The two men sat down in the empty chairs next to the blackjack table. The table wasn't very lively; besides them, there were only three other gamblers. The dealer had just shuffled the cards and was waiting for the new round to begin.
"Why aren't you betting? Aren't you going to play?" Becky thought Draco would do what he did before and start by showing off his skills right away.
"I don't quite understand the specific rules of this game; it looks a bit complicated. Waiter Becky, do you know how to play? If you do, could you explain it to me?" Draco said.
These words left Becky completely dumbfounded, almost causing her to slip off her chair. "You come to play without even knowing the rules?!"
Wait a minute, Becky remembered Draco's novice performance at the roulette wheel, which resulted in an earth-shattering outcome! And now they're doing the same thing again?
She won't fall for it again!
"That's why I asked you." Draco shrugged.
Becky looked at him suspiciously, trying to find a flaw, but Draco's eyes were clear, and he really did look like a clueless novice.
"I don't believe you," she muttered to herself, pursing her lips.
However, Becky patiently explained the rules to him, "Basically, the goal is to get the total points of your hand as close to 21 as possible, but not more. If you do, you lose."
After listening, Draco nodded thoughtfully, then commented, "It doesn't sound like it's anything fun."
Becky: "..." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"Why did you come if it's not fun?"
"You seem a bit interested. Do you want to play?"
Becky was taken aback by the question, "I've never played seriously before!" She hesitated, "What if I lose?"
"Just play boldly, I'll cover your chips, so don't worry about anything."
"Really?" Becky's eyes lit up, but then she asked cautiously, "Then... if I lose, I don't have to pay out myself?"
"Will you pay for it?" Draco asked with a half-smile.
"No! Of course not!" Becky shook her head vigorously, saying matter-of-factly, "I have no money!"
"Then why did you ask?"
Becky was taken aback, but the thought that she didn't have to pay anything emboldened her, "So I'm really going to play? But if I lose badly, you can't laugh at me!"
I won't laugh at you; if you lose, it's on me.
With Draco's assurance, Becky moved to the center of the card table, sat up straight, and instantly became more alert.
Seeing that the two were ready, the dealer signaled that they could place their bets. Without saying a word, Draco picked up two thousand-dollar chips, gently pushed them, and placed them on Becky's betting spot.
"Don't bet so much!" Upon seeing such a high stake, Becky immediately panicked and tried to grab her chips back.
"This is my first time playing. I'm too scared to bet such a high amount; my hands are shaking. Let's just bet 100 and see how it goes."
Although she doesn't have to pay for the wins or losses, the pressure is immense!
"It's okay, don't panic. Don't you know how much money we have? Just play a few rounds, how much can we possibly lose with such a small amount? Just play without worry, consider it an experience."
Seeing Draco's nonchalant expression, Becky relented slightly. "He has over two hundred thousand now!"
Two thousand... does that really not seem like much?
In the end, Becky put the chips back in their original place, thinking to herself, "Don't panic, don't panic, it's not my money if I lose..."
After the betting was completed, the dealer began dealing the cards, giving each player two face-up cards. Becky received a 7 and a 9, for a total of 16 points, while the dealer revealed a 6 face-up.
Looking at his 16 points, Becky was in a dilemma. It was an awkward number; drawing cards would easily result in a bust.
"Should I draw another card?" she asked Draco.
"Let's stop the game," Draco said after glancing at the cards.
"Why?" Becky asked, looking puzzled. "My hand is really good, 16 points! Very close to 21!"
"Then let's fix it," Draco changed his mind.
"Should I really draw a card...?" Becky hesitated again. "Won't drawing a card immediately cause me to bust? I've already busted with any card higher than a 6..."
"So what do you really want? You want to win but you're also afraid of losing. You can't keep agonizing over this forever," Draco retorted.
"I..." Becky stammered, looking pitifully at Draco, "I don't know either, can you give me a straight answer?"
"Just play casually, go with your gut feeling."
But I'm still afraid...
"You're such a scaredy-cat," Draco commented incisively. "Anyway, it's not your money. At worst, I'll lose two thousand, and I won't even care. Why should you care?"
"We can't just lose like that!"
"If you keep nagging, I'll stop funding you, take away your chips, and stop you from playing," Draco threatened.
"No!" Upon hearing this, Becky hurriedly pressed down on her chips and turned to the dealer, shouting, "I need to get a draw!"
The dealer nodded slightly, deftly drew a card, and gently laid it out in front of Becky. Becky stared at it, and instantly went numb.
I added a 7-point card, which, combined with the 16 points, exceeded 21 points.
They busted!
"Oh no, it's all your fault... I told you we might bust!" Becky slapped her forehead and groaned, burying her face in her hands on the table.
The dealer calmly collected the two chips from Becky's betting position and then continued playing with the other players.
"It's no big deal, just one game. You busted, so what? It's not a big deal," Draco comforted her.
"Want to play again?" Draco took two more thousand-dollar chips from the chip box, waved them in front of her, and asked.
"Of course I'll play! I have to win this time, I absolutely can't blow my cards again, I refuse to believe my luck will always be this bad!" Becky clenched her little fist, her fighting spirit rekindled.
The dealer reshuffled the cards and started a new round. Draco, as always, acted as if money was no object, casually pushing two more thousand-dollar chips onto the table, making it the maximum bet of two thousand.
Having experienced the disastrous hand of a bust in the previous round, Becky was noticeably more cautious this time, keeping a close eye on the dealer's hand as he dealt the cards.
Two cards were dealt face up to her.
A Jack of Hearts and a Nine of Spades.
19 points, that's a pretty good score. Becky breathed a slight sigh of relief, but she didn't dare to relax completely.
The dealer's face-up card is the Queen of Clubs, worth 10 points.
With 19 points against the banker's 10 points, the odds of winning seem pretty good.
After agonizing for a long time, Becky still couldn't make up her mind. "I guess we don't need to draw another card this time? 19 points is pretty high..."
"Replenish your cards," Draco uttered succinctly.
"Huh?" Becky hesitated even more after hearing this, and after struggling for a long time, she said, "Never mind, I'll stop playing and not draw any more cards."
"Alright then." Draco tilted his head.
After all the players had made their choices, the dealer began dealing cards to those who had chosen to draw cards, one by one, according to the rules. When the dealer dealt to the player next to Becky, he drew a card from his shoe, dealt it face up, and then dealt it to her.
That was a 2 of hearts.