America: I'm really not crazy

Chapter 119 All or Nothing

Drake, initial capital of 100,000.

Li Wei, initial capital of four million.

Etricia... with a principal of ten million.

Texas Hold'em is essentially a complex game of strategy that is based on mathematics, leveraged by psychology, and relies heavily on money management.

Sufficient funds undoubtedly bring a huge advantage.

But Levi chose this project after seeing the large pile of chips in front of Etricia.

Because Texas Hold'em is one of the most difficult games to cheat at.

Player-versus-player, no fixed dealer. This means that the opponent's "home advantage" can be diluted to a minimum.

Information asymmetry is inherent in Texas Hold'em. This means that each player only knows their own hole cards, making the game essentially an "information game." To cheat, one must know everyone's hole cards.

It involves a high degree of skill and a low degree of luck. This means that, in long games, it is possible to make a consistent profit by relying on mathematics and psychology. Essentially, it is not "casinos winning against players" but "players winning against players".

Of course, it's not entirely impossible to cheat.

With the rapid development of science and technology, its impact on humanity is multifaceted.

Hackers tamper with card shuffling machines, use special playing card markings, X-ray tables to read face-down cards, and phone case readers to identify infrared ink markings...

And so on.

However, Li Wei also has advantages that these methods cannot match.

In mathematics, he has a background as a former certified public accountant.

Psychologically, the countless life-or-death experiences he had in the Marine Corps had instilled in him a calm and composed demeanor.

He would only suffer a slight disadvantage in terms of total funds, but with the boost from his [Mystical Talent (Beginner)], Levi was confident he could close the gap within three rounds.

So, the game begins.

To ensure fairness, this game will not use an "automatic shuffling machine," but will instead have the three players take turns shuffling, cutting, and dealing the cards.

This mechanism was proposed by Etris, to the point that Levi even had some doubts that the Platinum Star might not have cheated at all.

However, he will not let his guard down, after all, there are other ways to cheat besides "dealing cards".

The first round of name tag battles ended quickly.

Ace of Diamonds, 9 of Hearts, King of Diamonds.

Drake speaks during the first round of betting.

"I have the least amount of capital, so I'll just place a bet."

As he spoke, he took out a blue "10000" chip and threw it on the table.

"and."

"and."

Levi and Edris followed suit directly, but did not raise their bets.

Both sides, as true rivals, are still in the probing stage.

Drake began dealing his hole cards, two cards to each person.

Li Wei slightly lifted the corner of the card to take a look.

The Ace of Spades and the King of Spades, including their face value, are two pairs, and the two highest pairs.

According to the order of precedence, Li Wei began to speak.

"One hundred thousand."

Drake simply shrugged and folded.

"I happen to have a useless hand, you guys play, I'll just watch the show."

Etricia then immediately put up a million chips.

Clearly, this was an attempt to force Li Wei to fold and gain the initiative.

"Want to join?"

Etricia even started to provoke Levi, adding to his psychological pressure.

Li Wei looked at her quietly.

A full minute passed, until Etricia began to suspect that Levi was deliberately stalling for time, at which point Levi directly pushed out two million chips.

"Add another million."

He has a very strong hand!

Etricia immediately made an accurate judgment.

"I'll give you a million."

Etris followed without hesitation, because in Texas Hold'em, it's never a matter of whoever has the bigger hand winning.

Moreover, she knew that her hole cards, the 9 of Hearts and the 9 of Diamonds, were not small either.

If you include the 9 of spades on the table, he has three of a kind.

Drake began dealing the second round of open cards.

A five of clubs is a useless card for both Levi and Etris.

But Etris put up another two million chips.

"Add another two million."

She wanted to overwhelm Li Wei with both his momentum and financial resources, forcing him to fold.

Alternatively, end the duel directly and force Li Wei to return all the money.

Even if she really lost, she would still have six million in hand, even though she had the most funds.

"All in."

Li Wei pushed the remaining chips in his hand onto the table.

This move surprised both Etric and Drake.

"Li Wei, you're going all in on the first round...you're just gambling on luck, aren't you?"

Drake felt that this simple and brutal "punch" approach lacked both strategic depth and enjoyment.

But Li Wei clearly doesn't think so.

"It's not luck, it's probability... and intuition."

Levi denied Drake's claim, but what he said sounded more like a gamble.

Etricia's beautiful willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly.

She was now unsure whether Li Wei was genuinely confident or had some sophisticated cheating method that she couldn't detect.

"All right."

Drake said no more, because Levi had run out of chips, so he dealt the last card.

King of Spades.

Li Wei immediately revealed his two trump cards.

Three Kings and a pair of Aces, a full house.

"You win."

Etris conceded defeat immediately.

Li Wei said nothing and simply got up.

He wasn't there to collect chips; that's something the waiter will handle.

Instead, according to the rotation rules, it was his turn to deal the cards.

Drake quickly shuffled the cards and handed them to Etris to cut.

Once the cards were in Li Wei's hands, he immediately drew three cards and placed them on the table.

Ace of Hearts, 8 of Spades, 3 of Diamonds.

As the winner of the previous round, Li Wei immediately put up one million chips.

Now that he has the most funds, he begins to suppress Etris in reverse.

As the next player, Etris didn't even wait for her hole cards and simply tapped the table.

"I abstain."

Needless to say, Drake was even worse.

In the blink of an eye, Li Wei won again.

However, he only won two 10000 ante chips.

Then, Etricia got up.

Now it's her turn to deal the cards.

Clearly, she had staked everything on the final game.

This is a truly desperate gamble.

"A smart choice."

Li Wei praised him, then shuffled the cards and taught them to Drake.

Drake casually cut the cards and then taught them to Etris.

However, he seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold.

"Are we getting serious?"

He said this to Idris, seemingly with a sigh, or perhaps a provocation.

Etricia rolled her eyes at him.

"It's not just being serious, it's doing everything I can to save my career and my job."

After saying that, she took the cards and dealt three cards face up, one by one.

5 of diamonds, 2 of spades, 7 of hearts.

Li Wei continued speaking.

But this time, he was much more cautious.

8.

"and."

Edris called, but did not raise—she needed to see her hole cards before making a decision.

Drake glanced at the two of them, his gaze finally settling on Levi.

"So, you're saying this gives me a sense of involvement?"

Then, he went all in.