Chapter 203: Defeating Liu Xu Again
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Zhou Chao looked at the people sitting at the gambling table. Apart from himself, Liu Xu, Li Hao, and the foreigner mentioned by Li Yang, there was another middle-aged man who seemed to be from Southeast Asia.
“What games are available in the VIP room?” Zhou Chao asked the staff.
“We have blackjack, Texas Hold’em, and unlimited bets for Golden Flower,” the staff replied.
“Young Master Liu, what would you like to play?” Everyone in the room turned their gaze to Liu Xu.
Liu Xu gave a faint smile and said, “How about we play something interesting?” “Then let’s go for unlimited bets in Golden Flower! What do the rest of you think?” Liu Xu looked at Zhou Chao and then turned his gaze to Li Hao, showing a hint of disdain on his face.
“I don’t mind. How about the others?” The other two didn’t mind, so it was down to Li Hao.
Li Hao took a deep breath, calmed his impatience, and said, “Let’s do it.”
There were a total of six people at the table, seated around an oval table. Zhou Chao was in the second seat to the left of the dealer. Li Hao was on his right, and beside him was He Xin.
On Zhou Chao’s left was the man he thought looked Southeast Asian, with a round face and an average build. He wore casual clothing and always had a faint smile on his face. There was also a gorgeous woman sitting beside him.
He was known as a frequent visitor to Las Vegas according to Li Yang, in his forties, with handsome features and a mature demeanor.
The last person was Liu Xu, accompanied by three beautiful companions, each holding some snacks.
The game began with a starting bet of 100,000, with unlimited bets, and no other special rules. If someone got three of a kind, they would win three million from each player.
In the beginning, there were three rounds of blind betting. If there were four or more players with cards, it was not allowed to peek at others’ cards. Additionally, if someone peeked at the cards, they would have to double the bet. However, for Zhou Chao, whether he peeked or not didn’t matter.
Once everyone was ready, the dealer opened a new deck of cards, showed them to everyone, and then placed them into the card shuffler.
In the first round, Zhou Chao had good luck and got a pair of eights. However, during the previous rounds of blind betting, he had already memorized that there was a pair of kings outside. After three rounds of blind betting, Zhou Chao didn’t intend to take risks and simply looked at his cards. Then, he pretended to look disappointed and discarded his cards. After all, he hadn’t yet figured out the playing style of Liu Xu and the others, and trying to deceive with a pair of eights against a pair of kings was quite challenging.
“Hey there, young man, you folded so quickly?” The Southeast Asian man on Zhou Chao’s left, with his arm around his curvaceous female companion, smiled at Zhou Chao.
“I just joined the table. When the cards aren’t good, it’s best to fold first,” Zhou Chao replied with a smile.
The group played rather aggressively, and very few chose to look at their cards voluntarily. Most of them kept on blind betting, often betting tens of thousands of dollars. After a round, even the smaller losses or gains amounted to a million. Li Hao, after following for two rounds, also discarded his hand.
In the subsequent rounds, Zhou Chao didn’t get good cards; they were mostly scattered cards or small pairs. Occasionally, when others also had bad cards, Zhou Chao attempted to bluff, but overall, he was losing more than winning.
Amidst the games, there was a round where Li Hao managed to win a bit, just over a hundred thousand, which brought a smile to his face. However, Zhou Chao could see that this was a small gesture of goodwill from Liu Xu towards Li Hao.
Gradually, Zhou Chao also got to know the middle-aged Southeast Asian man next to him. He was Huang Wencheng, the son of an Indonesian tycoon. His family’s business spanned various fields, including real estate, banking, electronics, tobacco, telecommunications, and palm oil, making them a multinational conglomerate.
Regarding the foreigner, Zhou Chao found out from Huang Wencheng that his name was Charles and he was from Eaglia. However, his exact profession remained a mystery. Huang Wencheng suspected he could be affiliated with a financial group of some sort.
Huang Wencheng and Liu Xu were the ones who were blind betting the most, followed by Li Hao, while Charles and Zhou Chao seemed to be more like spectators.
“Young Master Zhou, it’s not very interesting if you keep folding after a few rounds…” Liu Xu, sitting farther away, couldn’t help but mock Zhou Chao as he watched him continuously discard his cards.
Even Zhou Chao’s neighbor, Huang Wencheng, nodded in agreement. If Zhou Chao folded, it would inadvertently make him want to take a peek at his own cards, and if those weren’t good, he might fold too. He also felt that Zhou Chao’s behavior was affecting his interest in the game.
In fact, those who played Golden Flower found Zhou Chao’s behavior quite annoying. He didn’t consistently blind bet, and he would often fold when he saw his cards. Because once someone looked at their cards and then folded, it would affect the enthusiasm of others to continue blind betting.
Zhou Chao, upon hearing this, raised his gaze and glanced at the speaker, Liu Xu, before saying, “We’ve just started, what’s the rush?”
The dealer continued to deal the cards, and it seemed like Zhou Chao’s luck was turning. He got a “Golden Flower” with an Ace of Diamonds, and the other players also had decent hands. Li Hao, sitting next to him, had a pair of Kings, and currently, the highest card on the table belonged to Liu Xu, who had a King-high “Golden Flower”. Charles and Huang Wencheng both had scattered cards.
Seeing this, Zhou Chao lit a cigarette for himself. When it was time to bet, Zhou Chao immediately raised the bet to one million. Everyone thought he was being provoked by Liu Xu.
After five rounds of blind betting, someone finally couldn’t hold it any longer. Li Hao, sitting beside Zhou Chao, couldn’t resist anymore. He cautiously checked his cards, feeling conflicted because he had a pair of Kings, which was advantageous in the current situation. But when he saw Zhou Chao following, he couldn’t make up his mind.
After much hesitation, he chose to trust Zhou Chao and folded his cards.
Two more rounds went by, and Charles and Huang Wencheng both checked their cards and then folded one after the other. The table was now left with just Zhou Chao and Liu Xu.
After three more rounds, the pot had accumulated to around 40 million. Seeing Zhou Chao’s calm demeanor, Liu Xu couldn’t help but underestimate him, wondering whether he would check his cards or not.
Liu Xu couldn’t hold back any longer and picked up his cards from the table. There was a visible glint of confidence in his eyes as if he had already won this round.
With unwavering self-assuredness, Liu Xu glanced at Zhou Chao and raised the bet by ten million. Now, it was just the two of them left in the game, and Liu Xu had indeed looked at his cards, holding a King-high “Golden Flower”. He had no reason to be afraid of Zhou Chao; he just found doubling the bet more interesting, so he decided to raise it.
Zhou Chao was fully aware of his own hand, and he casually threw down five million. After three rounds, Zhou Chao looked at the chips in front of Liu Xu, which had diminished considerably. He then pretended to glance at the cards on the table.
Seeing Zhou Chao looking at his cards without folding, Liu Xu furrowed his brows slightly.
Meanwhile, he wondered to himself, “Doesn’t he realize 1 have a strong hand? It can’t be true! Why isn’t Zhou Chao folding? Is he trying to bluff me, or does he also have a good hand?”
And so, the two of them continued for another three rounds. Liu Xu’s chips had dwindled significantly, and Zhou Chao, who had previously exchanged 50 million in chips from the dealer, also had only a few left.
“Young Master Liu, let’s go all in with the chips on the table, a final gamble. What do you say?” Hearing this, Liu Xu looked at his meager chips and nodded. Both of them pushed their chips onto the table.
“Ha ha ha, Young Master Zhou, my apologies, 1 have a King-high ‘Golden Flower*. 1’11 take it easy on you.” Liu Xu’s face lit up with a triumphant smile, while his three beautiful companions started offering him fruits and massaging his shoulders, earning envious looks from the onlookers.
“Young Master Zhou, I’m sorry. I’m the one who caused you to lose so much,” Li Hao said dejectedly as he looked at Liu Xu’s cards.
Zhou Chao just smiled and, looking at the delighted Liu Xu, remarked, “Master Liu, didn’t even peek at my hidden card, yet you’re boldly claiming you’ve won!”
Then, Zhou Chao flipped over his hole card, saying, “Sorry, Master Liu, it looks like I’ve won again!”
“King-high flush wins!” At this moment, the dealer pushed all the chips on the table toward Zhou Chao.
Liu Xu’s face turned pale, and he stared at Zhou Chao with intense frustration, as if he wanted to devour him.
“Waiter, bring me more…” Liu Xu wanted to continue but was stopped by Charles sitting next to him.
The two of them whispered for a while, then stood up and said, “Young Master Zhou, I’ve got something to attend to, so I won’t continue playing with you. Today, you can consider yourself lucky, Li Hao.”
Immediately, Liu Xu and Charles left the private room, seeming as if they had some urgent matters to attend to. However, in Zhou Chao’s eyes, they were just sore losers.
“Mr. Huang, I apologize for dampening your excitement! I’m really sorry!” With Liu Xu and Charles leaving, the gambling session in the private room came to an end.
“No worries, you actually saved me some money!” Upon hearing this, Zhou Chao also chuckled. Afterward, he exchanged greetings with Huang Wencheng and the others before they left the room.
“Young Master Zhou, thanks for today!” Li Hao approached Zhou Chao, expressing his gratitude.
“We’re all friends here; there’s no need to be so formal! Let’s go, find a place for some tea and a chat!”
Zhou Chao then instructed the dealer to exchange his chips for cash. After a quick calculation, he had won around 120 million. Even after deducting Li Hao’s 50 million losses, Zhou Chao still came out ahead with approximately 70 million.
Soon, Zhou Chao received the transferred money and said, “Let’s go, I’ll cover today’s expenses!”
The group left the private room and entered a relatively empty tea house. Perhaps it was late at night, and there weren’t many people there.
“I had a great time today. It’s rare to see Liu Xu lose like that, and it’s quite satisfying!” Li Hao seemed to be celebrating Zhou Chao’s victory as if it were his own, wearing a happy smile on his face.
Zhou Chao and Li Yang joined in the laughter. They spent half an hour at the tea house, changing their tea several times.
“For our late-night snacks, let me take care of it. Don’t even think about fighting the bill with me; I want to express my gratitude to Young Master Zhou today!”
“Sure, no one’s going to fight the bill with you!” Li Yang sighed in resignation, seeing Li Hao’s determination.
Li Hao ordered a table full of delicious food, and everyone chatted and enjoyed themselves. By the time they finished their meal, it was already past 11 PM. The group then went their separate ways, returning to their respective rooms for
rest..