Chapter 3 Winner Takes All

• The game began, and I wasn't in any rush to make a move.
• I stuck to the basics, playing by the book.
• Maybe Kelsey and the man across from me thought Scarlett and I were fools.
• They started asking for cards more frequently, and their moves got bolder by the minute.
• It wasn't long before Scarlett lost over a thousand dollars again.
• I managed to win a few rounds here and there, keeping my losses to a modest few hundred.
• As the night grew late, the game started winding down.
• In the final round, it was Scarlett's turn to deal.
• Before she could shuffle the deck, Kelsey piped up, "I've got work in a bit, so let's make this last one count. Don't worry, I'll give you all a fair shot. You can win as big as you want—I can afford it."
• She seemed generous.
• I knew my moment had come.
• It was the time for me to make my move.
• But tonight wasn't about me winning. I wanted Scarlett to win.
• I had a good impression of her. My first assignment at Cosmos Club was in the men's spa.
• One night, a drunk customer complained about my unfriendly demeanor—fair, since I hardly ever smile.
• According to club rules, I should've been fired, but Scarlett cut me some slack.
• She intervened and got me reassigned to the back, dealing with inventory.
• She gave me a chance when no one else would.
• Tonight, it was time to repay the favor.
• Scarlett picked up her card from my side of the deck.
• Before she could reach for the cards, I subtly pushed them forward, a common enough gesture in Rummy.
• This is the most common action in a game of Rummy, but it is in these common actions that opportunities for cheating arise.
• As I arranged my cards, I quickly held onto the pairs I had lined up. During the shuffle, I subtly placed those cards in the exact spot where Scarlett would draw them.
• This way, I could ensure that every time she picked up a card, it was always part of a pair from the same suit.
• This technique wasn't something Friday invented himself, but something he learned from a gambler in Ardsea.
• Since Rummy wasn't one of the most popular gambling games here in Ardsea, not many people know this trick.
• I didn't worry about the group of amateurs around the table catching me.
• As long as Scarlett doesn't cut the deck to the cards in front of me, I can still guarantee she'll end up with four or more pairs from the same suit.
• The cards have been drawn; it's Scarlett's turn to play."
• She stared at her hand, visibly shocked, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
• For a long moment, she didn't move.
• "Are you going to play, or what? Don't tell me you've lost so much you've forgotten how to play cards!"
• Kelsey lit a cigarette and shook her large chest as she impatiently urged Scarlett.
• The man across from me joining in, "Hey Scarlett, what's going on? You thinking about someone or what? Come on, play already!"
• Scarlett looked up at me briefly before turning her attention back to Kelsey.
• Before she could speak, Kelsey huffed. "What are you staring at me for? My face doesn't have cards on it. Play!"
• Scarlett still looked stunned.
• She looked in Kelsey and stammered in shock, "I ... I won. An instant win. Pure sequence with middle-range cards."
• An instant win in Rummy means that the dealer wins right after dealing.
• It's like blackjack, where you get 21 points on the first deal.
• The odds of getting an instant win in Rummy are extremely low. Some say it's about one in 330,000.
• And if you add a pure sequence and middle-range cards, the odds are even more staggering. Yet Scarlett claimed she had an instant win.
• "Yeah, right, instant win." Kelsey laughed. "And I suppose you just won the lottery too?"
• Both Kelsey and the man didn't believe it; they were convinced Scarlett was joking.
• Scarlett slowly laid her cards on the table.
• The perfectly arranged set of cards lay before them.
• "No way!"
• Kelsey and the man exclaimed simultaneously.
• They couldn't believe their own eyes. They leaned over Scarlett's cards and inspected each one carefully.
• But no matter how long they stared, the cards weren't changing.
• In our house rules, a pure sequence of seven pairs was worth 32 points, and an instant win multiplies that by 168. In other places, an instant win is worth 108 points, or sometimes just 32. The rules differ depending on the location, and so do the point calculations.
• So, 32 plus 168 and adding 2 points for the middle-range cards give a total of 202 points.
• Each point was worth a hundred dollars.
• In other words, each of them lost 20,200 dollars.
• Scarlett had lost nearly 20 thousand before this, but now she had won it all back, plus almost another 20 thousand on top of that.
• And that excluded the 20,000 dollars I still owed.
• Kelsey and the man's faces turned sour.
• After countless hours of plotting, they found themselves on the losing side.
• Suddenly, Kelsey turned her gaze toward me and loudly asked, "Virgin, is there something going on between you two?"
• I grew nervous at the accusation.
• Had she figured me out? What gave it away? I must have underestimated her—could she have spotted my trick? But how?
• This move was all about speed. When I mastered it, Friday had once said I was one of the fastest card handlers he'd ever seen.
• Even he would have a hard time catching the switch unless he knew in advance.
• "What could we have going on?" Scarlett hurriedly replied.
• Kelsey rolled her eyes dramatically and snorted coldly. "Humph! Please, Scarlett. Did you sleep with him? That's the only way I can explain how your luck turned around the second he sat down."
• Hearing that, I felt a wave of relief.
• Scarlett wasn't bothered by the joke and continued, "I've been playing Rummy for years, and this is my first instant win. And with such an amazing line-up. I still can't believe it."
• Kelsey grumbled but handed over the cash.
• Scarlett stayed as the dealer for the next round.
• I didn't rig it for her to win too big this time, just a modest hand.
• Over the next few rounds, she won a few more hands, adding up to about nine thousand dollars in total.
• The game ended with Kelsey cursing under her breath as they left, having lost all their winnings and more.
• Only Scarlett and I stayed in the office after they left.
• I stood up and placed the remaining few thousand dollars on the table in front of her. "Sorry, Ms. Bell, I lost over three grand for you. And that's not even counting the instant win."
• Scarlett didn't glance at the money or respond immediately.
• Instead, she looked me over, her expression curious, almost puzzled.
• After a long pause, she finally spoke. "Saturn, how long have you been at Cosmos?"
• "Six months."
• "You never smile, do you?"
• I remained silent, thinking of my father and the way he'd died before my eyes, broken and beaten. After that, I'd been thrown into my relative's home, where I'd suffered even more. I didn't even know where my mother was. What was left in this world to make me smile?
• Since I wasn't going to answer, Scarlett continued, "What do you think of me? How have I treated you?"
• "You've been kind," I answered truthfully.
• "Let me ask you something, then. And I want an honest response."
• "Go ahead."
• "Are you a PG or an MG?"
• I froze and glanced up at Scarlett.
• To most people, her question would have made no sense. But I understood the hidden meaning.
• PG stood for professional gambler, while MG meant magician—a cheat.
• Either way, both phrases implied she knew I was skilled at manipulating cards.
• I'd heard this code mentioned by Friday before. It was a common secret code among professional gamblers.
• I thought Scarlett was just a club manager who liked to play Rummy.
• But here she was, speaking the language of seasoned gamblers.
• Could she be one of them? But she didn't look the part.
• I shook my head and said, "I don't understand what you mean, Ms. Bell."
• She smiled.