The Years I Was The Gambling God

It was Dark's turn, despite his imposing stature, his play style was cautious, seldom opting to raise. This hand was no different; upon assessing his hand of a few unconnected cards, he promptly folded.

Only the three of us remained in the game.

Ranulph continued to raise, while the player before me and I kept pace.

After several rounds, Ranulph began to feel uneasy.

He nudged Dark and remarked, "Lean back a bit; you're blocking my view of Lupan..."

As Dark complied, leaning back in his chair, Ranulph fixed his gaze on my cards, scrutinizing them.

I knew he could only see the topmost card, completely unaware of the rest.

Deliberately revealing a corner of the second card while concealing the suit's marking with my finger, I ensured Ranulph could only discern a Jack without knowing it was a Jack of clubs.

One 10 and one Jack visible. Ranulph assumed I held at most a straight.

Feeling secure, he continued to rise.

After a few more rounds, the player before me grew hesitant.

Glancing at his hand and seeing a pair of sevens, he deliberated before calling a $20 bet.

While a pair of sevens wasn't particularly strong in Three Card Poker, he believed that none of us had glanced at our hands. If both Ranulph and I had unconnected cards or smaller pairs, his sevens would prevail. Observing his move, I feigned a contemplative look before matching his $20 bet.

Ranulph, observing my hesitation, became even more convinced.

In his mind, all I held was possibly a 10, Jack, Queen straight or perhaps just a pair.

This emboldened him to raise by $10 while boldly declaring, "Fortune favours the bold. Damn it, I'm not looking at my cards.

Let's keep this quiet!" Seeing I matched with sevens, and Ranulph not peeking, he pondered briefly before folding. Now only Ranulph and I remained, with me placing a $20 bet and him calling $10.

After numerous back-and-forth rounds, Ranulph began to waver.

Not having seen the suit of my Jack or my third card, he turned to Filla and asked, "Sweetie, should we take a look at the cards too?" Without hesitation, Filla shook her head firmly, stating, "No peeking, let's finish this quietly!"

It became apparent to me that Filla also understood the cards.

Ranulph, aware of his visual limitations, had brought Filla to assist him in reading the other players' hands. Unfortunately, Dark's presence obstructed Filla's view of my cards too.

As the rounds progressed, Ranulph suddenly paused. I assumed he was contemplating whether to reveal my cards.

To my surprise, he abruptly leaned forward, attempting to uncover my hand aggressively. Swiftly, I intervened, holding the cards firmly and glaring at him.

"What are you doing touching my cards? Are you familiar with card marking?" I intended to caution Ranulph but was met with his angry outburst. "Are you accusing me? Look at how much I've lost! Fine, I'll reveal your hand!" By revealing his three cards, Ranulph exposed a flush with a king of spades. Others praised his hand, assuming he had won.

Ranulph, visibly frustrated, clenched his fists in anger, cursing his luck. He then turned his ire towards Filla, blaming her for the loss.

Despite her discontent, Filla refrained from challenging Ranulph.

She shot me an icy glare, muttering dismissively, "Clutching the cards so tightly, one would think you're burning offerings for your ancestors..." These words caught me off guard as I was organizing the winnings and reshuffling the cards.

Fixing my gaze on her, I inquired, "What did you say?" Filla, who often looked down on service workers like us, raised her tone in response, "I said you're burning offerings for your ancestors!" Since witnessing my father's tragic demise when I was six, I had vowed to defend my parents' honour no matter the cost, even if it meant my life.

Staring at Filla with a look of fury, I demanded, "Repeat that." Surprised by my assertiveness as a mere service worker, Filla didn't reply before Ranulph abruptly stood up, pointing at me furiously.

"What's with the attitude? Do you want to fight? Play the game or get lost! Cross me again, and I'll deal with you today!" Ranulph, usually arrogant and dismissive towards service staff, escalated the confrontation.

Dark, frowning disapprovingly, added, "Can you play or not? Stop stalling and don't hold us back!" Silently scoffing at their threats, I thought to myself, "Play? Certainly! Today, I'll play along with you all just fine!" I began shuffling the cards. In the realm of poker, cheating techniques abound, with shuffling being a fundamental aspect.

Techniques vary from false shuffles to strip shuffles to perfect shuffling methods, all aimed at securing a favourable hand dealt. Similarly, cheating during the dealing phase is diverse, such as bottom dealing and middle dealing. Inquiring Varg during my early days, I asked if mastering such techniques guaranteed victory. Varg shook his head, insisting there was only one way to ensure consistent wins: not gambling. Understanding the wisdom, I was a skilled gambler; my world was inherently tied to the gambling table.