit.
One cheater signalled to the dealer.
-What?Wasn't he supposed to lose for the first time?
The dealer shook his head desperately, meaning that that he didn't do it. He hadn't subtracted any cards, so it was just pure luck that Tae-hyuk had completed a good hand.
Was it beginner's luck? If they lost any more money, then the situation might become irreversible.
The cheaters eventually decided to use their techniques.
-It can’t be helped.Give him a bad hand!
The dealer nodded.
He gave Tae-hyuk a 2, 4 and a 5. Next up was a 6. The opponent would keep calling to the end, hoping for a last chance. In the end, he would become bankrupt due to the incomplete straight.
The cheaters doubled and half raised the ante. Tae-hyuk followed along faithfully.
Finally, the last hidden card remained, with the pot closing up to 100 million. It was impossible to know if Tae-hyuk had completed the straight or not.
A cheater said,
"Hyung, should we eat from the same table as someone who is trying for a straight?"
"Hrmm. I'm sure I didn't complete the straight. Either way, I will call."
“T-This bastard…”
A curse emerged from the mouth of a cheater.
Tae-hyuk bluffed against himself. If it wasn't for the dealer, then the cheaters might have been deceived by his acting. However, all of the cheaters knew Tae-hyuk's hand. In the end, the straight wasn't completed.
There wouldn't even be a single pair, resulting in a garbage hand.
“I also call. Shall I now hand out the hidden card?"
The dealer handed each of the players a card. In the end, Tae-hyuk didn't forfeit.
The cheaters smiled with satisfaction. The three of them had joined together to trick the beginner. In the end, he would open the hidden card, and realize that his choices were wrong. He would fall into the swamp of despair.
The dealer said,
“Then everyone is waiting for their hidden."
One card from above. One card from above. And another from the bottom. The one card from the top again.
The dealer knew the order of all the cards in his deck, and could freely draw out the desired hand. He could give the opponent the hand he wanted. He wore a uniform, but the dealer was a skilled card cheat.
Each player checked their hidden card.
"Please disclose your hands."
The dealer declared. The players would declare their hand in turn.
One cheater scratched the back of his head and said,
"Ace two pair."
The one sitting in front of him touched his chin and revealed his hand.
"This guy. Aren't you unlucky today? I have a triple 3."
The last cheater shook his head.
"Tsk tsk. It seems like I have won. Straight 7's."
Then he moved to grab the money piled on the table.
Seo Tae-hyuk watched the cheaters with an emotionless face and opened his mouth.
“Wait a moment. You still haven't checked my hand."
The card cheats looked at Tae-hyuk with absurd expressions.
"Haha, I see. Sorry, Yes. Did you complete the straight?"
Their expressions indicated that it was absolutely impossible.
“I'm sorry about this. No matter what is publicly disclosed, it is impossible to do a straight 6."
“However, there is still a chance that my hand is a flush."
Certainly. Two of the four patterns were the same. If the three hidden cards had the same pattern, then it would be a flush.
"Hahaha! I’m sorry.”
Then the dealer, who had been watching quietly, moved. He showed his hand to everyone.
"A flush of Aces."
Then cheaters started moaning.
"Kuk! Dealer-nim. This NPC is too strong! In this present situation, that hand is a foul!"
The dealer scratched his head with a sorry expression.
“I’m sorry. I was lucky."
He was smiling but his eyes were cold. With this, the newcomer would completely lose all of his money. He just needed to lose one or two more times, and he would be completely broke.
"Isn't gambling really fun?"
“Huh?”
For a moment, the people gathered at the table thought that they didn't hear Tae-hyuk's words properly.
Wasn't this a situation where all of his money was flying away?
“Sometimes this happens.”
Tae-hyuk slowly revealed his hand. The cheaters who saw it sat down.
The dealers shrieked.
“T-that is ridiculous! How is your hidden card a 3?! I never…!"
Obviously, he had given Tae-hyuk the wrong hand. However, Seo Tae-hyuk had a 3 as his hidden card, and completed the straight 6.
The cheater who finished with the straight 7 shouted.
“T-That doesn't beat my straight! But, what is that expression?"
“Everyone is mistaken. My hand isn't a straight."
At that moment, Tae-hyuk's atmosphere changed. The mask he was using was broken, and the wicked smile of a cheater appeared.
“The straight is a hand that can evolve one step further. Now, take a closer look at my hand."
"Aaaaah!"
They hadn't cared about the pattern of the cards because they were worried about the completion of the straight.
The 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 straight cards all had the same pattern. Straight flush!
It broke through the odds of 1/649,740, and had appeared before them.
Tae-hyuk said quietly.
“However, why did you say that it was impossible for a 3 to come out? Do you have a hand injury?"
'I know what you are doing. but it couldn't stop me.'
Tae-hyuk seemed to be saying to the cheaters.
"This bastard… You are also a card cheat!"
They realized it. The person in front of them wasn't an easy mark. He was a card cheat like themselves. A monster with tremendous skill.
“But I think the Tee is a little old. There are marks all over it. There should be a duplicate Tee. Shall we use it?” (Tee= not sure but it seems to be a machine or holder that holds the cards.)
“Ugh. This bastard…"
Tee allowed them to remove a card from the deck. The one on the table was a specially made product. Without this, the dealer couldn’t draw out his desired hand. If he rejected Tae-hyuk's request here, then it would be the same as confessing that he was a cheater.
In the end, the Tee was replaced and a new game started.
“I will make you lose."
The dealer lost the previous battle. The other cheaters started fighting Tae-hyuk with their own techniques in order to defend their final pride.
After exactly five games, they lost their money. Tae-hyuk's money had tripled in an instant.
His total cash stack amounted to 150 million, something he achieved in only two hours.
@
Han Sang-won said,
"Hrmm. Everything was taken?"
Tae-hyuk wasn't playing against ordinary guests, and instead was playing against card cheats hired by SY Capital. If they lost money, then it would become SY's mistake.
Han Sang-won laughed.
He looked at the dealer kowtowing to him with a cold expression Hang Sang-won took off his suit jacket.
“I’m sorry. I thought he was a sucker… He was a card cheat hiding tremendous skills."
"Well, that might be the case. But you should be prepared to lose one finger."
“P-Please, just…"
Han Sang-won took out a phone from his pocket and started dialing a number.
"… It's me. Call Kim Shin-hyeong. I have a direct opponent for him."
Kim Shin-hyeong was the best card cheat that SY had.
He hung up after 10 minutes.
Han Sang-won wiped the bloody knife with a handkerchief. He opened the door to greet Kim Shin-hyeong.
“You wouldn't call me for an ordinary person. Who is it?"
"Seo Tae-hyuk."
"It is the first time I've heard that name. Is he a card cheat active abroad?"
“No, he's a high school student.”
“Huh?”
Han Sang-won walked out with Kim Shin-hyeong, stepping around the dealer holding his bloody hand.