System Only Gives Me Useless Gifts

The table played several rounds of poker, with Li Yun throwing away some of his cards. On the 5th round, Li Yun played a five-seven card, testing out the waters. On the flop, 6, 8 and Jack appeared. Li Yun had a good chance of a straight, called the game as though he had a Jack and Ace. On the river, the four appeared, but he looked unsettled as he looked at the man still in the game.

The man called and raised, likely because he had a pair of jack. Li Yun called the game, and then revealed his winning cards. He won several of the next few rounds with good hands, easily winning the five large pots.

"You speak English or Cantonese?" asked Old Cao in broken Mandarian, puffing out a wasp of cigar smoke toward Li Yun.

"A bit of both, but I'm slightly better at Cantonese, " Li Yun replied, in slightly broken Cantonese.

"Where ya from?"

"Yide City, in between Capital City and Magic City," Li Yun replied, trying his best at speaking Cantonese.

The man nodded, obviously not too familiar with the city. "On vacation?" he inquired.

"Yep."

"You practice by watching online videos?"

Li Yun pretended to think for a moment and nodded. Zuowang was technically an online skill. "Online?"

The rest of the table laughed.

"Old Cao, quit interrogating the kid just because he's winning," Bullnose shouted, although it sounded like he wanted to insult Old Cao more than protect Li Yun.

Li Yun started the game with 20k hkd, and he was now up to 35k hkd.

"Bah, I can't make conversations?" asked Old Cao.

Everyone on the table had been trying to figure out Li Yun's tell. It was somewhat easy to see when Li Yun had good cards. However, that was also a pitfall. Li Yun looked too much like a casual gambler who didn't care whether they knew he had good cards or not. It made the regulars reluctant to let go of their good cards because casual gamblers rarely had the discipline or skill to bluff well. Of course, the percentage of rookie that was actually good was very small, so most of the time they would call. There was also something else they had to account for, beginner's luck.

After winning a bit, Li Yun mainly watched the regulars battle it out. He could tell that Old Cao and Bullnose were really good at reading people. They both had very prominent sensory lines close to their ears.

Old Cao was likely a former cop, or something along the line. Cops typically wouldn't make enough to play the game unless he was dirty, his children were well-off, or was very lucky in life. Although he sounded boisterous, he seemed to play by the rules when needed.

Bullnose didn't look like a trial lawyer with the way he was dressed or spoke, but his facial features resembled someone who was used to stress and he had a high willow's peak hairline.

Later in the evening, Li Yun won and lost a few rounds, but his overall bankroll had increased to 45k. Old Cao recouped some money he lost earlier and Bullnose still had a better game overall. Everyone else's bankrolls were dwindling, but they were wealthy gamblers who didn't care rush and often played recklessly.

All six players including Li Yun played their hands to see the flop. The dealer dealt the flop, revealing a 6-7-10. After the flop, four players remain, and then three remained after the dealer revealed another six for the turn. At that point, Li Yun raised by 5k.

A man folded his card, leaving Old Cao as the only player left playing against Li Yun. Old Cao looked at his hand, and tried to guess his opponents' hand. It was entirely possible for Li Yun to get a straight flush, but the percentage was quite low. Judging from the way Li Yun was betting, there was a possibility he got it as he wouldn't have raised it if he wasn't confident.

Old Cao was hesitant to call because rookies don't know how to hide their emotions well, so when they got a good card, it was easy to see their confidence. They also had a tougher time knowing how to bluff, in most cases, they bluffed too often. However, Old Cao hadn't seen Li Yun bluff before. Was he doing it on purpose so that he can bluff after going all in? Or was that just his usual playing style and that he was actually a noob playing it safe all along?

The dealer turned the river card, a four of hearts. Within a second, Li Yun called all in.

"What cards do you think Li Yun has?" asked Ju De.

"He probably has a straight flush," said Lui Jing. "I wouldn't go all-in if I didn't."

"Well, considering it is Dr. Li, I'm not sure," replied An Luchang.

"Yeah, he hasn't bluffed once today, so I'm having a hard time trying to figure out if he's bluffing here or not," replied Ju De. "What cards do you think that old man has?"

"I am not sure, maybe something good?" asked An Luchang. "But he's spending more time thinking than usual, so he might be unsure about whether Li Yun has a better hand."

Old Cao was also acting confrontational like usual, so it was difficult to tell when he was bluffing or playing it safe. He appeared to act the same way in both scenarios, making it difficult for other players to gauge his reaction. Old Cao and Li Yun stared down at each other, although Li Yun looked completely obvious at times.

The two players seemed to take forever to react, but the dealer reminded Old Cao that it was his turn.

Old Cao folded. "Dammit, I hate playing with noobs."

Li Yun smiled and threw away his card, not willing to show what he got. "I was lucky to get a straight flush," Li Yun remarked as he hauled in his winnings. "But I am going to run before my luck runs out."

Li Yun stood up from the table. With 90k worth of chips, Li Yun had more than enough to pay the last remaining loan to his parents. He had another three days left, and he didn't want to get marked on the first day. It would be wise to be cautious around serious poker players.

"I can see you sweating," Ju De remarked.

"No ****, they are scary," Li Yun said. The amount of pressure during the showdown wasn't a joke, not many people could handle it.

"Only a small part of you were scared, but you probably enhanced that a bit to make them underestimate you."

"You're not going to try?"

"Nah, I have my family money, I'm going to play some roulette."

"All right, I hope you lose."