Tao Hua’s target for me to watch was this chubby guy.

This villa also belonged to the chubby guy.

Originally, in their card games, the chubby guy didn’t win money.

But recently, it was as if he had developed a clairvoyant ability.

He kept winning, and not just small amounts.

The card game began.

Each of the five players pulled out fifty thousand in cash, piling it directly on the table.

This practice was an unwritten rule in some of Harbin North’s card games.

It signified the stakes of the game.

Anything less than fifty thousand, and you couldn’t join the table.

If you wanted in, you had to show your goods first.

They were playing Three Card Poker.

The bets started at three hundred, a thousand, with a cap at twenty thousand.

At the beginning of a typical card game, it’s usually a warm-up period.

Everyone would play tentatively, and no one would cheat.

So, I didn’t watch the game.

Instead, I sat on the sofa nearby, smoking and drinking tea.

Some might think that the life of a swindler is exciting and thrilling.

But in reality, the life of a swindler is dull.

For top-level swindlers, it’s even more so.

Just like me right now.

Apart from sitting, smoking, drinking tea, and daydreaming.

I couldn’t do anything else.

Gradually, the game moved past the warm-up period.

The players at the table were getting into the groove.

And my seat was opposite Tao Hua.

There were no spectators interested in the game.

So, without getting up, I could clearly see the situation at the table.

The stack of ten thousand yuan notes in front of Tao Hua was nearly gone.

It seemed she was losing again.

And the chubby guy, whom Tao Hua suspected of cheating, was sitting to her right.

From what I could see, he had won quite a bit.

I began to focus on the chubby guy.

I could confirm that there was nothing wrong with the poker cards.

They weren’t marked for cheating, nor tampered with.

He didn’t know any sleight of hand techniques.

There was no stealing or hiding of cards.

The shuffling was all done in a straightforward manner.

The corners of the cards were exposed, and with a careful look, I could remember the order of the cards.

But he had a habit.

He always kept the cards in his hand.

Gripping them tightly, as if afraid someone would see his cards.

This behavior was common in Three Card Poker games.

It wasn’t considered out of the ordinary.

Sitting to his right was a skinny, tall man.

Average-looking, even a bit ugly.

Everyone called him Brother Zhu.

They all spoke to him quite respectfully.

It seemed he was someone with a bit of status.

Brother Zhu was also a heavy smoker.

From the start of the game, he smoked one cigarette after another.

Filling the room with smoke and haze.

His way of looking at his cards was also unique.

He placed them behind the stack of money.

But once he looked at his cards.

He would use the stack of money to cover them.

Only revealing them when it was time to show his hand.

Originally, I was studying the chubby guy.

Suddenly, the short crew-cut guy sitting opposite the chubby guy caught my attention.

This crew-cut guy wasn’t tall, but he looked sturdy.

Unlike Tao Hua’s chatterbox nature.

He wasn’t much of a talker.

But when he looked at someone, his gaze always carried a hint of ferocity.

This round, he was the dealer.

While dealing, he would always glance down subtly.

And from that glance, I noticed something was off.

On the crew-cut guy’s hand was a platinum band ring.

I knew.

When he looked down, he was actually looking at the ring.

Because while dealing, if he slightly pushed the cards forward.

He could see the points of the cards reflected in the ring.

This cheating technique was quite common.

The tools used varied widely.

Some used silver-plated or stainless steel lighters.

Others used stainless steel cups.

And some simply held a thumbtack between their fingers.

In short, anything reflective could be used to cheat in this way.

But this crew-cut guy’s technique was mediocre, and his nerve wasn’t strong.

When he dealt, if anyone watched him.

He wouldn’t dare to look down at his ring.

This also meant that the number of cards he could see was very limited.

At first, I thought.

Maybe he was in cahoots with the chubby guy.

Using a secret signal to tell the chubby guy who had the higher cards.

But after watching for a while, I realized there was almost no communication between the two.

I could confirm that they were not working together.

But there was definitely something fishy about the chubby guy.

I just hadn’t figured out his method of cheating yet.

Some might think.

That my swindling skills are very high.

That if someone cheats at the table, I could see through it at a glance.

But in reality, that’s impossible.

The methods of cheating are diverse.

No one can claim to know them all.

Especially with the advancement of technology.

New types of cheating devices are emerging endlessly, making them hard to guard against.

This round, the heavy smoker Brother Zhu was the dealer.

When he shuffled, I made a point to remember the order of the cards.

The chubby guy’s cards were the Hearts 7, Diamonds 9, and Diamonds 10.

Just a scattered hand.

While Brother Zhu’s cards were a pair of 2s, plus an 8.

Tao Hua’s cards were a pair of Aces and a Jack.

The other two players had scattered cards.

The betting began.

Brother Zhu chose to play passively, placing a bet of three hundred.

The other two players looked at their cards and immediately discarded them.

It was Tao Hua’s turn, she looked at her cards and called the bet.

The chubby guy also looked at his cards.

By rights, his scattered hand was worthless.

But without any hesitation, he raised the bet to a thousand.

I knew, this guy was about to cheat this round.

Brother Zhu continued to play passively and placed a bet.Tao Hua’s pair of aces could only call.

After two rounds.

Brother Zhu picked up the cards under his stack of money and took a look.

Then, he pressed down on the stack.

Choosing to call.

Tao Hua and the fatty called as well.

When it was Brother Zhu’s turn, he discarded his cards.

At the card table, only Tao Hua and the fatty remained.

Another round went by, and Tao Hua chose to reveal her cards.

She had a pair of aces.

The fatty originally had scattered cards of 7, 9, and 10.

But at the moment of the reveal, his cards turned into a straight of 9, 10, and Jack.

It was certain, the fatty had switched cards.

His method of switching wasn’t sleight of hand.

Instead, it relied on Brother Zhu.

That Jack was Brother Zhu’s.

From the moment Brother Zhu placed his cards under the money stack, I had already sensed something was off.

His stack of money, on the outside, seemed unproblematic.

But in reality, the bottom stack wasn’t money at all.

To be precise, it was a launcher disguised with money.

The cards were tucked inside.

With a press of a button.

The cards shot out like a sleeve dagger, directly into the fatty’s pile of money.

And the speed was so fast, it was imperceptible to the naked eye.

This was also why Brother Zhu pressed down on his money stack.

This method of switching cards.

Actually, it could be done without the launcher.

A skilled swindler, using a flick of the cards, could achieve the same effect.

And even more precisely.

I sighed inwardly.

In this game, out of five players, three were cheating.

In such a card game, who would expect to win money?

Tao Hua had already lost over twenty thousand.

Seeing that I remained motionless, she kept glancing my way.

I didn’t look at her, continuing to act as if I hadn’t noticed anything.

After a little while, my phone suddenly rang.

I took it out to see, it was Old Hei calling.

At this time, his and Li Dabiao’s card game should have almost broken up.

I stood up and went out to answer the call.

The fatty even teased Tao Hua on purpose.

“Sister Hua, aren’t you going to follow and see? He’s taking the call behind your back; it might be some young girl calling…”

Tao Hua rolled her eyes and muttered.

“Wait till this round’s over, I really want to see which brazen hussy dares to snatch my man…”

I ignored them and went out to answer the phone.

On the other end, Old Hei spoke with a hint of excitement:

“Master Chu Liu, is it convenient to talk?”

“It’s convenient, go ahead!”

“I said I had something to do, and the game broke up. I lost eleven thousand, Chen Xiaoxue lost seven or eight thousand. That bastard Li Dabiao still wasn’t satisfied, wants to continue tomorrow!”

“What about Chen Xiaoxue?”

“She didn’t leave, probably went to the bar with Li Dabiao…”

“Did you mention the game tomorrow?”

“I didn’t need to say anything. I just grumbled that we were playing too small. That bastard immediately said, let’s raise the stakes tomorrow, he didn’t bring enough money today…”

I sneered inwardly.

Now it seems.

This catfish has already taken the bait.

After hanging up the phone, before I could return.

The villa’s door suddenly opened.

I looked up to see Tao Hua storming out, furious.