Becoming the Richest Man Alive

Chapter 278

Chapter 278

Eugene had two choices. One of them was to follow Harold and gamble at a more advantageous place for the other party. He might lose that round, but Harold would increase the stakes because he had not failed.

Second, he could open another table in front of the customers and remove all the elements of Harold potentially cheating. Eugene could beat Harold with his gambling skills, and the latter would take a loss. Harold would probably stop playing once he lost ten million or so.

“What do you want to play?” Eugene did not make a move. He wanted to see what Harold had in mind.

Harold was uneasy and said, “Something like poker has simple rules and is advantageous to how you play.”

Eugene shook his head and said, “That won’t do. There are no such rules. Gambling looks at how good the players are.” His words were meant to reject Harold. Casper was delighted as it seemed that Eugene was picking the second option. That was the safest option, and the risk was minimized despite lesser winnings.

However, another question surfaced in Casper’s mind. How could Eugene, who loves to gamble, give up an opportunity to raise the stakes? He must have another motive!

As expected, Eugene said, “Then we’ll pick a game on the first floor and play. What do you think?”

Harold was taken aback. He thought the sly Eugene would ask them to open another table. Harold was planning to lose millions to tempt Casper, the millionaire. Then, he would get the money back once Eugene left.

Harold did not expect Eugene to be dim in the head after losing his leg. How could he suggest gambling on the first floor? How would I earn money if I didn’t tamper with everything in this place?

“All right, then we’ll go downstairs to gamble,” he agreed.

Most of the gambling games on the first floor were machine-based. There were slot machines, Pachinko, the game of dice, rummy, dominoes, and a few poker tables in the corner, but the stakes were low.

Eugene limped down to the first floor. When he arrived, he observed all the machines, and Harold generally modified them all. The probability of winning was only twenty percent, and the probability could be manipulated manually. The banker would be able to push a button at a critical moment to let the banker win.

“Which one would you like to play?” asked Harold.

“There are too many things that I want to play, but I’m afraid of touching all the machines here.”

Harold’s expression changed when he heard Eugene’s words. “What are you implying? The machines at my place are legitimate. There are so many customers here. You should watch what you say!”

Eugene laughed coldly and said, “Don’t spout nonsense. You want to win back the money in my hands, but I want to take it home. I’m not a fool. How could I allow myself to get ripped off by your machines?”

“What do you want to play then?” interrupted Harold quickly when he saw they were about to have a falling out and was afraid that Eugene would expose more things.

“Since I already said that I’ll pick a game on the first floor, what about the game of rummy, then?”

Eugene did not allow any objections and immediately sat beside the table. Harold’s heart skipped a beat. That rummy table might not have been tampered with, but he had set a hidden camera that faced the rummy table. Harold could see all the cards clearly by signaling to his subordinates.

He wanted to go there instantly but asked Casper’s opinion to keep up pretenses. “What do you think? The game of rummy may be complicated, but it’s also exciting.”

Casper naturally nodded and said, “Right on time. I’ve always wanted to learn. I’ve heard that the game of rummy is one of Chanaea’s treasures, so I’m willing to try my hand today.”

Eugene glanced at the rummy table and the cards on top of it. He wore a relieved expression and sat down, saying, “How can we play without enough players? We need four players. We can’t possibly play with just the three of us.”

Harold immediately made a secret signal to the crowd, and a player walked out, saying, “How about I join you all?”

Eugene did not even spare him a look and said, “Harold, there’s no point if you tamper with the game now. Aren’t you just hoping that I’ll lose by sending someone of yours beside me?”

The player hurriedly denied, “What are you saying? I’m not related to the boss. You’re probably looking for excuses because you don’t want to play.”

Casper knew that that guy was definitely Harold’s man. He circled the man and sighed, “By the looks of you, how much money can you afford to gamble?”

The man had Harold behind him and was naturally unafraid. “I can gamble however much you want. Don’t think that you’re the only wealthy person in Horington.”

Just as the both of them were stuck in a stalemate, Eugene suddenly opened his mouth and said, “Forget it. Let him come. He can’t do anything under public scrutiny.”

A hint of surprise flashed across Casper’s eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

Harold was delighted as he was sure to win. “All right, then let us begin,” he said.

The four of them sat around the table. Eugene sat in the east, Casper in the west, the other player in the south, and Harold in the north.

Casper was puzzled as to why Eugene was willing to allow Harold’s man on the table. Isn’t he looking for trouble?

However, Eugene expressionlessly smoked a cigarette and kicked Terrence, saying, “Go, help me block people from seeing my cards. Your debt will not be cleared otherwise.”

Terrence stood beside Eugene, and Harold could feel his head starting to hurt. This sly fox has excellent eyesight. He accurately blocked the hidden camera I set up.

However, it was not a big problem as the fourth player was his subordinate and would send him information. Casper’s cards were still under his subordinate’s surveillance, and Harold would be able to guess Eugene’s cards after analysis.

“What rules are we playing by? Turlen rummy or Gablurg rummy?” asked Harold as he looked toward Casper.

Casper shook his head and left the decision-making to Eugene, saying, “I don’t know. I’ve never played rummy before. How would I know that there are so many types? Let the professional decide. I’ll listen to him.”

Harold was rendered speechless, but the type of rummy would not affect the outcome too much, and he was able to compromise there.

Eugene laughed and flicked away the cigarette butt to the ground as he asked, “Which type of rummy are you worst at?”

Harold sat up straight when he heard that and said, “I’m already a renowned master in rummy before going to South East Aploth. I’m sorry to say that there is no rummy that I’m not good at.”

Eugene replied, “Hah! I suspect that your leg was broken because of your bragging. Since you’re so good, let’s play Jetroinian rummy.”

Harold’s hand that was covering his cards trembled, and he cursed at Eugene internally as Jetroinian rummy happened to be the one he played the least.

So be it. Since the game of rummy was all almost the same, a professional would get the hang of it within one or two rounds.

Harold ordered someone to bring over some required sticks in the game. They looked like the sticks of a popsicle and had a red dot on them. That was what they used when they were about to win to increase the winnings.

Casper was clueless and did not even know the number nor the types of cards in rummy.

“Let’s play a round with small stakes to be considerate toward the young lad. The minimum bet is one hundred thousand, okay?” said Harold, secretly signaling to his people in the crowd to look at Eugene and Casper’s cards.

Eugene glanced at him and instantly knew what he was playing at. “Harold, can you ask the audience to take a few steps back? I’m smoking and am afraid they will breathe in second-hand smoke,” he requested.

Harold was helpless, and he got the people around them to take seven steps back. They could still see the cards the both of them had, but Harold would have a harder time receiving signals.

They shuffled the cards once the rules were decided and the stakes were placed.

Casper took the cards as he listened to the rules since the first few rounds were just a couple of hundred thousand. He would take it as a learning process.

There were a few types of cards in the rummy game, and Jetroinian rummy was different as it did not involve a kind of card. However, that was not the focus for the moment.

In each rummy deck, there was a Printed Joker and a Wild Card selected randomly at the beginning of the game. The role of both those types of cards was the same. Jokers were used to form sets and impure sequences. A Joker card could replace the desired number when forming the groups.

The rummy game was like poker, which relied on algorithms and luck. The players needed enough cards to win and prevent the other players from winning.

Players should form the pure sequence at the very beginning of the game. Without a pure sequence, a player could not make a declaration. They should discard cards with high points like Ace, Jack, Queen, and King and replace them with Joker or Wild Cards. That would reduce the point load in case the player loses the game. As much as possible, players should avoid picking from the discard pile. It would give away what hand the player was trying to form. Jokers played an important role in rummy, hence players should try using them to replace high-value cards.

The Joker and wild cards could not be used to form a pure sequence. Players should check and recheck their cards when ready to make the declaration before pressing the button. An invalid declaration could turn a winning game into a complete loss.

The tips and tricks in the rummy game were nothing less than poker. Moreover, it was a game of four players, and one needed courage and luck as opposed to purely using intelligence. No one was able to be sure of the winner until the last card was revealed, and that was the beauty of rummy. Too much wisdom and knowledge were involved in the game, and it quickly became one of the most popular entertainments amongst the middle-aged population of Chanaea.

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