Their competitors’ victory in the first round made the two girls of the yellow team alert. They knew they had met a master. In the second game, the two of them became more cautious. They didn’t dare to easily play the bomb cards. They had to save them for suppressing Shao Qingge at the critical moment.
In this round, everyone’s hands weren’t that good. There weren’t as many straights as the last round, they were all small pairs, triples and singles. The four players played back and forth slowly.
However, somehow, Shao Qingge ended up with just two cards left. At this time, the right to play was in Ye Qi’s hands.
The one after Ye Qi was the girl with the ponytail. He had already determined that there were no pairs left in her hand as he remembered that she didn’t play in the last round with pairs. Chief Shao had two cards remaining in his hand. Would he have kept a pair to the end?
Ye Qi glanced at Shao Qingge and played two cards. “Pair of 4s.”
The next girl really didn’t have a pair and she said, “Skip.”
Shao Qingge smiled slightly and threw down two cards. “Pair of 6s.”
Everyone, “………”
Xiao Ye escorted Chief Shao to finish his hand and Chief Shao won first place again!
The two girls simply wanted to cry. The opponents were too unpredictable, they couldn’t defend against it. The tacit understanding between the two men playing cards was really invincible.
Shao Qingge finished in first place and Ye Qi finished third. The two won 145 table points and got 50 bonus points for a total of 195 points.
The Clubs teenager spoke lightly. “In the second game, the red team won. According to the rules of the three game, two wins system, the red team has won two consecutive victories and the yellow team is eliminated. Blue team players, please prepare.”
The blue team’s Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang looked at each other.
The blue team was the biggest winner in the last round with over 300 points. Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang were very good card players. They often played card games in their university dormitory and cooperated well with each other. However, the performance of Shao Qingge and Ye Qi just now made them wary.
Gao Xiaoyi whispered in her junior’s ears. “Did you notice? Mr Bug King is very good at counting cards.” They didn’t know Shao Qingge’s name. In 8 of Spades, Shao Qingge had changed to the bug king so Gao Xiaoyi just called him Mr Bug King.
Lin Yuhang pushed up his glasses. “He should be a master of card games. He can analyze the hands of his opponents and teammates based on the table. We have to be careful later. A point is a point. We still have over 300 points in our hands and this isn’t any worse than them.”
Gao Xiaoyi also nodded. “Okay, jiayou.”
Talking or any other form of signalling were not allowed at the table. After the two of them sat down, they waited silently for the cards to be dealt.
The second round of the game began. It was red vs blue.
In this round, Ye Qi got dealt the cards first. In the third card dealt, he got the 3 of Hearts and the keeper soon finished distributing all 108 cards from the two decks.
Ye Qi played the card first. Since the game stipulated that the first player must play 3 of Hearts, Ye Qi who didn’t have a combination could only play the single 3 of Hearts.
Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang were obviously calmer than the two girls from the last game. They didn’t rush to suppress cards. Gao Xiaoyi was next and she played a 4. Shao Qingge played a 6, Lin Yuhang a 7…
Everyone took this opportunity to get rid of some cards that couldn’t be combined in their hands. The single cards were played until a 2 and subsequently, Shao Qingge played a little joker to finish it.
Gao Xiaoyi said, “No.”
Ye Qi and Lin Yuhang also said one after another, “No.”
None of the three wanted to suppress this small joker, so there was only one possibility. The two big jokers were in the hands of the same person.
Shao Qingge didn’t have a big joker in his hand. If Ye Qi had a big joker, he wouldn’t suppress Shao Qingge’s card. However, if a single big joker was in the hands of either Gao Xiaoyi or Lin Yuhang, they would definitely suppress Shao Qingge’s card to get the right to play.
The right to play cards was very important in this game. Sometimes, they could get the chance to play dozens of cards in one go. If they didn’t get the right to play, it didn’t matter if they had a bunch of good cards in their hands. The opponent might not play this combination and it would feel suffocating to death.
Since no one suppressed the little joker, it meant the two big jokers were in the hands of the same person. Whose hands were they in? Shao Qingge quickly calculated it in his mind while clearing his hand of small pairs.
The card game continued. Half the cards in everyone’s hands had been played when at this moment, Gao Xiaoyi threw out the invincible 888, 999, 101010!
Basically, no one could get this type of connected triple. The probability of getting it out of 108 cards was incredibly low.
Shao Qingge looked at Ye Qi and the young boy said bitterly, “I can’t raise it.”
It seemed that Xiao Ye didn’t have the double big jokers in his hand or he wouldn’t let go of such a big hand. Gao Xiaoyi’s combination contained three 10s, which was 30 points. Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang must be holding the biggest bomb in their hands.
The situation wasn’t very optimistic and Shao Qingge simply threw out, “3333.”
This bomb was bigger than other card types. The moment Shao Qingge played it, the onlookers sighed with relief. Were Gao Xiaoyi’s three 10s going to be delivered to Chief Shao’s pocket?
Lin Yuhang calmly threw out the pair of jokers, but Shao Qingge had anticipated this move. Shao Qingge smiled slightly. He had done this to force out the opponent’s bomb to ensure that the next cards wouldn’t be eaten by the opponent.
Lin Yuhang used the bomb to help his teammate score 30 points and the situation looked very good. However, his hand hadn’t reached the point where it could be played all at once. When there were only four cards left in his hand, Lin Yuhang played a single card.
Shao Qingge said, “Little joker.”
Everyone, “………”
In fact, Chief Shao also had a bomb: two little jokers. However, he didn’t play this and instead separated the two.
Ye Qi’s eyes lit up. Obviously, Chief Shao had too many single cards in his hand. If he played the two little jokers as a bomb, it would be wasted if his opponent had the bigger bomb. By separating it, he could gain the right to play twice.
If there were too many single cards then breaking up the jokers was actually a good strategy. In particular, it was effective now that Lin Yuhang’s two jokers had been played out and Chief Shao’s little joker was the biggest card.
The situation immediately changed. Shao Qingge not only dismantled the two jokers but he also played a pair of 2s as two single cards. At this point, Gao Xiaoyi was holding a straight in her hand and she was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
She originally thought that after playing the three consecutive triples, she could play this straight and there was also a small pair in her hands that could be emptied at any time. Unexpectedly, Chief Shao blew up her triples and her teammate was forced to use their bomb. However, Lin Yuhang didn’t have a straight in his hand and he played a single card. Then Shao Qingge snatched the right to play.
Shao Qingge started to play single cards frantically and the straight in her hand almost suffocated her to death. She saw Shao Qingge and Ye Qi play single cards one after the other. You play a 7, I play an 8, you play a 9, I play a J…
Lin Yuhang and Gao Xiaoyi, “……”
The table was given to them to perform. The two others had good hands but couldn’t play. Finally, Shao Qingge threw out a ‘2’ and ended it with a ‘pair of 5s.’ Ye Qi smiled and threw out a ‘pair of 8s.’
At the end of the game, Shao Qingge ranked first, Ye Qi was second and they got another 100 bonus points.
Gao Xiaoyi spread out her hand and wanted to cry…
She was suffocated alive with a big straight!
The two demons Shao Qingge and Ye Qi had several pairs in their hands but they split them into single cards to play. In the final stage, the single cards were played by them. She couldn’t break down the straight in her hand and could only watch the two of them finish playing.
Xiao Lou watched the battle and spoke emotionally, “Chief Shao is really good at counting cards. The key to this game was splitting up the two small jokers and the pair of 2s.”
Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Yes, he guessed that he and Ye Qi have a large number of single cards. Playing the two jokers and pair of 2s as four single cards is more advantageous to them.”
Results proved that Shao Qingge’s decision was correct. The two of them squeezed Gao Xiaoyi’s straight to death by playing single cards one by one. Don’t even mention how depressed Gao Xiaoyi was feeling. It felt like having martial arts but nowhere to use it.
Soon, the second game began. Uncharacteristically, this time Shao Qingge played fiercely at the start. He drew the 3 of Hearts and directly threw a straight of 3456789. It was a seven card straight and it was hard to beat him with a bigger straight. It could only be a bomb.
However, the game had just started and Shao Qingge’s straight only had 5 points. This wasn’t cost-effective. They would hold steady and look again. Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang both thought so.
No one played any cards and Shao Qingge continued with 667788.
Gao Xiaoyi counted Shao Qingge’s cards. He had already played 13 out of 27 cards and there were 14 cards left in his hand. Surely he couldn’t play all of them at once? This 667788 also had no points so there was no need to blow it up.
Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang still didn’t act. This was almost all the good cards in Shao Qingge’s hand. He finally played a 4 of Diamonds.
Gao Xiaoyi sighed with relief. Everyone started to play single cards and the game eased for a while.
Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang regained the right to play cards and they played many straights. Ye Qi’s luck in this game wasn’t very good. There were no straights, only pairs or triples in his hand. No one had pairs and triples so he could only watch them play.
It entered the stage of ‘three people playing cards, Xiao Ye watching the show.”
Every time it was his turn, Ye Qi would say, “I can’t raise it.”
In the blink of an eye, everyone except for Ye Qi had played almost all their cards. Lin Yuhang had four cards left. At this time, he had the right to play. In Gao Xiaoyi’s hands, she had a pair of 5s, an 8 of Diamonds and a 2 of Spades.
The 2 was the largest single card other than a joker so she didn’t have to worry about it. As for the pairs, no one had played any this round. She guessed that Ye Qi should have many pairs in his hand. Otherwise, Ye Qi wouldn’t keep shouting ‘I can’t raise it’ despite holding a dozen cards.
Gao Xiaoyi decisively played the 8 of Diamonds. Her junior brother had four cards in his hand and she wanted to give her junior a single card to finish his cards. Then she could use the highest 2 to grab the right to play and throw the last pair, winning.
Lin Yuhang happened to have a 9 of Diamonds and 5, 10 and K bomb.
In the Fifty K game, the small bomb formed by the three bonus cards was only less powerful than the double jokers bomb and the four of a kind bomb. It could blow up every other card.
Therefore, Lin Yuhang was happy when Gao Xiaoyi played a single card. No matter what the next player played, he just needed to blow up his opponent’s card and play the final 9 of Diamonds. Then he would be first.
He patiently waited for Shao Qingge to play the card. Shao Qingge played a 2 of hearts. It was Ye Qi’s turn and he helplessly said, “No.”
It was Lin Yuhang’s turn. The boy threw the 5, 10 and K decisively and with a hint of excitement in his voice called, “Fifty K, bomb!”
He was certain that Ye Qi had no bomb in his hand. The young boy hadn’t played any cards for a long time and was passively watching the show.
At the last moment, Lin Yuhang’s bomb was thrown out and it was an invincible existence. The players watching the game thought so. Lin Yuhang had one card left in his hand and no one could control his bombing. He would surely win this round.
As a result, Shao Qingge suddenly smiled and said, “Perfect Fifty K.”
The man’s slender fingers gently opened the 5, 10 and K of hearts on the table.
Lin Yuhang, “……”
Everyone, “………”
Lin Yuhang’s 5, 10 and K were of different suits while Shao Qingge had the same suit. Shao Qingge’s hand was bigger.
It was 50 points!
Shao Qingge actually reserved a 5, 10 and K of the same suit for the endgame. This man was really good at planning. The thing that made Lin Yuhang even more desperate was that Shao Qingge had only two cards left after playing the Perfect Fifty K.
The next moment, Shao Qingge played a pair of Js. Ye Qi’s eyes lit up and he immediately threw a pair of Qs.
Gao Xiaoyi, “…I can’t raise it.”
Lin Yuhang only had the single card left and he naturally couldn’t play a pair.
Ye Qi smiled and played, “Pair of 8s.”
Gao Xiaoi, “……” She had a pair of 5s in her hands, sorry!
Ye Qi, “Pair of 10s.”
Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang, “……”
The two of them could only watch as Ye Qi started to perform alone.
Since everyone had been playing straights and other combinations in the game, Ye Qi could only hold onto his pairs and watch the three of them play. Shao Qingge calculated the approximate hands of the three people according to the cards on the table and helped Ye Qi at the last minute.
Xiao Ye was very powerful. His pair of 4s might’ve been eaten by Gao Xiaoyi’s pair of 5s but Lin Yuhang only had a pitiful 9 left. Ye Qi kept playing pairs and triples to bully Lin Yuhang. Lin Yuhang wanted to cry but he could only pinch his 9 and watch
Shao Qingge was first and Ye Qi was third. The two of them got 50 bonus points.
Shao Qingge and Ye Qi continued to master the rhythm for the next games.
The strong players from the blue and yellow teams had already been sent out. The last pairs were young people who had just learned to play Fifty K. Forget counting cards, sometimes even their combination of cards would be calculated incorrectly. Shao Qingge and Ye Qi cooperated to win four games in a row.
The Clubs teenager spoke lightly. “The game is over and the red team has a winning streak. The final points are 1,480 points. If the points deducted from the blue and yellow teams aren’t enough, it will be deducted from the bank card balance.”
The blue and yellow teams were almost crying. Unexpectedly, Shao Qingge and Ye Qi took the entire game, winning four rounds and eight small games in a row, killing all their opponents!
Ye Qi ran over excitedly. “It’s great! Hahaha, we won over 10 million. This is enough for you to use your skills many times!”
The key to winning the four rounds was Shao Qingge.
HIs card counting ability was really powerful. He could calculate the approximate card type of his opponent based on the cards already on the table and leave key cards behind to interrupt the opponent’s rhythm. Even if other people could play, they weren’t professional poker players. In the process of playing cards, it was difficult to remember which of the 109 cards had been played and which were still in someone’s hand.
Shao Qingge could remember every card very clearly.
For example, in the last game against Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang. The number of 5, 10 and K cards on the table weren’t enough and Ye Qi had once played the K card, so he naturally wasn’t holding the 5, 10 and K as a bomb. It was obviously Lin Yuhang who was holding it. Then he could infer from the suit that his bomb was bigger than Lin Yuhang’s one.
Shao Qingge deliberately left his 5, 10 and K to the end, making Lin Yuhang dumbfounded.
Seeing Ye Qi’s excitement, Shao Qingge couldn’t help reaching out to rub the young man’s hair. “We work together well.”
Ye Qi laughed. “It was Chief Shao who led me well!”
Shao Qingge smiled slightly. He had to say that playing cards with Xiao Ye was completely different from previously playing cards with his friends. Every time a card he played gave Ye Qi the right to play, Ye Qi’s eyes would brighten. The more excited he looked, the cuter he became.
Winning eight games in a row with the little guy was more important than the money he won.
The Clubs teenager said, “Please redeem the reward.”
The red team became the biggest winner. Their teammates watched as a large box of gold coins was handed to them by the keeper. The gold coins make everyone’s eyes light up. Chief Shao’s ability to make money was really awesome!
TL: Thank you Sartorial Avarice for your fanart contribution for CR in the CG Summer Competition. In addition, I’ve compiled all the fanart for CR so far in one page for ease of finding and it will be linked to the table of contents.
Fanart Page
