[Holy shit! How come I couldn't understand that last hand? Didn't that woman have a 93% chance of winning? Why did she fold?]
[You're watching from a god's-eye view, so of course you know she had the stronger hand. That fat guy dared to go all-in because he knew she wasn't the type to gamble big, and he made her back down.]
[I thought the fat guy was brainless, but looking at it this way, he's actually pretty good!]
[Most of gambling on cards is just finding someone weaker than you and taking their money. This fat guy just likes picking on the weak and fearing the strong.]
[The head chef is up! He brought out the game, so he must be good at it, right?]
Xie Qi accepted the wealthy businessman's challenge and handed his cards to Annie on his left, asking her to act as the dealer.
Annie was at a loss after taking the cards. Xie Qi smiled and reassured her, saying she only had to deal as he had just done, and that all the chips he won in the end would be hers.
"Heh! The chef sure is confident. Aren't you afraid he'll lose all your chips, woman?"
Neither Xie Qi nor Annie paid any attention to the wealthy businessman's taunt.
They played a few more hands. Xie Qi won some and lost some, but never by much, leaving the viewers who had been looking forward to his performance a little disappointed.
[Doesn't seem like this head chef is any good. He hasn't even won as much as Phil.]
[He's doing all right. It's only been a few hands, so you can't really tell yet.]
[I saw that fat guy sneak several looks at him, but the head chef's expression didn't change at all.]
[At this rate, that police officer's going to run out of chips soon. Then the game will be over, right?]
Saul hadn't expected to be the one with the fewest chips at the table, with less than 100 yuan left. After a few more rounds, he might not have any chips left to play with.
He glanced nervously at the blonde woman beside him. Though she didn't have many chips in front of her, she still had several hundred yuan's worth, and he couldn't help seeing her in a new light.
The others had noticed Saul's predicament too.
A hint of mockery appeared on the wealthy businessman's face as he turned to look at Xie Qi across the table.
He had thought this pretty boy was capable, but it seemed he was just a rookie.
He now had nearly 3,000 yuan in chips, while the others had a little over 1,000 at most. Barring any surprises, he would be the final winner.
At the thought of having two portions of food to eat, the real estate tycoon, who had never worried about food before, couldn't help humming to himself.
Xie Qi kept smiling. Ignoring the others' gazes, he quietly watched how many chips each person had.
A new hand began. The livestream displayed everyone's hole cards and calculated each player's odds of winning in real time, so even viewers unfamiliar with the rules could see who was most likely to win.
Xie Qi held the queen and ten of clubs, while the community cards were the two of clubs, the ten of diamonds, and the two of spades.
Xie Qi had a decent chance of winning this hand. He already had a pair of tens, and if he was extremely lucky and the two remaining community cards were clubs, he could even make a flush (five cards of the same suit).
But the viewers could see the odds on the livestream, and Xie Qi's current chance of winning was only 12%.
The blonde woman's pair of aces had a 9% chance of winning, while the wealthy businessman held the two of diamonds and the four of hearts, with a 79% chance. Together with the community cards, he had already made three of a kind (three matching cards).
Everyone else had folded. When the next round of betting began, the viewers saw the head chef, whose odds weren't very high, give a quiet smile and push half his chips into the pot.
"Raise."
He had put in a total of 800 yuan this round. Any player who wanted to stay in the game would have to put in at least 800 as well. The blonde woman didn't have that many chips, so she quickly folded.
But the move didn't work on the wealthy businessman. He stared intently at Xie Qi and frowned.
"Call."
The chips in the pot instantly rose to 2,200 yuan, leaving only Xie Qi and the wealthy businessman in the hand.
Annie dealt the fourth community card: the seven of diamonds.
The livestream now showed the wealthy businessman far in the lead with a 95% chance of winning. Xie Qi had only a 5% chance.
The viewers all mocked him for overestimating himself. In this one hand, the head chef would pay for his arrogance and fall from third place to second-to-last.
When the wealthy businessman saw the fourth community card, a trace of regret flashed in his eyes.
With another two, he could make four of a kind. Then, as long as there was no straight flush, his hand would be the strongest at the table.
Still, his three of a kind should be the strongest hand for now. The wealthy businessman looked at the pretty boy with a mocking smile, only to suddenly notice the other's practiced smile change. Though it lasted only a moment, he caught it.
His heart tightened, and he hurriedly considered what cards the other man might hold.
Could the other man also have a two, with a ten or a seven as his other card, giving him a full house (three of a kind and a pair)?
Apart from that, even if the other man had two diamonds, they would have to see the last card to know whether he could make a flush.
There was also a straight. A nine and an eight lay between the ten and the seven, so that too would depend on the last card.
After considering the possibilities, the wealthy businessman tried to remain calm as he rapidly calculated the various outcomes.
Beads of sweat slid down his round head, but before he could make up his mind, Xie Qi spread his hands at him and calmly pushed out all the chips in front of him.
"All~in~"
Xie Qi's tone was cheerful, and he looked utterly relaxed, as though he wasn't betting everything he had.
[Oh my god, is there something wrong with this guy's head? Anyone who didn't know better would think he had a great hand.]
[The person above, don't expose your ignorance. That's a perfectly valid way to play. Didn't the fat guy pull the same move earlier? If he falls for it, he deserves it.]
[Wait, would anyone actually fall for that? What are the odds he has a full house? There's no way the businessman would fall for it.]
The viewers in the livestream all gave their opinions, convinced the fat guy wouldn't fall for such an obvious trick.
But while things were clear to spectators, someone caught up in the game had far more to consider.
The wealthy businessman had the nerve to go all-in, but only when he had the whole situation under control. When playing against Song Nan, he had been able to guess that even if her hand was strong, she wouldn't have the courage to gamble against him.
But the man before him was different. He had never been able to read what the man was thinking; he seemed to wear the same expression all the time.
Even when his expression changed for an instant just now, the businessman couldn't tell whether he had done it deliberately or had actually gotten a good hand.
More importantly, he now had the most chips at the table, over 3,000 in all. A person with nothing could risk it all, but someone who had a lot would unconsciously become hesitant.
That was exactly how the wealthy businessman felt now. If he gave up this hand, he would only lose 800 yuan. But if the kid led him into making an impulsive bet and really did have a full house, he would be penniless in an instant.