“Coral, what if I end up losing later? Will it ruin your business?” Leo whispered to Coral.
Coral appeared quite relaxed and gave a charming smile. “Don’t worry, just consider it as accompanying them for a casual game.”
Leo noticed that Brice occasionally glanced in Coral’s direction. Especially when he saw Leo and Coral engaged in an intimate conversation, his expression turned slightly displeased. It seemed that this guy had some interest in Coral.
Seeing that the four of them were ready, the beautiful dealer Nia spoke with a sweet voice, “May I ask what game you would like to play and how many chips you need?”
“Mr. Hampton, what do you want to play?” Finnegan looked at Brice.
Brice adjusted his expression and said, “Let’s play Texas Hold’em, same rules as usual. Five million in chips, with a maximum of ten million. Mr. McKenzie, Coral, what do you think?”
Finnegan smiled, “I have no objections.”
Coral nodded, “No problem.”
“Well… Mr. McKenzie, Mr. Hampton, how about playing with lower stakes?” Leo awkwardly smiled and suggested.
Finnegan and Brice exchanged a glance, then simultaneously looked at Coral with a strange expression.
Finnegan said, “The minimum buy-in for this VIP room is five million, and the casino will deduct a corresponding commission. It would indeed be less exciting to play with lower stakes. Coral, what do you think…”
Coral secretly pulled Leo’s hand and affirmed, “Let’s go with five million as the minimum!”
Finnegan, Brice, and Coral each took out a bank card and handed them to the beautiful dealer, who smiled and accepted them before leaving the room.
Shortly after, Nia returned with a tray, stacked with numerous chips.
After distributing the chips in front of Finnegan, Brice, and Leo, Nia smiled and asked, “Are all the esteemed guests ready for the dealing?”
“Wait!” Leo quickly raised his hand to stop her.
Finnegan, Brice, and the beautiful dealer all looked at him curiously, making Leo feel a bit embarrassed.
He could only play a simple card game like Landlord, but he had only heard of Texas Hold’em and had no understanding of the game’s rules.
Leo forced a smile and explained, “Give me five minutes to prepare. Facing skilled opponents, I’m a bit nervous. Please understand.”
Finnegan smiled, “No problem, let’s wait another five minutes.”
The beautiful dealer was unfazed by the situation, maintaining a faint smile on her face as she stopped her actions.
Leo quickly took out his phone. In such a critical moment, he could only search it up online.
Coral simply smiled at his actions without saying a word.
After five minutes, Leo informed the dealer that they could start.
The beautiful dealer used a special tool to take the deck of cards on the table and, after signaling to everyone, placed the cards into a dedicated shuffler.
These cards were specially made for use in large casinos.
A single deck of cards was worth at least a few thousand dollars, an absolute high-end product.
As for the beautiful dealer who shuffled and dealt the cards, as intermediaries, they generally didn’t directly touch the cards to prevent cheating. Even shuffling was done using dedicated tools.
Looking at the chips in front of him and observing the professional actions of the beautiful dealer, Leo, who had never been to a casino before and knew nothing about gambling, couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
He fantasized about becoming a gambling prodigy, dominating the scene!
Once the cards were shuffled, dealer Nia began dealing.
As the cards were placed in front of him, Leo started feeling a bit nervous.
He belonged to the type that sharpened his weapon at the last minute. Under normal circumstances, he would never be able to outplay these experienced casino regulars.
Should he resort to cheating with Divine Awareness?
To be honest, unless it was absolutely necessary, Leo didn’t want to do that, as it would completely defeat the purpose.
Texas Hold’em was a game played quite often in the grand casinos of Oz City, and it was also depicted in some TV shows and movies featuring high-stakes gambling scenes.
Brice was the first to throw out one hundred thousand chips, followed by Finnegan, who also threw one hundred thousand.
When it was Leo’s turn, he hesitated for a moment but still threw in one hundred thousand.
Although he couldn’t see the hole cards, having a visible Q gave him some confidence.
However, after one round, Finnegan had the strongest hand with a King of Diamonds.
Finnegan maintained an unpredictable smile on his face. After glancing at Leo and Brice, he directly threw in five hundred thousand chips.
Brice naturally followed suit, and Leo couldn’t help but look at Coral. Coral nodded slightly, and Leo pushed fifty thousand chips forward.
It must be said that converting money into chips was a clever move.
Although chips were equivalent to money in the casino, they lacked the impact of real money. Throwing away one or two hundred thousand chips didn’t feel painful at all.
The process of following along was relatively calm. It wasn’t until the fifth card was played that the situation became slightly tense.
Leo looked at Brice’s hand, which had a pair of Kings. If he added two more cards and the hole cards, it might be three Kings or a pair of Kings with another pair.
Observing Finnegan, he started well but had a tough time later. Although he had an Ace and a King, the hand was mixed and couldn’t form a pair or a straight.
In this situation, it was obvious that he couldn’t beat Brice, so he decided to fold.
Perhaps due to luck, Leo’s hand looked quite impressive. He had a 9, 10, J, and Q, not only forming a straight but also a flush. If the last card formed a straight flush, he would easily beat Brice.
Brice’s face remained calm as ever. After glancing at Leo’s exposed cards, he casually said, “It’s a pity the King of Diamonds is in Mr. McKenzie’s hand. If your hole card is an 8 of Diamonds, you might have a chance to beat me, but the probability is quite low.”
“Don’t you want to take a look at your hole cards?” Brice tempted.
When it came to acting cool, Leo had some skills. Gambling was like a battlefield, and it was all about who could remain composed.
Leo’s expression was calm, as if he had immersed himself in the art of gambling for decades.
If people didn’t know him well, they might mistake him for a genius in the gambling world.
Leo calmly said, “You currently have three Aces. If your hole cards are also Aces, forming four of a kind, you might win against me. Unfortunately, the Ace is already in Mr. McKenzie’s hand. The best you can hope for now is a full house. It’s difficult to beat me.”
Leo’s composure caused Brice’s facial muscles to twitch twice.
In reality, gambling, besides having the necessary skills, is mostly a psychological battle.
Skillful gamblers can deduce many things from subtle facial expressions, such as the opponent’s mental state or the strength of their hand.
Leo wasn’t a gambling expert, but pretending to be one wasn’t a problem.
The reason Leo didn’t look at his hole cards was to make himself appear even more composed. If he knew the result, Brice would be able to see through some of it.