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Do you know the genius gambler who lives in the deep mountain village of southern Zenon?
God of Poker!
Master of psychological warfare!
His name is…
‘Uncle Joe!’
I, Lilith Rubinstein, was an apprentice who learned poker and other card games from him.
It’s finally time for me to show off my skills, which will surprise Uncle Joe!
I told Dad the poker rules, made a plan, and entered the gambling house.
People smoking cigarettes at each table made the inside of the gambling hall smell like a raccoon’s den.
Of course, my eyesight was a bit stuffy because of the magic Dad gave me.
“Do you know that Uncle’s face?”
“Ung, I saw the portrait.”
Dad, who was carrying me across the table, said, “There he is.” and walked quickly.
I saw five men in the middle of poker.
“Excuse me.”
Dad tapped on the table, and all the men looked at us.
“Baron Joseph Lüttmann, is that right?”
When he asked, the eyes of the other men next to him all focused on one person.
It was Joseph.
‘Ah, as expected, he looks like a loser.’
Dark circles came down to his chin.
Empty eyes that seem uninterested in everything in the world.
Slim cheeks.
Nevertheless, the strangely sharp atmosphere showed off a presence more than an extra.
“Yes. I am Joseph Lüttman. What business do you have?”
“Can you spare me some time? I want to have a conversation with you.”
Joseph laughed. He pulled the cigarette from his mouth, tossed it in the ashtray, and gestured to the side.
“Please put out your cigarettes.”
In an instant, Joseph’s gloomy gaze passed through me.
I knew Joseph had given up smoking because of me.
“Who sent you?”
“Let’s move.”
“You don’t have to. Well, this isn’t the first time the aristocrats have sent someone to bring me.”
“….”
“I’m sure you’re doing it because you’re short on money, but no matter how you do it, you have to choose the time and the place. Where do you go with children?”
Joseph waved his hands.
“Don’t waste your time and go back. I have no way out of here.”
“I want to talk to you.”
Joseph looked annoyed as Dad held out.
It’s a dangerous atmosphere.
Joseph and Dad stared at each other still.
Perhaps he had read Dad’s extraordinary eyes, Joseph leaned back with a smile on his face.
“If that’s the case, wait. Until the game is over and I leave the gambling house.”
“When do you finish?”
“It’s a question for anyone who’s never been to a place like this.”
Joseph took a heavy package from under the chair and put it on his chin and on the table.
“The game is over when you lose all your money.”
The men next to him laughed.
Can a gambling house pro lose that much money easily? It meant that he had no intention of talking.
‘Ung, I’ve thought of everything up to this point.’
I poked Dad in the shoulder.
Then Dad pulled out the chair and sat down.
“Then let’s play a game together.”
*****
Joseph gazed at the child with gloomy eyes.
The child, who looked about five or six years old, was smiling in her father’s arms with a bright expression.
‘Ella…’
His daughter’s name, which he hadn’t called for a long time, lingered in his mouth.
His daughter, Ella, was about the same age as that child.
If she were alive, she would be eight years old now.
“I’ve learned everything.”
A foolish man who introduced himself as James said it was his first card game.
After learning the rules of the game from the dealer for 20 minutes, he received the card with a nervous look on his face.
‘A idiot.’
It must be that the greedy high-ranking person also paid a few pennies to him to bring Joseph.
‘He must have brought his daughter on purpose because he knew about my rumor.’
It was Joseph who had lost his wife and daughter.
Did he think he’d feel weak when he saw him?
Doesn’t that make him even more disgusted?
“Cough. Cough.”
The child constantly coughed as if the cigarette smoke bothered her.
“Raise. 50,000 more.”
Joseph raised the stakes annoyedly.
He had to quickly get all the property of that poor man and kick him out of this gambling house, which is harmful to the child.
“Fold.”
“…Fold.”
“Call?”
“Fold!”
But as the game progressed, lines of blood formed on Joseph’s forehead.
Truly a beginner is a beginner.
He never does anything called betting.
He just gave up the game timidly or bet a penny or two.
‘Damn it. I’ll be here all night at this rate.’
Joseph looked anxiously at the child, who kept coughing with nervous eyes.
“Oh, call?”
Then James glowed at Joseph’s card.
‘You’re caught.’
The opportunity has come at last.
“Wow! Dad! Dad! We have the same two numbers!”
“O, oh. Shh. Shh. Princess.”
As the child cheered and liked it, James took a quick glance at it, flustered.
Joseph snorted.
‘One pair (*2 cards with the same value) group. There is one card left to receive, so if you’re lucky, a triple (*3 cards with the same value) will pop up.’
Joseph’s opponent’s cards were horrible, which is why that naive beginner only has the ninth-place card and is shining his eyes.
Joseph’s cards James is looking at are 2, 10, and Q.
No pair.
It is the last-place defeat, which is a mess.
However, Joseph’s hidden hand was all spades, all flushes of the same shape.
In fact, it was a fifth-place loss.
“All in.”
Joseph said, putting all his money bags on the table.
James’ eyes widened.
“…You mean you’re going to bet everything? With that card?”
“So?”
James pointed to his card.
Q, 7, 7.
“I already have two 7’s. One pair.”
“So what? The cards I hid may be higher than the one pair.”
“Don’t lie to me. Aren’t you trying to scare me with a trash bag for no reason?”
“Even so, what does it matter? That’s the beauty of poker.”
Joseph shrugged his shoulders.
“If you’re scared of my hidden cards, you can give up the game. If it doesn’t seem like much, you can go all-in.”
James was troubled by the remark.
A face that shows clearly what one is thinking.
He was indeed a newbie among the beginners.
‘Cut it off, please. If I lose all my money, I’ll have to get out of here even if I don’t like it.’
Joseph only wanted James to take his young daughter out of here quickly.
“…I will do it. All in.”
James put all his money up with his trembling hands.
‘All right, it’s over.’
Joseph smiled and leaned back.
The dealer began to turn Joseph’s cards one by one, which had been turned upside down.
It was the Flush, 5th card.
“No!”
Surprised, James jumped up.
“What, what are you doing?!”
“Don’t get carried away and sit down. You know bets can’t be undone.”
As Joseph chinned, the dealer began to open James’ card.
When he opened one of the pages that had been flipped,
Surprisingly, 7 came out.
7,7,7.
Triple, 7th card.
Joseph’s eyes became sharp.
And the next moment.
For some reason, the corners of James’ lips twitched.
At the same time—.
*****
Dad did as well as he was told.
He had already learned everything from me, but he heard the rules again from the dealer, pretending to be the first.
Tak.
When I tap my little finger on the table,
“Fold.”
Give up on the game.
Tak.
If I tap my ring finger,
Take the stake and hand it over.
“You have to be very, very timid until a good card comes in. Dad, don’t ever bet.”
“Ung, okay.”
“I’ll give you a signal when the opportunity comes. Until then, just shout check, call, fold.”
Everyone was bored with Dad’s play of throwing away his card and running away when the stakes went up.
He looked like, “That timid beginner again….”
I smiled broadly whenever my eyes met Joseph, who glanced at me from time to time.
“Cough, cough.”
I couldn’t even smell cigarette smoke because of magic, but pretending to cough is a bonus.
When the money I had was reduced by half because I called a few times and looked for opportunities.
‘It’s coming.’
The opportunity has come.
Judging from Joseph’s card, no matter how well he plays, it’s just Flush, 5th card.
‘Then it’s over.’
I clenched my fist into a circle.
“If I clench my fists, it’s an opportunity. It’s a game that Dad wins no matter what you do!”
Although I said that if I send a signal, you can scream as much as you want, but—.
“What, what are you doing?!”
“Don’t get carried away and sit down. You know bets can’t be undone.”
Dad even acted in shock after checking Joseph’s card.
‘No, why are you doing this?’
I barely held back my laughter when I saw Dad being seriously immersed.
7,7,7.
And, the moment three of the same cards we have were revealed.
Joseph and others all watched our cards.
They would have expected this far.
Because earlier, I…
“Wow! Dad! Dad! We have the same two numbers!”
…because I secretly spilled the trap remarks.
‘In fact, the same number was already four.’
It was a fake that worked because I was a kid who didn’t know anything.
7,7,7.
With the triple coming out, the dealer revealed Dad’s last card.
“What is this!”
At the same time, Joseph jumped up.
“W, what?”
“Ugh.”
The others who were watching also covered their mouths and held their breath.
“Hahaha!”
Dad laughed heartily, his shoulders rose as much as he could, and he hugged and kissed my cheek.
It’s like complimenting my acting.
“…Ha, you taught the kid everything.”
Joseph burst out laughing when he saw it.
The last card is.
…Heart, 7.
7, 7, 7, 7.
Dad said, sweeping the colorful cards with his hands.
“Four cards. I won.”