Cold sweat began to break out on Fukuyama's forehead, and his expression grew increasingly serious.
After losing his greatest advantage, he began losing hands frequently, and the chips in his possession continuously dwindled.
Half an hour later, he had already lost a significant portion of all the money he had won earlier.
Jacob's chips, on the other hand, remained relatively stable.
At times, he would intentionally lose small hands to "fatten the pig," as he needed the perfect "cooler" at just the right moment.
Texas Hold'em often required only one hand to determine the winner, while other times were merely for building the pot.
Helen, standing behind Jacob, looked at the chips in front of him—still maintaining their original amount—and her heart filled with mixed emotions.
After losing another hand, Fukuyama's face grew even darker.
He looked at the other players present, then at his own chips, his mind racing.
Now, the four of them were competing purely on luck and gambling skill.
He decided that if he lost all the chips he had won, he would leave immediately. At the very least, he had to preserve his initial investment.
He had originally planned to make a fortune at the triennial Golden Gamble, but he didn't want to end up losing more than he gained.
Soon, a new round began.
Jacob, who had been "fattening the pig," scanned everyone's cards and suddenly his eyes brightened.
After all this time, he had finally encountered another "cooler."
Fukuyama's hole cards were a pair of 3s.
The other two players—the man and woman—held a 6 of Spades and 7 of Spades for the man, and an Ace of Clubs and 2 of Clubs for the woman.
Jacob's hole cards were a pair of 5s.
None of the four hands were weak.
Fukuyama and Jacob, holding pairs, naturally wouldn't fold.
The other two, having suited cards and straight potential, naturally wanted to take their chances.
In Jacob's clairvoyant view, the next three community cards would be the 3 of Hearts, 4 of Diamonds, and 5 of Hearts.
With these cards, the man and woman's hands would form A-2-3-4-5 and 3-4-5-6-7 respectively, while Jacob's hand would become three 5s, and Fukuyama's would become three 3s.
A straight beats three of a kind, so the man and woman's hands would be the strongest, Jacob would rank third, and Fukuyama would rank fourth.
However, what was most surprising was that the fourth community card would be a Jack of Diamonds, and the fifth community card would be a 4 of Spades!
The five community cards would be 3, 4, 5, J, 4.
In the final hand, Jacob's cards would instantly become the strongest among the four players: a full house, specifically three 5s with a pair of 4s, overpowering Fukuyama's three 3s with a pair of 4s.
And according to Texas Hold'em rules, a full house beats a flush, which beats a straight, which beats three of a kind—naturally making it stronger than the other two players' straights.
Aside from four of a kind and a straight flush, a full house was nearly an unbeatable hand.
This was exactly the kind of setup Jacob wanted to see—his cards were the strongest, but the others' hands were also formidable.
Jacob made his decision: he was going to clean up in this hand. The fattened pigs were finally ready for slaughter.
He believed that in such a situation, no one would choose to back down.
Especially since both the man and woman would have straights, and Fukuyama would also have three of a kind. In a normal game, these would almost be guaranteed winning hands.
As for four of a kind and straight flushes, unless someone was cheating, they were nearly impossible to achieve.
Jacob was the first to act.
He looked directly at everyone present, and after some thought, decided to play it slow. He would just call, not raise, to avoid scaring off the "sheep."
He would place heavy bets after the first round of community cards were dealt.
"Two chips."
"Call."
"Call."
"Call."
The other three also chose to call without exception, which was quite a rare occurrence—all four calling simultaneously.
Seeing that everyone had called, the dealer expressionlessly dealt three community cards, which were precisely the 3 of Hearts, 4 of Diamonds, and 5 of Hearts that Jacob had foreseen.
As these three cards were revealed, everyone's hearts tightened.
At this point, none of the four players had weak hands. The weakest was three of a kind, and the strongest was a straight.
With such hands, no one could choose to fold.
Therefore, everyone chose to raise, and the man and woman even chose to raise heavily, pushing the pot up significantly.
After the community cards were dealt, all four players were still in the game, which was an extremely rare situation.
Clearly, no one had expected this scenario.
Now, it could only mean one thing: everyone's cards in this hand were exceptional.
This also made everyone frown. It seemed that after this hand, it was very likely that someone would be eliminated early.
After everyone had chosen to raise, the dealer continued to deal the fourth card—a Jack of Diamonds.
This card could neither form a pair with the previously dealt 3, 4, and 5, nor could it complete a straight with those three cards. It could be considered an irrelevant card.
At this point, the man and woman with straights appeared to have the highest probability of winning.
Given that no one's cards could form a flush, four of a kind, or full house, the man's 3-4-5-6-7 was the strongest hand on the table, and the woman's A-2-3-4-5 ranked second.
Therefore, neither of them withdrew at this point but chose to continue raising.
And Jacob, who held three of a kind, naturally wouldn't back down after seeing the final outcome in advance.
He didn't hesitate at all and chose to raise.
His quick decision also made everyone frown slightly, secretly trying to deduce Jacob's hand.
Did he also have a 3-4-5-6-7?
Facing the situation where all three were raising, Fukuyama felt the most pressure.
Although three of a kind was almost the strongest hand in a normal game, the 3-4-5 in the community cards put immense pressure on him.
Furthermore, the other players hadn't folded, meaning they very likely held straights, and three of a kind couldn't beat a straight, so his chances of winning were extremely low.
At this moment, he appeared deeply anxious, caught in a difficult position.
On one hand, he was reluctant to give up his strong hand and the large amount of chips he had already committed.
On the other hand, he was worried about losing even more, especially with the possibility of others holding straights.
Fukuyama looked at the cards in the community pile, his eyes darting back and forth, thinking frantically.
Having lost his greatest advantage, he could only rely on his own gambling skills.
Even if the other three all held straights, Fukuyama wasn't entirely without hope.
If the final card was any 3, 4, 5, or Jack, he could form four of a kind or a full house to beat a straight.
He still had a sliver of a chance.
After much deliberation, Fukuyama finally decided to take the gamble and chose to call.
As a result, after three consecutive rounds of betting, the four players present had wagered nearly all of their chips, causing the pot to reach an extraordinary level.
At the same time, the most crucial factor was that no one had folded yet.
The surrounding spectators were also incredibly tense at this moment.
Such a high-stakes game, even without personal participation, was a visual spectacle and ultimate entertainment just by watching.
Calculating at an exchange rate of one million per chip, the current pot had already exceeded one hundred million.
In this hand, the winner would undoubtedly advance to the next round.
Everyone held their breath, quietly waiting for the dealer to deal the next card.
Seeing that everyone had completed their bets, the dealer began dealing again, entering the river stage, and revealed the final card!
The 4 of Spades.
This result caused the man and woman's expressions to change dramatically.
A pair had appeared in the community cards, which was the situation they least wanted to see.
Their hands were already set—only a 3-4-5-6-7 straight and an A-2-3-4-5 straight.
But the appearance of this 4 changed everything.
As long as Fukuyama or Jacob held a pair of 3s, 4s, or 5s, or a 4 with any 3, 5, or Jack, they would lose this round.
From Fukuyama and Jacob's previous actions, it wasn't hard to deduce that they both should have strong hands—not weak ones.
It was highly likely they held three of a kind or a straight, and if a full house formed, the man and woman would lose.
Should they fold?
Both fell into a dilemma, because so far, they had already wagered most of their net worth.
If they stopped now, not only would they not win this massive pot, but all their previous investments would also vanish into thin air.
Should they take the gamble?
Time ticked by. Everyone understood the importance of this hand, so no one rushed the two.
Finally, after several minutes of deliberation, the woman holding the A-2-3-4-5 hand rationally chose to fold.
Knowing that everyone present held strong hands, her weakest straight truly had no competitive edge, so she decisively chose to fold and cut her losses.
As for the man with the 3-4-5-6-7 straight, after seeing the woman concede, he thought carefully for a long time and finally chose to go all-in, pushing all the chips in front of him forward.
This scene caused everyone present's hearts to pound faster and their breathing to quicken.
After the man made his choice, it was Jacob's turn next.
Although Jacob knew his hand was the strongest at the table, he didn't choose to go all-in immediately.
Instead, he pretended to deliberate, looking at the community cards with a grave expression.
Jacob was putting on an act.
His purpose in doing so was to create a false impression for Fukuyama!
An illusion that his hand was merely a straight!
His decisive raises in the previous two rounds had already laid the groundwork.
His goal was to give Fukuyama the feeling that his cards were extremely strong, and that it was impossible for him to lose.
Before the final 4 was revealed, the theoretically strongest hand could only be the 3-4-5-6-7 straight.
Jacob's unhesitating raises were meant to make Fukuyama believe that his hand was the strongest possible straight, 3-4-5-6-7.
Jacob's current performance was as if he was worried about others holding a full house—his hesitant appearance giving the impression that his hand was only a straight.
Because in the current situation, if Jacob held a full house, he would definitely call or raise without hesitation.
If Jacob continued to raise decisively, Fukuyama might deduce that Jacob held a full house.
Although Fukuyama also held a full house, it was the weakest possible full house of three 3s.
At that point, Fukuyama, with the smallest full house, might still choose to retreat or fold after guessing Jacob's hand.
Therefore, to avoid this scenario, Jacob deliberately hesitated for an extended period before choosing to go all-in.
Gambling, besides luck, was also about understanding human nature and psychology.
Indeed, after seeing both Jacob and the man hesitate for such a long time, Fukuyama, after much thought, finally chose to go all-in.