The core rules of Texas Hold'em are simple: use your two hole cards and five community cards to make any three combinations. Whoever makes the highest three wins. The community cards are dealt in three rounds: three in the first round, one in the second round, and one in the third round. In each round, players can call, call, or raise until no one raises or only one player remains who hasn't folded.
Klein fiddled with the chips in his hand, Divination that he would have a lucky moment in the next few hands, but he couldn't tell which one it would be, since it was just a simple and quick Divination and the effect wasn't that good.
Playing this way against ordinary people and Low-Sequence players is fine as long as you find the right strategy, but it definitely won't work against Demigod, and even beating Mid-Sequence players is quite difficult... Does he have to close his eyes and do a complete " Dream Divination " every time he plays a hand? Heh, if that's the case, Dawn Dantès might get a nickname like "Sleeping God of Gamblers"... Klein sighed inwardly, continuing his previous style of folding after watching the game, he had already lost one small blind and one big blind (that is, half the ante and one ante, while the ante in this hand was £1), and now it was his turn for two more hands.
At this point, Klein noticed something: Qonas Kilgor, the deputy director of Military Intelligence Section 9, had lost 20 pounds to Amyrius in this round.
The Bribe was a success... Amyrius should have been able to tell that Qonas had used the power of the " Baron of Corruption," but he might not have known that the deputy director of Military Intelligence Section 9 was Demigod... Next round, hey, it's going to be really fun... Klein's spirits lifted, and after the waiter brought him two new hole cards, he didn't even break off a corner to check the cards. Instead, he directly placed the metal chip he had been playing with onto the hole cards, adopting a stance of calling it all the way without looking at the cards.
After two players folded, the serious and reserved Amyrius Rieveldt glanced at his hole cards, counted out five pounds worth of chips, tossed them into the center of the table, and unsurprisingly raised.
Another player folded, and Macht called a £5 bet Qonas Kilgor raised again, throwing out a total of £20 in chips.
Colonel Calvin checked his hole cards again and then called.
After the remaining player folded, Dawn Dantès didn't bother to count the chips; he grabbed a handful and threw them away.
"20 pounds, call," the waiter counting the chips said accurately with just a glance.
"I thought it was 50 pounds. Looks like you're not familiar with this kind of stake," Dawn Dantès, said with a chuckle.
However, he did not actually pay the remaining 30 pounds.
Now that everyone had expressed their opinion, it was Amyrius Rieveldt's turn once again.
The admiral didn't even glance at the remaining players, picked up five 10-pound chips, and threw them out.
"Add more."
He showed no emotional fluctuation, as if he were simply asking for a cup of black tea. However, his indescribable authority and his continuous betting without even seeing a single community card made the atmosphere at the poker table quite tense.
This situation often means that Amyrius has an extremely strong hand, either a pair of aces, a pair of kings, or an ace and a king.
As Senator Macht decided to fold, Qonas Kilgor touched his high-bridged nose, looked around with his deep blue-black eyes, and said:
"Follow."
Colonel Calvin checked his hand again, hesitated for about ten seconds, and then chose to fold.
Dawn Dantès touched the metal chips pressed against the two hole cards and smiled, saying:
"Follow."
After this round of statements, only three players remained in the game. Then, the waiter responsible for dealing the cards placed the three community cards face down in the center of the table.
"2 of spades, 9 of hearts, King of spades."
The first to call for attention was Amyrius Rieveldt, who leaned forward slightly in a very imposing posture and said:
"50 pounds."
He immediately increased his bet from £1 to £50!
Even those who weren't involved in the game, such as MP Macht and Colonel Calvin, felt a strange sense of suffocation at that moment.
"..." Qonas Kilgor's body trembled slightly, but he still grabbed 50 pounds of chips and threw them out.
Dawn Dantès glanced at the deputy director of Military Intelligence Section 9, and smiled as if he felt no pressure at all:
"Follow."
Upon hearing this, Calvin turned his head and nodded to Dawn Dantès, whose Blue Eyes were as deep and unfathomable as a lake at night, in acknowledgment.
In his view, Amyrius's intimidating presence would have no effect on someone whose goal was to lose money.
At this moment, the waiter in the red vest dealt the fourth community card:
Nine of Spades.
The deck had three spades, significantly increasing the probability of a flush, but Amyrius didn't hesitate at all and calmly pushed out a stack of chips:
100 pounds.
Qonas Kilgor tapped his fingers on his hole cards a few times, appearing somewhat unsure, but ultimately he chose to call.
Dawn Dantès glanced at the major general deputy director again, maintaining his gentle smile, and said:
"Follow."
He has yet to see his hand, which makes Calvin slightly worried. He thinks that such a performance is really over the top, and it's like he's giving away money. The relatively conservative Amyrius may not accept it.
At this moment, the waiter in the red vest dealt the fifth community card:
"Plum Blossom 2."
In this way, the entire public signboard was fully formed:
"2 of Spades, 9 of Hearts, King of Spades, 9 of Spades, 2 of Clubs."
"200 pounds." Amyrius shoved a pile of metal chips over with a clatter, his momentum truly astounding.
Qonas Kilgor first took a deep breath, then pushed out two stacks of chips:
"500 pounds."
This sum of money is equivalent to half a year's salary on paper.
Was he trying to bluff? Calvin and Senator Macht exchanged a glance, thinking that Major General Korg's behavior was a bit too obvious and easily seen through.
It's important to understand that playing Texas Hold'em involves more than just bankroll management and probability calculations; it also often involves a psychological game. Body language, facial expressions, and betting style can all reveal your hand.
Of course, some skilled players will use these details to deliberately mislead their opponents.
Dawn Dantès looked Qonas Kilgor up and down a few times, then suddenly chuckled, and said in the same way as before:
"Follow."
Amyrius raised his hands, ready to throw out all his remaining chips and overwhelm his opponent with his imposing presence.
Just then, he suddenly stopped moving, and a hint of seriousness appeared on his expressionless face.
After a few seconds of silence, he calmly said:
"Follow."
At this point, we can reveal our hand and compare scores.
Amyrius first revealed his cards: an ace of spades, a 10 of spades, and the community cards of a 2 of spades, a king of spades, and a 9 of spades, forming a flush. This was a fairly strong hand, with only a full house, four of a kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush being stronger.
"It's your turn," Amyrius urged Qonas.
Qonas turned over a card first; it was a King of Diamonds, which, together with the community cards, formed a pair of Kings and Nines.
Immediately afterwards, he picked up the second hole card, at which point the remaining cards in the red-vested waiter's hand blurred slightly.
Snap!
The hole card was thrown onto the table, revealing its appearance:
"Plum Blossom 9!"
"What?" Senator Macht and the others exclaimed in astonishment, somewhat unable to believe their eyes.
This means that Qonas Kilgor has formed a gourd, three nines, and a pair of kings!
This is bigger than a flush!
"Excuse me, gourd." Qonas looked at Amyrius and said with a smile.
Then he turned to Dawn Dantès and said:
"You can reveal your cards now."
"I'm also curious what cards this will be." Dawn Dantès smiled slightly, picked up the metal chips in front of him, and casually flipped over the two hole cards and threw them out.
"Huh..."
"What?"
Colonel Calvin and the others rubbed their eyes.
Dawn Dantès's trump card is a very small pair:
"Two of Hearts, Two of Diamonds."
And in the community cards, there happens to be a very small pair:
"Two of Spades, Two of Clubs."
They formed four, the smallest four, but bigger than all the gourds!
"Praise be to the goddess!" Dawn Dantès drew a Crimson Moon on his chest with a look of surprise, as if he hadn't expected it either.
"A brilliant game." Amyrius paused for a moment, then clapped softly.
Qonas Kilgor gave Dawn Dantès a deep look, sighed, and smiled:
I never expected you to be the final Winner.
Klein smiled in response, and muttered to himself:
"It's only right that I beat you. On one hand, Amyrius just likes to intimidate with his aura, he didn't actually cheat with his extraordinary abilities, while you focused your attention and extraordinary abilities on Amyrius and ignored me. On the other hand, the person you were playing cards with is actually called ' Winner ' Enuni."
Without seeing the cards, it's all down to luck!
When Klein pressed his metal chips into the hole cards, he had already switched places with the " Winner " Enuni, and they had each become the other's image!
Although Calvin had instructed him to deliberately lose the 1,000 pounds in chips, Klein decided to win after seeing Qonas Kilgor.
This wasn't to say he was unwilling to part with the money; his main purpose was to attract the attention of that Military Intelligence Section 9 Demigod, take the opportunity to get to know him, and establish contact!
Only in this way could Klein have a chance to obtain intelligence from Qonas Kilgor, or even carry out the attack. After all, he was a Demigod, and anyone in Backlund who wanted to deal with him had to be extremely cautious and careful. Without the certainty of a successful strike or the ability to lure him away from Backlund, it would be better to abandon the operation, otherwise the purpose would definitely be exposed, and the entire operation would be watched by several Demigod and even Angel in Backlund.
From then until the end, Klein had both wins and losses, and in the end, he not only kept his 1,000 pounds in chips but also won nearly 1,000 pounds more. During this process, Calvin repeatedly signaled to Dawn Dantès always brushed it off by saying that he was too lucky and couldn't lose no matter how hard he tried.
As the card game ended, the first person to walk smiling toward Dawn Dantès was Major General Qonas Kilgor.
P. S.: This section on Texas Hold'em is very brief, saving a lot of information. Otherwise, I would have to explain what "under-the-gun position," "3-bet," "turn," and "river" are, which would be too complicated and doesn't fit the book's tone. After all, this is fantasy, not card games. You can't turn The Wizard 3 into Gwent 3. The focus is on the purpose of playing cards, not the game itself. Therefore, I've tried to write it in the simplest and most understandable way possible. It may differ greatly from actual betting and raising strategies, so please do not imitate it.