Accumulated quite a bit of luck?
Fortunes turning around?
Lu Xinyi felt like laughing and further confirmed her own suspicions.
Unlike the other three cautious players from Community 17, Lin Sizhi seemed to be a gambler who liked to go all-in.
Probably, he just had a bit of luck against the Chips Exchange Machine and started losing his head, then lost many rounds in a row.
Many gamblers always have a strange obsession with luck, for example, after many losses, they believe they will win big in the next round.
But in reality, the actual probability isn't like a gacha game with a guaranteed pity.
However, Lu Xinyi didn't trust so easily.
Whether he was a real gambler or pretending, ultimately it had to be judged by each round of raising, calling, and folding in the game.
A gambler's actions, paired with the value of the chips, reveal true intentions.
The game began.
Everyone took out 1000 chips and placed them in the betting area on the table.
The mechanical arm, still as before, took out a new deck of cards, shuffled them randomly, and then dealt them in order.
Lu Xinyi was the dealer, and Lv Mingxuan was still on her right-hand side.
"Fold."
Lv Mingxuan directly threw down his cards.
The four people from Community 3 were cooperating very well, meaning Lv Mingxuan's cards weren't strong, so he left it to the other two companions to raise.
It was Lin Sizhi's turn.
Carefully, he pushed apart the overlapping cards in his hand and quickly glanced at them.
Then, he silently threw four 1000-point chips onto the table.
"Raise."
After speaking, Lin Sizhi calmly stared at Lu Xinyi, the corners of his mouth slightly turned up.
Lu Xinyi's eyebrows slightly raised.
Starting off with a direct raise to 4000 points indicated that Lin Sizhi was of a completely different style compared to Jiang He.
He did seem more like a gambler who liked to go all-in.
But the question was, did Lin Sizhi really have a strong hand, or was he bluffing?
Many seasoned gamblers are skilled in this: Clearly having a small hand, but through superb acting and maneuvers, they can make the opponent mistakenly think they have a strong hand, forcing them to fold.
It must be said, Lin Sizhi's acting was much better than Jiang He's, and for a moment Lu Xinyi couldn't see through it.
But Lu Xinyi noticed Lin Sizhi's hands intertwined, subtly trembling.
Was this part of the act too?
Lu Xinyi's mind raced.
Qin Yao chose to fold, which was normal because calling required a raise of 4000 chips at this point.
Lu Xinyi knew that even if Qin Yao exchanged chips using blood, she probably wouldn't exchange much, at most having around 30,000 chips on hand, so there was no need to force a call with a bad hand.
Lu Xinyi's gaze swept over the faces of the other three from Community 3.
Clearly, their hands weren't strong, as they all looked hesitant.
"You all fold."
Lu Xinyi took four 1000-point chips from the pile in front of her: "I have to say, your skills are indeed much higher than that foolish girl from before, and you're much bolder too."
"I honestly can't tell if you actually have a big hand or if you're bluffing.
"But unfortunately, you should have come last game.
"Because now my chip pool is much bigger than yours, so I can call you without psychological burden multiple times.
"I bet you don't have a big hand."
"Call."
Lin Sizhi's expression stiffened, his fingers instinctively tightened.
One raised, one called, the cards automatically revealed.
Silently, Lin Sizhi turned over his hand.
Hearts 3, Clubs 7, Hearts 5.
Lu Xinyi's lips slightly curved up, revealing her hand: "I have an A-high junk hand, thank you."
Watching the mechanical arm sweep all the chips on the table to Lu Xinyi, Qin Yao seemed a bit tense too.
Clearly, the bluff in the first round was seen through, which is very unfavorable for the next few games.
The psychological pressure both sides endured was on completely different levels.
Lin Sizhi seemed to adjust quickly, smiling awkwardly: "Just one game, winning and losing is common at the table. Let's continue."
The second round began, with Lu Xinyi dealing.
Lv Mingxuan raised 1000, seemingly having a good hand this time.
Lin Sizhi carefully scrutinized his cards; this time, his decision took noticeably longer than before.
After a moment, he fumbled four 1000-point chips out of his pocket.
"Raise."
Lu Xinyi was a bit surprised, as it was rare to see someone continue to bluff in the next round right after being caught bluffing.
Perhaps this time Lin Sizhi indeed had a good hand?
But it was also possible he was leveraging this "under the lamp" psychology in reverse.
Lu Xinyi looked at her hand, and unfortunately, this time her hand was poor, just a 7-high junk hand.
In this situation, even if Lin Sizhi were bluffing, it would be hard for her to call him on it.
Not only that, but on Lin Sizhi's right, Qin Yao also pulled out a stack of chips, counted out 5000, and gently placed it in the betting area.
"I raise too."
The pile of chips in the betting area instantly made the atmosphere tense.
Lu Xinyi stared at Qin Yao, trying to find clues in her micro-expressions, but found nothing.
From her expression, Qin Yao indeed seemed nervous, but the issue was, she wasn't playing with Jiang He this time, but with Lin Sizhi.
Lu Xinyi knew Lin Sizhi must have discussed some basic cooperation strategies with Qin Yao beforehand.
So Lu Xinyi couldn't discern whether Qin Yao's nervousness stemmed from bluffing or from apprehension about some special plan.
"A double bluff?
"But judging by the number of chips, it seemed more like Qin Yao indeed had a big hand…"
Lu Xinyi knew that Qin Yao didn't have too many chips on hand, even if she exchanged them using blood, at most just over 30,000 chips.
Betting 5000 chips in one go is definitely not a small sum.
It seemed Qin Yao's hand was probably good.
But Lu Xinyi couldn't rule out the possibility that both were bluffing; this round needed to reveal cards, or the mystery would never be solved.
However, simply calling wouldn't be enough to reveal the cards.
Because both Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao raised, they aimed to push the chips higher endlessly.
If Lu Xinyi just called this round, then Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao would keep raising further, up to eight thousand or even ten thousand.
Just like how Lu Xinyi and Lv Mingxuan played before.
Spending so much just to see the cards wouldn't be worth it.
But Lu Xinyi wasn't worried because she had another plan.
The guy on Qin Yao's right had already folded; with a small hand, 5000 chips exceeded his threshold.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Xinyi gave the next player, the lady on her left, a directive.
"Sister Liu, follow this round to the end."
Sister Liu blinked, intending to explain again that her hand was really small.
But Lu Xinyi gently shook her head, suggesting she keep quiet.
Sister Liu could only lower her head and eyed her few remaining chips: "Alright then."
She was the unluckiest of the four from Community 3, mostly losing in the previous game against Jiang He, now having only 7000 chips left.
Of course, most of her chips were won by Lu Xinyi and Lv Mingxuan.
The four from Community 3 all had mediocre hands, but at least one person needed to follow to see the cards.
The more chips one has, the greater the risk of following to the end. Paradoxically, someone like Sister Liu, with fewer chips, going all-in at the end could cost at most just 7000 chips.
Based on chip count, it's the optimal decision.
Sister Liu placed 5000 chips to call.
When it was Lu Xinyi and Lv Mingxuan's turn, they both decided to fold.
Lv Mingxuan's hand was decent, but the chip amount this round exceeded his comfort zone.
Their mainstay was Lu Xinyi; at this moment Lu Xinyi needed more time to observe before giving clear instructions, so for safety, Lv Mingxuan decided to fold.
"So many folded?
"A bit of a shame, I'll continue to raise."
Lin Sizhi took out another 2000-point chip and tossed it onto the betting area.
"I raise too," Qin Yao also took out a 2000-point chip.
Sister Liu glanced at Lu Xinyi, and after receiving a confirming nod, threw her remaining 2000 chips into the betting area.