As soon as the banker finished speaking, the individual players from the idle side also greeted Old Hei one after another.

Someone even offered Old Hei a seat, inviting him to sit down.

Old Hei initially tried to persuade me not to play, but he sat down confidently.

He slapped the four hundred yuan in his hand on the table and said to the banker:

“Just one round, four hundred, no doubling, if I lose, I’ll leave…”

The game they were playing was called “La 9”.

It was a popular game among the people of Harbin North.

The rules were simple, each person was dealt three cards, and the points were compared after adding them up.

A counted as one point, 10, J, Q, K all counted as zero points.

The rest were calculated according to the face value of the cards.

Nine points were the highest, paying five times. Eight points paid three times, seven points paid twice.

Below seven points, it was a one-to-one payout.

If the banker and the idle player had the same points, the banker won.

However, in this case, no matter how many points, it was calculated as one-to-one, no longer doubling.

La 9 also had leopards and straights.

But only a leopard 3 was considered a leopard, paying ten times.

The rest were not considered leopards and were calculated according to the normal points.

Straights were only considered 2, 3, 4, because the sum was exactly nine points. It paid eight times.

The rest of the straights were also calculated according to the normal points.

As for Old Hei’s no doubling, it meant that he placed this four hundred, no matter how many points he got, even if it was a leopard 3, he would not double, it was all calculated as one-to-one.

Generally, those who say no doubling are out of money. Because once they lose by doubling, they can’t afford to pay the banker.

This way of playing, simple and crude, without any technical content, was deeply loved by gamblers.

Old Hei’s fortune was not bad.

In the first round, he dealt J, 7, A, eight points, while the banker had five points.

Under normal circumstances, Old Hei placed four hundred, eight points doubled, Old Hei could win eight hundred.

But he said no doubling, so he could only win four hundred.

After playing for a while, Old Hei’s card luck was not bad, he won more than two thousand.

Seeing me standing by, afraid that I would be bored.

He took out a thousand yuan and handed it to me, saying:

“This game is pretty good, you should play too. Don’t worry, if you lose, it’s on me…”

Old Hei didn’t care about money and was very righteous.

But I shook my head and refused.

I still adhered to my rule, in any game, I always observe first.

After making sure there was no problem, I would join.

I watched this game for a while, and I could confirm that the banker was cheating.

However, the banker’s method was very poor.

His way of cheating was just one.

Bottom deal.

That is, occasionally dealing the bottom card.

Perhaps he knew that his skills were not good.

Most of the time, he didn’t dare to deal.

His two fingers were on the bottom card.

But because of nervousness, he didn’t deal it.

I laughed to myself.

This kind of skill, which can’t even be considered as amateurish, dared to be used.

He was not afraid of being caught and having his hands chopped off.

In addition to observing the card table, I also paid attention to the situation around the gambling table.

Although this was not a regular casino, just a chess and card room.

There would still be secret lamps coming in and out.

But this gambling den was too big, and the secret lamps seemed to be insufficient.

I watched for so long, only one person who looked like a secret lamp came over.

He just glanced at the card table a few times and then left.

However, a young man with dirty clothes, messy hair, and gray marks on his face caught my attention.

He was not old, looking about eighteen or nineteen.

His clothes were both fat and big, with patches in several places.

Looking at his dress, it was impossible to tell whether he was a man or a woman.

But I found that his eyes were very beautiful.

Clear and bright.

At first, I thought he was a secret lamp disguised in the gambling den.

But after watching for a while, I found that this beggar-like young man.

His attention was not on the game, but on who won and who lost.

Whenever he saw someone winning money, he wanted to get closer.

It seemed that he was a little beggar who wanted to mooch off the lucky money.

Because the way of playing La 9 was to place a bet first.

After dealing three cards, the idle players compared their points with the banker, without the process of drawing cards and placing bets again.

This also led to the fact that if the idle players wanted to cheat, apart from hiding cards and swapping cards, there was no other good way.

Even if you recognize the cards, it’s useless to find a game.

Because after dealing, you compare directly, even if you deal openly, the result is the same.

And hiding cards means leaving evidence on your body, which carries the risk of exposure at any time.

The best way to win money is to be the banker.

In this game, the banker was not fixed.

Whoever got a leopard 3 or a straight 234 could rob the bank.

If you didn’t bring enough money and didn’t want to be the banker, you could also sell the bank for a few hundred yuan.

During the process of my watching, Old Hei had lost all his money.

It was clear that he still wanted to play.

Sitting in his seat, he seemed reluctant to get up.

So I took out two thousand yuan and threw it in front of Old Hei, saying:

“You play with this first…”

Old Hei gratefully glanced at me.

Seeing that I had a good relationship with Old Hei, the banker took the initiative to invite me, saying:

“Come on, brother, you should also start a game…”

I was planning to join, and since he spoke up.

I found a seat and sat down.

The minimum bet for this game was one hundred, and the maximum was one thousand.

I just placed one hundred and two hundred, casually.

I didn’t care about winning or losing, I was just waiting for the opportunity to be the banker.

Perhaps my luck was really bad.

I played for more than an hour, but I didn’t get a leopard 3 or a straight.

I decided that I couldn’t wait like this.

Cheating was the fastest way.

Because Master Liu once warned me.

A swindler should not leave evidence on his body.

Leaving evidence means leaving trouble.

I asked Master Liu, what if I had to hide cards and steal cards?

Master Liu was silent for a long time before he told me.

There was only one way, to shift the blame onto others.

But this method was best not used.

This was also the reason why I hadn’t stolen or hidden any cards yet.

In this round, I had four points, two 2s, and a 10.

After comparing the cards, I quietly kept a 2 in my hand when I put the cards back into the deck.

This move is called “Holding the Universe in the Palm” in the Swindler techniques.

It’s a beginner-level Swindler technique.

When The Swindler uses it, his fingers would involuntarily bend slightly inward.

This is to ensure that the card in his hand doesn’t fall.

But I don’t need to do that, I can keep my palm flat, and the card won’t fall.

If anyone wants to see the inside of my palm, when I turn my palm over.

I can flip the card to the back of my palm at a speed invisible to the naked eye. The card still won’t fall.

Of course, in such a chaotic situation with many eyes watching.

After holding the card in the palm, the card needs to be quickly transferred.

Sleeves, clothes, pants.

Anywhere is fine, as long as it’s convenient for me.

After hiding a 2, after a few rounds, I finally used this 2 to make a straight of 234.

But I didn’t bet much, only 100, eight times.

The Banker paid me eight hundred, and I could also become the Banker.

Shuffling, cutting the cards, dealing cards.

It all looked as normal as it could be.

But in reality, I was in control of the whole game.

When shuffling, I could remember the order of every card without using any Swindler techniques.

And when dealing cards, I could freely draw any one of the 52 cards.

Even if you stare at it, with your eyes wide open, you won’t be able to see any flaws.

But I was still very cautious, the cards I dealt each round were neither too big nor too small.

If I could win three and lose two, that would be enough.

Of course, Old Hei would almost always be in the house that I lost to.

Occasionally, I would also let loose and lose to everyone.

As I was playing.

Suddenly, a man’s voice came from the side.

“This kid looks unfamiliar…”