Chapter 203

“…….”

The musty smell, as if it had seeped into the skin rather than just the clothes, made my nose wrinkle instinctively.

A completely worn-out coat, dusty slacks, and a faded shirt.

The overall shabby appearance combined with the gloomy, shadowed eyes created a desolate atmosphere.

It felt like this person, if we met at a bar and he relentlessly bought drinks, would subtly pull out a faded photo while sharing a pitiful story about having a young daughter after downing five or six drinks, if that makes any sense.

Ah, since I don’t recognize his face, it’s clear that this is just a figment of my imagination based on assumptions.

Having gone through enough instances to know that there’s no one in this world without a story, I found myself subconsciously trying to infer a background about him. At least if I know who I’m dealing with, I could mentally prepare for how things might unfold.

…Honestly, if we’re talking about a strong impression, the monsters I’ve encountered here over the past year have had a much denser presence than anyone I’ve met in Korea over the last twenty years, so I guess it can’t be helped.

“Cough cough! You won’t believe it, this friend here has already won about 12 million at poker today! It seems he’s quite the lucky one. I thought he’d fit perfectly at our table since over ten other guests have been bust out by him. So come on, everyone, greet him!”

With a wide smile, Mr. Alfred waved cheerfully, but the man seemed uninterested in accepting such warm hospitality.

In fact, it made sense; anyone with any sense would already realize that the elder who said such things was the reason several others had exited the casino crying.

He must have calculated that the opportunity cost of playing at this high-stakes table outweighed the risks he had to shoulder, which was probably why he played along.

“……Just call me John. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, though.”

He took a deep breath to relax and opened his mouth.

If he goes by John, does that mean he’s suggesting John Doe (a name given to unidentified men)? That’s as blatant as the name Sugar.

“Looks like you’re having a good day at cards, old man? I look forward to working with you!”

“Well, thank you.”

“…….”

The man who wished to be called John scanned the table, starting with Mr. Alfred, who had just taken his seat.

As soon as he sat down, the elderly man’s facial muscles twitched to the point that his mask shook, a woman who seemed heated from the small excitement earlier sensually licked her lips, and finally, a middle-aged man with his arms crossed waited with no particular reaction.

…Looking at everyone lined up in order, it struck me: what a den of shady villains this is.

To think that so many people exist who take pleasure in robbing others’ wallets, even when they aren’t particularly attached to money… it’s truly a sign of the times.

Huh? If you think about it, isn’t the one with delusions of winning and taking money from everyone else the most dangerous of all?

What are you talking about? There’s no set owner for the chips on the table, you know? This is all a game conducted upon mutual agreement! …Ahem.

“…Then, if you don’t mind, I’ll take the first round cut-off. I’m not as well-off as you all, so it’s only fair.”

“If you don’t have chips, we’ll have plenty to talk about then…but if you’d prefer that, feel free!”

Screeeeetch…!

Whether Mr. Alfred muttered scary soliloquies or not, the sharp sound of tape being ripped signaled the start of the poker game.

This noise came from John, who had walked over to take the seat next to Sugar and was now organizing the chips he brought, while the dealer began tearing open a new deck.

He must have preemptively changed some low-denomination yellow and green chips for this betting scale, as his stash, made up of slight blue and minimal red chips, looked pretty shabby, but one mustn’t let their guard down.

After all, I, too, started with a similar small capital and managed to grow it by nailing numerous clutch hits in a row, so this time, I need to play carefully to avoid getting eaten alive.

“Now… how should we start this new game~”

With a swift motion.

I flipped over the two cards aligned near the back of my hand, now rather skillfully, and pulled them toward myself.

The stiff texture of the brand-new cards brushing against my thumb felt quite nice.

While my brain, which had just decided to respect common sense and peace, might be going a bit haywire diving back into the senses of plundering and gambling, perhaps riding this wave might be the right thing to do.

You know, there’s a saying that the diligent rarely outpace the joyful.

……Of course, that saying doesn’t apply to a game reliant on such probabilities! Hey! I’m not seriously claiming that, so don’t look at me like I have a million things to say but am holding back?!

– Well, it’s true that your current winning probability is unusually high. Furthermore, you have a particularly strong starting hand in this round. –

‘Oh.’

Zero, who had sneakily peeked at the card’s edge before I could, congratulated me prematurely with one community card still unturned, leaving me puzzled… but it was true.

A card or two, typically simple in its suit yet boasting a lot of white space, had turned out to be a powerful one: a pair of Aces. In other words, the well-known Texas Hold’em variant called A-pocket…!

– The probability of receiving high-value premium hands (AA, KK, QQ, JJ, Aks) is 2.1%. Among them, A-pair has an occurrence rate of merely 0.45% with an expected value around 2.32 times and a winning percentage of about 50%. Be cautious, as this data is based on statistics prior to the community cards being revealed. –

“……Ugh.”

I barely managed to control the corners of my mouth trying to rise at the encouraging analysis that made my mouth water….

Even if someone catches a glimpse of my reactions, I wanted to leave an impression of merely pondering about how to bet…

In other words, this community poker has a high dependence on shooting for that winning hand, only barely guaranteeing a 50% chance even when holding the strongest hand.

Indeed, this complex betting process is almost like a distilled psychological battle of piecing together two cards and five, making it only natural that even if the odds are low, an easy victory doesn’t follow, which is incredibly frustrating.

Nonetheless, I have gained the initiative to either bet strongly and scare others into folding or to pretend to have a mediocre hand and passively follow along, so I must twist and turn this to my advantage.

“Hmmm… 100. Mr. John shouldn’t be too scared, so maybe I’ll start with a moderate bet?”

“Raise to 200! If you call low, you win low. As we have a bit more, shouldn’t we raise the pot?”

With the two peculiar players pushing rapidly, my action order soon returned to me.

I felt a rush of urgency to make my decision but suppressed it. In this situation, thinking things through is the best approach.

If I recklessly bet high, my opponent will fold. However, simply calling while waiting for a raise would not increase the pot significantly.

Essentially, I needed to raise while keeping the strength of my hand as hidden as possible… Yet I suddenly found myself in a bind with too fitting an excuse. Ugh, this is tricky.

I don’t want to be lumped together with this bunch, but here I have two malignant players who are just raising relentlessly, regardless of how strong my hand is.

If I ride their coattails in “asserting dominance” and add minor bets while pretending to bluff… wouldn’t that help me build the pot without over-committing chips on an uncertain victory? Yes.

“Um, cough! 200 feels like it might slow the game down, so let’s raise to 300.”

“……Call.”

“Bwahaha!!”

Quietly. But surely.

As I pushed three red chips into the box and declared my entry, I expected someone to show interest, but Sugar, still busy maintaining his own playstyle, calmly accepted the bet.

But why is it dragging on for the first round’s first bet? I don’t know! I just hastily threw down whatever came to mind, so why should there be a reason?

By inadvertently eavesdropping on the secret preferences of those peculiar characters, I caught wind that they seem to enjoy more the climax of conflict rather than the conflict itself, and I just mimicked their enthusiasm… yet if it works, then so be it.

Having established a vague atmosphere of a call…

The result was certainly satisfactory and fulfilling, but… I felt slightly disturbed that the man who called himself Mr. John had evaded my trap with his flickering gaze.

“Fold.”

…Now, wait a minute, could he actually know how to play poker?