With all players present, the dealer signaled that the game could officially begin.
He took out brand-new playing cards from his shoe; the cards twirled between his fingers, making a crisp, rustling sound.
Cut the cards cleanly and efficiently.
Then, the dealer skillfully dealt the first round of private hole cards to each of the six people at the table, face down.
The five players at the table leaned back simultaneously, shielding the corners of their cards with their palms, and carefully pried open a tiny gap.
Draco did the same, subtly revealing his hand.
The Ace of Spades and the Ace of Diamonds, a pair of true pocket Aces.
This is the best-case scenario hand in Texas Hold'em, almost guaranteeing victory at the start.
Then, without making a sound, he gently placed the cards back on the table and casually fiddled with the stack of chips in front of him.
His gaze swept over the other five players at the table, silently observing each person's micro-expressions, taking everything in.
The trendy young man frowned, then slowly relaxed, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes, which he deliberately suppressed.
The fat man maintained a friendly smile after looking at the cards; the well-off middle-aged woman expressionlessly placed the cards down; and the middle-aged man, whose expression remained cold and stern, leaned back in his chair after finishing his game.
The bespectacled man who had just sat down pushed up his thin-rimmed glasses, which had slipped off his nose, his fingers trembling, indicating that he had a bad hand.
The first round of betting officially began, and the fat man sitting in the first position chuckled and pushed out five hundred-yuan chips, "No rush, bet five hundred first, and see what the community cards are like later."
Next up was the well-off middle-aged woman, who couldn't resist revealing her hand again to confirm.
After a quick glance, he also put down 500 chips and said, "I'll call. Let's play a small round and try our luck."
Now it was Draco's turn, and everyone's eyes, intentionally or unintentionally, were focused on him.
"Thud." Draco tossed the chip down, and it landed in the center of the betting circle with a crisp, pleasant sound.
"2000." Draco didn't hesitate and maxed it out.
The capped betting line caused an uproar in the audience!
"Wow, this kid's got some serious guts! He's already going all in after just seeing his initial cards," the fat man remarked with a laugh.
"To bet so big right from the start, the risk is too great. I'd better think about it some more," the bespectacled man said, stunned by the large bet.
He chose to fold.
Although the older woman and the middle-aged man remained silent, their expressions grew more serious. The older woman increased the frequency of her tapping on the table, and the gamblers on the perimeter were astonished by Draco's audacity and wealth.
"My God, who is this guy? He bet 2000 right from the start without even flinching! That's incredibly bold!"
"He's obviously a top-tier VIP on the cruise ship, someone who's not short of money. He's betting tens of thousands of dollars worth of chips right off the bat. We can't compete with that!"
"Do you think he really has a winning hand and is confident, or is he just bluffing? This game is going to be interesting, exciting!"
"Now the others at the table are in a difficult position. Calling means paying out 2000, which is too risky. If they lose, they'll lose everything. Not calling means they're out in the first round. That's so frustrating!"
"Please be quiet, distinguished guests," the dealer said calmly amidst the murmurs. He raised his hand to signal for silence.
His gaze then swept over the remaining players at the table. "This gentleman has bet the maximum of 2000. In this round, please choose whether to call 2000 or fold. Please decide quickly."
The pressure instantly shifted to the young man and the middle-aged man.
"What are you pretending for?" the trendy young man said with a look of disdain. "You have a terrible hand, don't you? Trying to bluff your way in from the start! Who are you trying to scare?"
The young man tried to gauge his reaction with words.
The middle-aged man glanced again at the two face-down cards in front of him, which were just a pair of scattered, miscellaneous cards. He pushed his two cards forward and placed them face down on the table. "Fold."
The trendy young man, on the contrary, saw Draco's indifferent yet pretentious demeanor and concluded that Draco was deliberately bluffing, trying to scare away others with large bets so he could easily win the chips from the top two bettors in the pot.
"I call!" The trendy young man gritted his teeth, a "what the hell" expression on his face, and pushed his chips into the center of the pot. "I don't believe you have a good hand! Trying to bluff me? No way!"
After he placed his bet, Draco suddenly smiled.
Just now at the blackjack table, he secretly used up his accumulated Fortune Points to exchange for a temporary ability to X-Ray Vision through cards.
Relying on this secret ability to accurately judge the cards, he dared to confidently make Becky fold and draw cards, thus securing a victory in the game.
At this moment, he had already seen through the streetwear-wearing guy's hand. It was just a bunch of 7s and 9s, not even enough to form a pair. He was just trying to win by bluffing.
But to the other three people at the table, that smile not only unsettled them but also seemed like a provocation.
The trendy young man was the first to explode. "What are you laughing at! So what if you bet the maximum? What's there to be so smug about! Who's afraid of who? My hand is definitely much stronger than yours!"
Although he spoke with great confidence, he felt a strange unease afterward, vaguely sensing that his call had been too impulsive.
"Since when has smiling become a mistake?"
The fat man rubbed his chin repeatedly with his palm, his eyes fixed on Draco. Upon hearing this, his eyes were filled with suspicion.
He kept wondering to himself: This guy dared to go all in at the start, remained calm and collected throughout, and is even laughing now—could he really have a top-tier hand?
If it's a winning hand, continuing with this hand will definitely result in losing everything. But if it's a bluff, folding would be too much of a loss. The fat man was caught in a dilemma, and cold sweat broke out on his palms.
"Laughing is fine, but the way you're laughing is giving me the creeps." The woman's hand was already mediocre, and she had only hoped to try her luck, but Draco's laugh startled her, and her last bit of hope began to waver.
Hearing this, Draco found it quite amusing and chimed in, "Is it really that creepy? I don't think so."
As he spoke, he took a mirror out of his pocket to examine himself.
Draco's teasing made the plump woman a little embarrassed. "I was just saying it casually, don't take it to heart. It's just that your calm expression makes us a little uneasy, like you're about to unleash a powerful attack."
These words do reflect the sentiments of some others.
The conversation between the two made the onlookers laugh.
The dealer seemed immune to all conversations and emotions; he began dealing the second round of cards with a blank expression, flipping over the cards.
He skillfully turned over the three community cards one by one.
King of Hearts, Ace of Clubs, 10 of Spades.
Three community signs were unveiled.
A low gasp rippled through the crowd.
Draco already had a pair of Aces, a top-tier hand, and with another Ace on the community cards, he had a super strong hand of three Aces.
Despite having a very high chance of winning, he remained calm and composed.