John sat down on the Begari armchair reserved for him, looking at the gambling table covered with green tablecloth in front of him, listening to the whispering conversations of the men watching. When it comes to playing cards, John is limited to his level of proficiency. If his opponent wants to play dirty tricks or skirt around the rules, he really has no choice.
John noticed that starting from him and going clockwise were Dutch, a gentleman wearing a yellow handkerchief folded into a butterfly shape, a gentleman in a green tie, a gentleman in a red tie, and a gentleman in a blue hat. , Mr. Fat didn’t sit down and stood all the time. It seemed that he was acting as the croupier.
At this time, the fat man took up a deck of playing cards from the mezzanine under the table, his eyes full of excitement. Then he clapped his fat hands, and then crossed his fingers in a prayer gesture.
"Okay, gentlemen, no matter where you come from, whether you are ordinary farmers or have been wandering in the city for a long time, you accepted this bet, which shows that you are capable and real. I won't go into details about the rules here. Take a look. My companions, although they hang out in casinos all year round, they will not play the tricks of those liars to win. All they admire is good luck. I believe that God will give us one-half of the good luck and bad luck—— Win or lose, it’s not up to us, we can only accept it calmly.”
The fat man glanced at the colorful banknotes in front of everyone, then took a bag to collect them and put them elsewhere.
"As you can see, we don't gamble, both of us have chips in hand. If these two gentlemen beat my four friends, you will naturally know the location of Stritch, otherwise... this gentleman will I must apologize to the bartender for his previous verbal humiliation." The fat man looked at Dutch and said.
"Let's get started." Da Qi replied concisely.
No one got a good card, so there was a round of single-card competition. Mr. Yellow, Red, Green and John discarded their cards one after another. In the end, Mr. Green and Dutch kept their cards.
"Aren't you going to fold your cards? Sir." Dutch shook the single card in his hand.
Mr. Green shook his head.
"It's a pity that I can't raise the bet." Dutch sighed and showed a card in his hand - it was a black king. Seeing this, Mr. Green smiled helplessly and threw out the 9 of hearts, the largest in his hand. Dutch won the first game.
The situation in the second round was completely different. Everyone was reluctant to discard their cards at first. John did not dare to look at his cards. When the dealer placed all five community cards in the middle, Mr. Lan said angrily. Throw away your pair of 3s.
At this time, John was ready to look at the cards. He pressed the cards on the table and raised the corners of the cards with his thumbs. Two letters "J", one black and one red, appeared in front of his eyes.
The order came to Dutch, who smacked his lips and threw away his single card, giving John a look. John didn't find a pair in the community cards, but the "J" on the fifth card could form a larger trip with his card, with a knight holding his fists painted on it, which John felt was a blessing to him.
Because they couldn't follow the bet, everyone had to show their cards one by one in the end. Before John confidently showed his trip, the gentleman in the red tie showed off his five-in-a-row. No matter whether it was big or small, three-in-one was always weaker than With the cards in a row, John was defeated.
The fat dealer looked at the fierce battle in the card game with satisfaction: "Not bad! Gentlemen, you each win one game. The next game is your ultimate battle. Are you ready?"
"I want to make sure again, will you fulfill your promise?" Dutch asked the fat man.
"Why do you think you will win this game?" Fatty asked, and he began to play with the cards in his hand.
This time John had the courage to see what they were as soon as he got two cards. A "5" and a "7" almost made him lose the motivation to persist. He gave Dutch a regretful look, and the dealer Throw away your hole cards before the community cards are dealt.
Dutch has kept a mysterious smile since he got the card. It seems that he has a good card. As the dealer laid out the community cards one by one, the corners of Dutch's mouth turned up more and more, and he almost laughed out loud with pride.
Except for Dutch, no one else with a hand lost a card. John saw that the gentlemen's faces were all tense, without showing any subtle changes in their expressions, as if they were carved from the same mold.
The pressure is on for Dutch, who must beat the biggest hand of the bunch to win the game.
The fat croupier looked around at everyone present and said in a comedic tone.
"Please open the cards, gentlemen."
Mr. Blue took the lead in showing his pair of queens, and Mr. red then played his single A and single king. Following the order, Mr. green threw out his pair of 6s in frustration. John looked at Dutch's reaction and saw that the latter was silent. , but his eyes revealed the desire for victory.
Mr. Huang Fangpa hesitated for a while and placed his diamond "J" and spade "Q" on the table. John felt relieved at first, thinking it was another set of single cards. When he looked at the set of public cards, He couldn't believe his eyes - there was a three-suit flush of hearts: 10, 9, 8, which could form a connection with the gentleman's card. It was just a different suit, but it was still big enough.
It was time for Dutch to turn over his cards. He was stunned for a moment, watching Mr. Huang turn over his hole cards with a face full of surprise.
It was a "J" of spades and a "Q" of hearts. Together with the community cards, Dutch formed a group of connected cards with the gentleman and other forces.
The fat man realized something was wrong and quickly explained to everyone: "This is a draw, which means we don't have a winner or loser."
The scene gradually became awkward. Mr. Fat looked at Dutch aggrievedly, winking from time to time, as if a draw was the best outcome for him.
"Sir, maybe this is God's will."
Dutch ignored him, but took out the revolver from his waist and wiped it repeatedly, and finally slammed it on the table.
"You still have a chance to tell me Stritch's location obediently now. Don't wait until I put a gun down your throat later. You won't be able to say anything you want to say."
When Fatty saw Da Qi reveal his weapon, this guy who usually didn't even see the shadow of a gun for a while panicked and his eyes were blurry.
"Sir... you don't have to be like this. We can add another round and we can resolve the deadlock."
Dutch overturned the table and grabbed the fat man's collar. He lifted the shiny gun barrel and smashed it into his mouth. His teeth made a harsh sound when they rubbed against the metal. Several of the fat man's teeth were broken and his mouth was filled with blood.
The fat man had never been bullied like this before, and he begged again and again: "I said... I said... ah, Stritch's whereabouts are erratic, but you go... to the fifth block of Belin Street... No. 163, there must be There are his informants.”
"Write it down," Dutch threatened.
The fat man borrowed a note from the bartender and wrote down what he just said. Finally, he added his name at the end - Swift.
"This is my name. If what I say is untrue, you can come to this tavern to find me at any time. Gentlemen, you have made me lose face today...can you stop embarrassing me in the future?"
"I promise if you are sensible and obedient and don't play tricks." Dutch said.
After leaving the tavern, Dutch carefully folded the note and put it away, then led John and others back to the Lyon Chrysler Hotel without saying a word.
