In this endgame, every round and every moment matters. People will make their moves now. The only obstacles in my course are the Fisherman, the Ginger-Haired man, Tank Top, and of course, Allen.
The Fisherman I need him to help me eliminate the Ginger-Haired man. By taking his Ace of Hearts, the Fisherman can aim for his straight, and the Ginger-Haired man will become a "ghost."
Tank Top will likely go for Allen's King of Spades to complete his three or four of a kind. That's something I'm already working on, glancing at the beer bottle in my hand.
As for Allen, if he somehow swaps the Six of Diamonds for one of the cheater's hands, it's over. But there's no way he'll look at his cards again.
Okay, I have to think carefully. My hand isn't good, and things are about to get chaotic. I have a King of Spades and a Five of Clubs this is a terrible hand. I got so distracted by that blind kid that I didn't make any moves, but now, with everyone ready to act, I'll have to rely on intuition!
"I'd like to swap one of my face-down cards."
"Which one would that be?"
"This one," I said, pointing to the first card.
It was the Six of Diamonds.
The worst-case scenario. Once the Grey-Suited Man's turn comes up, it's over. I must act quickly, but not just yet.
Allen's turn resumed. "Okay, let's see... Which card do I take?"
He picked up the Five of Hearts. "Now, I'd like to place a bet on that guy wearing a red suit his first face-down card."
"How much, sir?"
"5,000."
What the fuck is he doing? First, taking a random face-down card, and now betting on another random face-down card? I just hope this works out.
Oh, wait it all makes sense... No, it doesn't. At least if he bets on a matching card, it's extra money, so...
"That's all for my turn now."
Holy mother of Jesus, what am I doing? Allen thought.
It was then the Superhero's turn to play. He simply picked up the Nine of Diamonds and did nothing.
Wait, I forgot about that guy completely. What is he even doing? I looked over oh, he's not in the best state. That guy probably drank a lot.
"Yeah, and you wanna do that as well," Lilith asked angrily.
"I already told you, my plan is not to get drunk. I just need the bottle for another reason, and also, that guy is not in that bad of a state."
"He has less vision than Asians."
"You can't be racist, Lilith!"
"Mpmhh! I'm out."
"Oh, don't mhmph me like I'm the villain. Whatever."
The Fisherman's turn came.
He took the Six of Clubs, immediately swapping it for the Ace of Hearts, concealing the Ginger-Haired man. My predictions so far have proven right.
Now, for the Ginger-Haired man's turn, he simply picked up the Ace of Clubs. If only the Ace of Hearts was still in his hand. But he gave up, discarding his Nine of Spades with an already-placed bet of 5,000.
It was Snoop's turn. Although I hadn't followed him all game, at least I knew he existed. Oh well. Let's see... The Queen of Clubs and Six of Diamonds. Based on these two face-up cards, he's not a threat. He picked up the Six of Spades. He then placed a bet of 2,000 on all his cards.
I see. Snoop's going for three of a kind or four I'm honestly not sure. Could also be a two-pair. Still, that doesn't affect anything unless he calls Bindu...? No. Do I act now? Do I follow through with my plan? No, not yet. He won't call Bindu, surely...
What do I do? If I go now and he doesn't call Bindu, I lose everything. I must hold on. He wouldn't call... no, no, no, no, no, yes, no, yes, yes, yes, no...
"That's all for my turn."
A sigh of relief. I overthought everything and messed up a little.
Tank Top's turn came around.
He picked up the Jack of Diamonds. I doubt it has any use. He immediately swapped it with Allen's King of Spades and looked disappointed.
At first, I assumed he'd go for three or four of a kind with Kings, but that's not the case anymore. After the Red-Suited Man, one of the cheaters, picked up the King of Hearts, Tank Top must've been aiming for a full house of Kings and Sixes. The reason he looked happy for Allen's King and not for the Red-Suited Man's or the Fisherman's was because he thought Allen was an easy target and wouldn't retaliate. But now, he likely has a two-pair of Kings and Sixes, and he needs to find a Six somehow. He's going to cheat.
The path to victory is filled with many choices, but most of them can close in an instant. A few remain open, though perilous, and few dare to tread them. Once you step onto these paths, there is no turning back. Yet, if you continue forward with unwavering resolve, success will always be within reach.
It was the Red-Suited Man's turn, and then the Grey-Suited Man would undoubtedly call Bindu once his turn arrives.
The situation is currently like this: way before all of this, the man in the green coat took my 7 of diamonds. He obviously cheated and swapped it with a face-down card, likely a useless one. With the 7 of diamonds, the man in the grey suit only needed the 6 of diamonds to complete his hand. Allen then swapped his 6 of diamonds for the grey-suited man's 7 of diamonds.
I didn't follow their exact moves, but from their eye movements and the way they looked at each other, I could tell it was the 7 of diamonds. This meant the grey-suited man had to swap for the 7 of diamonds to complete his hand. His current hand consisted of one useless card and the 4 of diamonds. Meanwhile, Snoop, who had picked up the 9 of diamonds earlier, also held the 8, 5, and 6 of diamonds. He only needed to swap his useless face-down card for the 7 of diamonds to win.
As predicted, the red-suited man swapped one of his face-down cards for the 7 of diamonds. He then picked up another card the 7 of clubs and finished his turn.
Now, it was time for the grey-suited man to swap and complete his hand, declaring "Bindu." Tank Top would now cheat, and I needed to steal the King of Spades and swap all my cards with Allen.
There it was Tank Top grabbed his 3 of hearts, quickly intending to swap it with Snoop's 6 of hearts.
Just then, Allen shouted, "Cheater!"
A few moments earlier:
I leaned close to Allen. "Hey, listen, I'll help you. Just watch the dude with the 6 of clubs and 3 of hearts he's going to cheat. Catch him, and you'll win the game."
What is this kid talking about? There's nothing I can do anyway. I screwed up. Damn, I'll listen to him.
Everyone's eyes turned to Allen as I "accidentally" knocked down my beer bottle. It rolled, stopping precisely near the King of Spades. I then picked up the bottle simultaneously taking the king of spades, cheating in plain sight.
Tank Top couldn't do a thing.
The referee confirmed, "After reviewing the evidence, Tank Top cheated. As per the catching rule, he is disqualified. However, his hand is still in play, and contestants may swap, steal, or bet on his hand."
Everything had gone perfectly, down to the last minor detail. The grey suit swapped with the red suit for the 7 of diamonds. As the man in the green coat relaxed for a moment, thinking he had won, I swapped my 10 of hearts one he had given me earlier for the massive bet of 10,000.
While all eyes were on the grey suited man, I glanced around, picked up the handkerchief I'd been given earlier for my bloody nose, and, wiping the wet surface caused by the beer bottle, swapped my cards with Allen, giving him the royal flush.
As the grey-suited man shouted, "Bindu!" the table went silent for a moment. He revealed his hand, as predicted a straight flush: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 of diamonds. The red-suited man and the green coat followed, unaware I had slipped the 10 of hearts back to him. When it was my turn, I revealed my hand complete trash.
The grey-suited man thought, "Maybe I was just daydreaming. That kid is nothing. Hahaha!"
"So I won, right, referee?"
"As of this moment, yes, but we need all contestants to reveal their hands before the winner is declared. One contestant has yet to do so."
It was Allen. He looked at his cards in shock. That King of Spades, swapped by Tank Top why was it my hand? And where did the Ace of Spades come from? What is going on?
"Old man, I'll just do it for you," said the grey-suited man, revealing Allen's cards.
The grey suited man's face turned pale like he had seen a nightmare.
It was if the road had been set perfectly, each brick aligned to create the pathway to inevitable victory: the royal flush.