Chapter 7 All In

• I began to deal the cards.
• A standard deck of 52. I could manipulate the cards however I wanted, ensuring every card landed exactly where I intended.
• Even if you stared at my hands without blinking and slowed down my speed to a crawl, you'd still see nothing suspicious.
• This was nothing for me—merely the basics of gambling skills.
• Having already lost quite a bit, Carl and Janelle both stood up.
• Both watching my every move with intensity.
• They wanted to be sure that they clearly saw each card I dealt with.
• For everyone else, I dealt as normal, but when it came to my hand, I subtly used my fingers to cover any identifying marks on the back of the card.
• Once the card hit the table, I quickly placed my cigarette box over it. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't take a glimpse at it.
• I flipped the three community cards so that everyone could see.
• As the cards were revealed, Carl and Janelle were visibly on edge.
• No, more than that—they were downright nervous.
• Carl had a great hand, so strong that he feared others might fold.
• After the cards were dealt, it was Carl's turn to bet.
• I reached for my wallet, but Carl shot a look at me and said, "Saturn, you dare to go all the way with me? I doubted you'll win again this time."
• Janelle chimed in, backing him up. "You'll go all in if you're still a man, Saturn. And if you win, I'll even hook you up with one of the girls from our club tomorrow, your pick!"
• They were taunting me from both sides, using women's allure as bait.
• "Fine, I'm in," I said, casually tossing in a hundred bucks.
• James was next up. Just like before, he wasn't one to rush; instead, he opted to look at his cards.
• The way he handled them, though, was painfully amateurish.
• He rubbed the cards hard, then peeked at them bit by bit, as if doing so could magically make them better.
• When he finally saw his hand, I could see his breathing change.
• His dark face flushed a shade of red, almost purple.
• James had a monster hand.
• Since the day he started playing Texas Hold'em, he had never picked up a hand this strong.
• Of course, I knew what cards he had. Carl and Janelle did too.
• Two Jacks!
• Plus, with two more Jacks among the community cards, that made four of a kind.
• From the very first round, James had already landed the third-best hand in all of Texas Hold'em, which was four of a Kind.
• He tried hard to contain his excitement, but it was obvious. He raised the bet by another 500 dollars.
• Texas Hold'em is a game of strategy and psychological warfare. To make the most out of a hand like that, you have to hide your true strength.
• James, however, was playing it all wrong. He might as well have announced to the entire table that he had a killer hand.
• Everyone stared at him, curious about what he was holding.
• Carl wasn't scared of James and immediately called the 500 dollars.
• The other players took one last look at their cards and folded.
• And just like that, it was down to the three of us.
• Nobody was backing down.
• The pot was already over a thousand dollars, and James had peeked at his cards early, so he was overly confident and bet aggressively.
• This left him with barely a hundred dollars in front of him.
• James glanced at Carl and advised, "Carl, maybe you should sit this one out. Let me take on this guy."
• He even gave Carl a knowing wink. James meant well; he was signaling to his buddy that he had a monster hand.
• Surprisingly, Carl refused outright.
• "Why should I sit out? I'm seeing this through to the end. What's the matter? If you're out of cash, I'll lend you some!"
• That was Carl for you—a real jerk.
• Always calling James his buddy, but knowing full well his hand was better than James's, he was still luring him to lend money just to drag him further into the game. This guy would harm anyone.
• Carl tossed 800 dollars to James, lending him the cash.
• Meanwhile, he still had about a thousand left on the table.
• I had already won a few hands and had about 1,500 dollars in front of me.
• We kept raising the stakes.
• James put all 800 dollars into the pot before the reveal of the fifth community card.
• That was called an "all-in" in Texas Hold'em.
• Despite winning, James could only collect the pot up to the point he went all-in. Any additional bets made after that wouldn't affect him.
• This left James feeling like he was missing out on something.
• With his cards still clenched in his hands, he looked over at Carl and me and suggested, "How about we just stop here? Let's see who's got the best hand and settle this."
• I stayed quiet, knowing full well that Carl wouldn't agree.
• Sure enough, Carl snapped back, "No way. If you're broke, borrow more or fold!"
• Carl wasn't giving an inch, and James was furious. His face twisted with anger.
• Slap!
• With a sudden slap, he threw his cards onto the table and shouted, "Damn it, I've got four Jacks! You think I'm folding?"
• No one expected James, with his short fuse, would lay down his cards like that.
• Wow!
• A chorus of gasps echoed around the table.
• Yahtzee—four of a kind—is one of the strongest hands in Texas Hold'em, and James had it.
• "Lend me the cash, and I'll take him on!" James flashed his cards, still trying to convince Carl.
• Clearly, Carl wasn't pleased with James showing his hand.
• His expression darkened as he snapped, "I'm not lending you anything. I've got just enough to see this through, and I'm going all the way."
• James was fuming, but there was nothing he could do. He had ran out of money, so he muttered bitterly, "Fine, you two, go ahead. I'm out. Let's see who's got the cards to beat this!"
• Now, it was just Carl and me.
• Carl seemed nervous that I might check my cards and fold, so he rushed to speak.
• "Saturn, last round—let's go all in. Whoever has the bigger hand takes everything. What do you say?"
• I secretly sneered coldly, but my face stayed calm.
• I lit a cigarette, exhaling a slow cloud of smoke as I eyed the few hundred dollars Carl had left in front of him.
• "All in is fine," I said coolly. "But how much do you actually have to go all in with?"
• My indifferent tone seemed to provoke him.
• "Who the hell cares how much I've got? I'm still richer than you. Put it down, and I'll match whatever you throw in!" Carl shot back, clearly agitated.
• "Whatever I bet, you'll match?"
• "Yeah!"
• That was exactly what I'd been waiting for.
• Slowly, I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a thick stack of bills—ten thousand dollars was neatly bundled. It was the prize I'd won earlier in a rummy game with Scarlett.
• "Ten grand. I'm all in."
• Ten grand?
• The whole room went silent, eyes wide in shock.
• They stared at me, confused and wondering how I had so much money.
• Carl was the highest earner in our group.
• Even so, he only made about 1,500 dollars a month.
• Ten thousand dollars was a fortune for those in the low-level income—more money than most of us could dream of seeing in one place.
• Carl's eyes locked onto the stack of cash.
• A flicker of disbelief crossed his face.
• Soon, greed overtook him.
• He already imagined the money as his own.
• "Doug! Come over here!" Carl called out to the shop's owner.
• Once he entered the room, Carl asked, "How much money do you have on you? Lend it to me. I'll pay you back after the game."
• The shop owner winced and said reluctantly, "I spent most of my cash this morning on inventory. I've got maybe 800 bucks left."
• Eight hundred dollars wasn't nearly enough.
• Carl's brow furrowed in frustration.
• He turned to the rest of the table.
• "What about you guys? How much can you lend me?"
• Unfortunately, after scrounging between them, they barely managed to come up with 2,000 dollars.
• Carl sighed in exasperation, then turned to Janelle.
• "What about you? How much do you have?"
• Janelle crossed her arms, clearly annoyed when he asked her about money.
• "I've only got 300 bucks left, and that money already went to you. I don't have any money left. What? You want to bet me now?"
• She shot Carl a sharp look, rolling her eyes.
• Carl had no choice but to turn back to me and try to bargain. "Saturn, give me a bit. Let me head out and find some cash. I'll be back in an hour."
• I didn't refuse, but I added a condition.
• "Alright, but the clock starts now. If you're not back within an hour, you lose, and the pot is mine."
• Carl hesitated, knowing how tough it would be to pull together ten grand in just an hour. All of his friends were as broke as he was.
• But his eyes kept flicking back to that stack of crisp, green bills. He couldn't bear to walk away now.
• Suddenly, his gaze shifted back to Janelle.