The game continued, and everyone put in their ante. The kid who had been collecting the money just now acted as the dealer.
This time, it was Ma Ben's turn to speak. Ma Ben didn't play blind; he chose to look at his cards immediately.
After looking, Ma Ben remained expressionless. No one could tell if his hand was strong or weak, but he immediately bet 5 yuan.
Since Ma Ben was the first to speak and had looked at his cards, the player to his left thought for a moment and also picked up his cards. After looking, he hesitated for a long while before calling the 5 yuan, but the joy hidden in his eyes was spotted by Wang An.
Clearly, this kid had a strong hand, but he didn't want to expose it. He wanted to let everyone bet for a few more rounds before he swept the pot.
The player to his left was Li Ertie. Since two people had already looked at their cards and bet, playing blind was no longer meaningful, so he looked at his cards without hesitation.
However, after looking, Li Ertie folded immediately. It was now Wang An's turn to speak.
Without a second thought, Wang An played blind and bet 2 yuan.
Wang An's action stunned everyone at the table. Naturally, the bystanders who were "playing dumb" were also stunned.
The main point was that with two people having looked at their cards and bet, it was pointless for Wang An to play blind.
As the saying goes, "When others have their eyes open, why would you fear a blind man?"
But Wang An didn't care about any of that. His main strategy was to play unpredictably—to act as if he "didn't really know how to play."
After Wang An bet 2 yuan blind, of the next two players, one looked at his cards and bet 5 yuan, while the other folded.
Thus, only four players remained, including Wang An. It was Ma Ben's turn to speak.
Without thinking, Ma Ben tossed in 5 yuan. The player to his left did the same. But when it reached Wang An, he played blind again and bet 2 yuan.
In truth, the only reason Wang An was doing this was that he had taken a dislike to the man who only had a little over a thousand yuan.
Wanting to win ten thousand with only a thousand in your pocket? What a pipe dream.
Did he really think people who dare to bring ten thousand yuan to a gambling table are all idiots?
In a game like this, the betting alone could drain a penniless man dry.
The four of them continued to throw money onto the table round after round. A large pile quickly accumulated, totaling over 500 yuan.
However, because Wang An played blind and only bet 2 yuan each time, he had spent very little.
But the other three, including Ma Ben, had to shell out 5 yuan per round, so the pressure on them was obvious.
After an unknown number of rounds, the man who had started with just over a thousand—the one whose eyes had flashed with joy—finally couldn't hold out. He paid 10 yuan to see the cards of the player to Ma Ben's left.
According to the rules of Zha Jin Hua, when there are three or more players, you can only pay to see the cards of someone who has already looked at their hand and bet. Someone like Wang An, who played blind the whole time, could not be seen even if you paid.
After seeing the cards, the player to Ma Ben's left had his hand thrown into the muck.
Only Wang An, Ma Ben, and the player to Ma Ben's left remained.
After being forced to fold, the player to Ma Ben's left looked at Wang An with a changed expression.
In Zha Jin Hua, the worst thing is to encounter a "shit-stirrer" like Wang An. Because of Wang An's behavior, players with strong—but not the strongest—hands, like the man who just folded, ended up throwing away a lot of money for nothing.
Even if Wang An folded, he would be the one with the smallest loss.
Yet, Wang An's face remained devoid of expression; he was as steady as an old dog. When it was his turn to speak, Wang An even raised the price, betting 4 yuan blind.
Ma Ben seemed confident in his hand, but since Wang An bet 4 blind, Ma Ben had to bet 10 to call.
Unfortunately, Ma Ben's left-hand man—the one with just over a thousand yuan—couldn't hold out again. This time, to see the cards, he had to pay 20. By now, he only had about 600 yuan left.
So, he tossed 20 yuan into the pile and asked to see Ma Ben's cards.
After seeing Ma Ben's hand, the kid immediately broke into a cold sweat. His hands began to tremble, and his face turned pale. He returned the cards to Ma Ben and tremblingly folded his own hand.
In one hand, over 400 yuan—a full year's salary for a formal employee—had vanished without even making a splash.
As he tremblingly threw his cards, he likely misjudged his strength, and all three cards flipped over on the table: a flush of Clubs, King-Queen-Ten, also known as "K-Gold."
A K-Gold is a seriously strong hand in Zha Jin Hua!
From this, it was evident that Ma Ben's hand had to be at least an Ace-high flush (A-Gold), or perhaps even a straight flush.
As for a Three-of-a-Kind, it was unlikely; after so many rounds, if he had a Three-of-a-Kind, he would have capped the bet at 10 long ago.
After Ma Ben's left-hand man folded, it was Wang An's turn. Only then did Wang An unhurriedly pick up his three cards, take a glance, throw them back into the pile, and say indifferently to Ma Ben
"You take it."
At this moment, Wang An's move made people truly furious.
A total shit-stirrer from start to finish. He had caused Ma Ben's left and right neighbors to throw in over 400 yuan each, yet in the end, Wang An didn't even reveal his cards—he just folded.
Ma Ben looked at Wang An with joy, but the other two looked at him with pure indignation!
Having learned his lesson, the man with less than 600 yuan left became increasingly cautious. He basically folded as soon as he looked at his cards; sometimes he even folded a small straight.
Even so, with a 1-yuan ante each time, the money in his hand continued to dwindle.
Everyone around could see that the kid no longer dared to bet; he was completely broken.
Wang An was also in a state of losing more than he won, but the bundle of "Big Unity" bills he had on the table hadn't even decreased by half a stack; he had lost less than 300 yuan.
Finally, Wang An won a pot and became the dealer again.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Wang An used extremely fast sleight-of-hand to deal himself a Q-K-A straight flush.
He dealt Ma Ben an A-2-3 straight flush, the kid with 500 yuan a K-J-7 flush, and the kid who had won several pots a rainbow 7-8-9 straight. The remaining two received low cards.
That's right, Wang An was about to start harvesting!
In fact, in a gambling game like Zha Jin Hua, the hands that cost the most money are straight flushes and flushes. If you only ever get pairs or a single Ace, you actually can't lose that much money.
After all, who would dare keep calling with just a pair? That would be pure nonsense.
In this hand, starting from Wang An's left, the first player bet 2 blind, and the next three all bet 2 blind. When it reached the kid with the K-J-7 flush, he was the first to look at his cards, but this time, he called with 5 yuan.
Although his expression was calm, everyone knew this kid had a big hand.
Because he had folded dozens of hands in a row, it was impossible for him to call now without a strong hand.
Since he looked and called, the player to his left naturally couldn't hold back. He looked at his rainbow 7-8-9 straight and called with 5 yuan. Wang An, however, remained the same, betting 2 blind.
Everyone had grown accustomed to Wang An's operations; he would absolutely never look at his cards until he had played blind for several rounds.