Chapter 649: Bigger and Bigger
Qi Xia did some quick math. By now, everyone had taken fourteen cards, and with the "community card" in the center of the table, that made fifteen in total.
Among these fifteen cards, four bore the number "three": "New Year's Eve," "Winter Solstice," "Shangsi Festival," and "Pure Brightness."
That meant Xiao Cheng's chance of drawing a "three" was six out of twenty-one, nearly thirty percent—a very favorable odd for gambling.
Of course, if Xiao Cheng's "luck" ran out and she failed to draw a card with a "three," then Qi Xia would be helpless and could only pin his hopes on Zheng Yingxiong.
For now, Di Hou allowed chips to circulate among them, but he would certainly not permit them to discuss their hands.
That went beyond the concept of chip circulation and crossed into outright cheating. No matter how one looked at it, such behavior would not be tolerated in a "casino."
By this point, Di Hou had finished his second round of "raising." Zheng Yingxiong, Tian Tian, and Xiao Cheng had all "called."
Everyone turned to look at Qi Xia. He had yet to decide whether to "call."
Qi Xia glanced at the two cards in his hand: "Pure Brightness" and "Grain Buds."
"Pure Brightness" for this year was "three-six."
"Grain Buds" for this year was "four-two-one."
Add to that the community card on the table: "Beginning of Summer," which was "four-six."
If the rules he and Qiao Jiajin had deduced were correct, then the best hand he could make was "two pairs": a pair of "fours" and a pair of "sixes," nothing more.
And now, three players at the table had a possible "straight," while Qi Xia clearly knew his own hand was only "two pairs." In an ordinary gambling match, he should absolutely not "call" in this situation.
But now Qi Xia had another concern.
Because he had just made a harsh statement to Di Hou, causing Di Hou to be wary of him.
Although he hadn't said it outright, he had implicitly put his own life on the line. This stake could control Di Hou, preventing him from relying solely on the number of chips to win.
After all, based on Di Hou's performance so far, he believed Qi Xia would really wager his life. Under these circumstances, Qi Xia absolutely could not voluntarily "fold."
Qi Xia knew this, and Di Hou knew it too.
To fold, it would have to be unless...
This one "fold" could break Di Hou's mindset.
Everyone watched Qi Xia in silence, assuming he was weighing the strength of his hand. Little did they know he had already moved past that step and entered a higher level of psychological warfare, considering how to use a single "fold" to shake Di Hou's confidence.
Qi Xia's lips moved slightly as he calculated something in his mind.
"He needs to know that even though I can intimidate him, I am still confident enough to fold..."
He kept weighing the viability of this strategy in his head, and soon found an angle.
The complex look Di Hou had given when he saw his own "hole card" earlier revealed extremely important information.
It was the look of a seasoned schemer. Qi Xia felt that only someone who had gambled for decades could show such a carefully crafted expression.
Although Qi Xia didn't really know Di Hou, that didn't stop him from making a bold guess about Di Hou's actions.
He already had a "five."
Now he had assembled a straight of "one-two-three-four-five-six." The fact that he only bet one "Tao" this round was proof.
In the previous round, when Di Hou wasn't sure if anyone else's hand was bigger than his, he had already bet two "Tao" at once. That behavior was far more in line with his identity as an old gambler.
But this round, his "show card" plus the "community card" gave him an obviously stronger hand than last round, yet he had become strangely cautious.
This was too odd.
If he then said...
"Anyone else want to raise?" Di Hou asked with lazy eyes.
"Yes... that's it." The corner of Qi Xia's mouth lifted. He had guessed the answer.
The subtext of Di Hou betting one "Tao" was: "I don't have a big hand this round, so it's possible for you to beat me." This further proved that his current hand was strong enough to win against everyone.
His hole card was at least a "five," and it might even give him a "one-two-three-four-five-six" straight plus a "pair."
For example... "Grain in Ear."
"Yes... that was very likely."
According to his calculations, "Grain in Ear" for this year was "fifth month, sixth day," which contained both a "five" and a "six."
"Grain in Ear's" "five-six," plus the community card "Beginning of Summer's" "four-six," plus Di Hou's "one-two-three."
This round, he had "one-two-three-four-five-six" and "a pair of sixes."
This was also the largest hand Qi Xia could think of at the moment.
So Di Hou could easily crush everyone at the table. It was like catching a rabbit and fattening it up before eating it. Di Hou wasn't in a rush to bet heavily; he was just slowly closing in with a knife.
If Di Hou's hand was already a "straight" plus "a pair," was there any bigger hand that could beat him?
"Wait..." Qi Xia paused. "Hold on, hold on..."
He rubbed his chin. It seemed there really was one card that could beat Di Hou.
Unfortunately, the condition was too harsh. The only person who could draw that card was Zheng Yingxiong!
Qi Xia quickly scanned the table. He confirmed that card was not among the nine already revealed—not in the seven "show cards," not in the one "community card," and not in his own "hole card." That meant the probability of Zheng Yingxiong having drawn that card was one in twenty-five.
"Four percent... that's ridiculous..." Qi Xia gritted his teeth. "Can you really gamble on such a small chance?"
"Mm."
A childish "mm" came from not far away, making Qi Xia frown.
That "mm" sounded like clearing one's throat, but also like an answer to some question.
Hearing it, Qi Xia slowly widened his eyes, then ran through his earlier question again in his mind.
"Can you really gamble on such a small chance?"
"Mm."
A perfectly timed throat-clearing sound came from Zheng Yingxiong again, and Qi Xia understood everything in an instant.
What "four percent"? It was clearly "one hundred percent"!
That card really was in Zheng Yingxiong's hand!
He had once again picked up on Qi Xia's thoughts!
Was this "luck" or "ability"? Or perhaps... both?
All he had to do now was fold here and, before folding, set a trap for Di Hou. Then everything would fall into place.
"Di Hou." Qi Xia called out in a deep voice. "There's something wrong with this deck of yours, isn't there...?"
"Oh?" Di Hou raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
Qi Xia pressed his hand against his "hole card" and asked with a displeased expression, "Exactly how many 'Dragon Boat Festival' cards are there?"