Chapter 139: A Bet with No Escape [1]
There were four tables in the dedicated dice room.
Dan walked over to one of them.
"Hey, who do we have here?"
"Decided to clock in after a while, huh?"
The two people sitting at the table recognized him: Snake Eyes and Odd Ear. They were a pair, like flies, always looking to swindle easy marks out of their money.
Of course, they were just small fry.
They knew Dan, but they weren't partners. They were more like competitors, each trying to scam the easy marks first.
"Hello, everyone." Dan greeted them.
"Just in time; two seats are opening up here. It would be perfect if you two sat down, right?" Snake Eyes said with a sly smile.
"That sounds good." Odd Ear nodded in agreement.
They had immediately sensed that Dan was an easy mark. They were pressuring him to share the good fortune, not to hog it all to himself.
"Hmm, I'm fine with it. Are you?" Dan accepted the offer without much thought.
He was a real player, confident he could sweep the stakes at the crucial moment if he chose to. Of course, he would subtly control the game.
"I don't mind. There's no other empty seat anyway."
"Ha-ha, then shall we go?"
They sat down at the table with Snake Eyes and Odd Ear.
As soon as Dan sat down, he boldly placed all his chips next to him—a showy gesture, something that naive marks often do.
He saw Snake Eyes and Odd Ear trying not to laugh.
They must have thought an easy prey had just rolled in.
'Enjoy it as much as you want.' Dan also let out a laugh. They would never understand what that laugh meant.
"You're a young guy, but you seem to have made it big." Snake Eyes flattered him.
Flattering the mark was a very basic tactic for them.
"Making money is the easiest thing in the world."
Dan played the part of an overconfident mark.
"If there's such an easy way, I'd like to learn it too."
"Not everyone can do it."
"Ha-ha, of course. You're quite something."
Snake Eyes played along just right. Dan couldn't help but laugh because it was so transparent.
"Alright, enough chit-chat; let's start the game. That's what we're here for, right?" Odd Ear changed the subject.
"Is the basic rule fine?"
The basic rule was the simplest: roll three dice in a wooden cup, and the person with the highest number takes the pot.
"Yeah."
"Simple is best."
Everyone agreed. Dan nodded too, planning to go along with whatever they wanted to do anyway.
"Then let's add the rule of increasing the stakes based on the number of games."
The rule allowed you to bet multiples of the base stake depending on the number of games played.
For example, if it was the fifth game, you could bet up to five times the base stake. This was precisely the means to fleece the mark.
At first, they would deliberately lose to boost the mark's confidence, and when the stakes were high enough, they would take the opportunity to sweep the money.
Even if they were small-time hustlers, they each had at least one trick to manipulate the dice numbers.
For someone like Dan, who was at a much higher level, it went without saying. Of course, he was the only one who knew his true skills.
"Let's do that."
Again, everyone agreed. There was no reason to oppose the most important rule.
And so, the dice gambling began.
"Ah, the numbers just aren't coming up today." Snake Eyes grumbled.
"That's right." Dan also shook his head and clicked his tongue.
In the early game, he had won 7 out of 10 rounds. It was a result orchestrated by the hustlers.
Dan and the other two weren't in the same gang, but giving the mark an early win was almost an unspoken agreement.
The mark had to taste winning so that even if they lost money, they wouldn't leave the table.
They would keep gambling, eyes wide with greed, trying to win back what they lost, thinking they had won by skill.
"Ha-ha, well, luck comes and goes, doesn't it?" Dan played the happy mark.
"Yeah, it goes around. Ah, screw it. Maybe if I bet more, my luck will stick." Odd Ear made the first move.
So far, he had only been betting the basic 10 chips, but now he raised the bet by 5 chips for the first time.
He was setting the mood to raise the stakes.
"Come on, what's 15 chips?" Snake Eyes, from the same pack, casually placed 15 chips as well.
Objectively, they were in the most advantageous position.
After all, as long as one of them won, it was a victory. They would split the money amicably.
"Well, can't be helped." Dan appeared to be reluctantly going along.
The guy Dan knew wouldn't show his true skills until the crucial moment.
He was probably waiting for the right time in the second half to make his move.
'Yeah, have fun playing.' Dan smirked inwardly and placed the same amount of chips.
Soon the money would start flowing to them, but it didn't matter. It was money that would eventually come back to him.
"Alright, let's go."
The gambling game entered a new phase.
"Crap, damn it." Dan grimaced and groaned.
The large amount of chips in front of him had vanished at some point.
As the game went on, they had all gone to the hustlers, especially to Snake Eyes and Odd Ear.
Dan hadn't won much yet.
He seemed to be expecting that Dan still had a lot of money left. If Dan got angry and threw in even that money, he would seriously start targeting it.
He was indeed a con artist of a higher order.
"Oh dear, it seems our young friend has lost his luck this time. What will you do? Can you continue?" Snake Eyes subtly provoked him.
He was trying to make Dan angry to keep him gambling. Of course, Dan would oblige.
"Tch, it's all luck anyway. Let's keep going."
Dan turned his head towards the staff.
"Hey, come here."
The staff approached.
"What can I do for you?"
"Chip exchange. Quick."
Dan pulled out a check instead of gold this time.
At that moment, he could feel everyone's eyes widen in shock. It couldn't be helped.
The check he had taken out was worth a whopping 1,000 gold.
"How much would you like?"
"All of it, of course."
"All of it?"
"Yes. Hurry up and exchange it."
"Ah, right away."
The staff hurried off.
Of course, they had to. The chip exchange fee alone was a considerable amount.
Gulp....
Someone swallowed their saliva.
The faces of the hustlers were drenched in undeniable excitement. They must have thought they were lucky to have met such an incredible mark.
"Here you are." Soon, the staff brought a huge amount of chips. It was very prompt service.
"Thanks." Dan turned his attention back to the gambling table.
Now it was time to show them who was in control here.
After all I couldn't let these fuckers to rob me, now can I?
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