Yang Yi counted the stack of chips in front of him: five hundred in total.
Ten 10-unit chips, blue.
Twenty 5-unit chips, green.
The remaining three were black 100-unit chips.
Xiao Lin dealt at a brisk pace, a result of Mazi's meticulous training. Yang Yi sensed that in his younger days, Mazi must have spent considerable time in Macau, likely frequenting casinos of all sizes.
Xiao Lin shuffled and flipped six cards from the deck, spreading them across the table in order: Ace of Diamonds, Queen of Hearts, 3 of Spades, Ace of Spades, 8 of Clubs, and 2 of Diamonds.
This was the "draw for the button" before the game began.
Six cards for six players. Ace is high, 2 is low. If two Aces appeared, the suit determined the rank: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, then Clubs. Yang Yi sat before the Ace of Diamonds, while Mazi had the Ace of Spades. Mazi was the dealer for the first hand of the night. The blinds were 5/10, with a 500-chip buy-in for everyone.
Next to Mazi was Xiao Liu, the Small Blind. Before the deal, he tossed a green chip into the pot.
Next to Xiao Liu was Golden Tooth, the Big Blind, who posted a blue chip.
The Dealer, Small Blind, and Big Blind are the pivotal positions. After each hand, the dealer button rotates clockwise to the next player, and the other positions shift accordingly.
Xiao Lin shuffled again, collected the blinds, tapped the table, and began to deal.
Yang Yi picked up his two hole cards. The texture and design were inferior to those at Brother Hei's place; Mazi had cut corners, and the cards felt a bit "low-rent."
The "all-in" theatrics common in Hong Kong cinema were nowhere to be found here at Wufang. From the start, all six players were exceptionally cautious. Often, just after the deal, Xiao Lin would have to collect the folded cards and reshuffle for the next round.
The reason was simple: nearly everyone played only pocket pairs or hands with an Ace. Mazi had taught them that an Ace was the strongest high card; if an Ace hit the board, you had top pair—Aces. And if you held a pair of 8s and another 8 appeared, you had three-of-a-kind, which beats any pair.
Thus, whenever someone called or raised, Yang Yi could guess they held either a pair or an Ace. If a player who had been betting consistently suddenly stopped, they had likely seen a scare card on the board that outranked their hand.
At least to Yang Yi's eyes, Zhenzhen, Mazi, Golden Tooth, and himself followed this logic strictly. Only Xiao Liu and Brother Long would occasionally show down hands like Jack-Ten, King-Nine, or Five-Six.
The first few games ended quickly. Yang Yi secured one first-place finish and two seconds, netting 660 units.
As the others were knocked out, they hovered nearby, urging the remaining players to hurry up; sitting on the sidelines was sheer boredom.
"Yi, how many wins is that for you now?" Zhenzhen asked.
"Not many, just one."
"Yang Yi plays well," Mazi chimed in, checking the time on his phone. "This should be our last game for today, right? Anyone haven't placed yet?" He turned his gaze toward Golden Tooth.
Everyone instantly caught Mazi's drift and looked at Golden Tooth with a grin. He was the only one who hadn't made the money all night, consistently finishing fifth or sixth. Golden Tooth adjusted his reading glasses and smirked. "If I don't take a win today, nobody's leaving, alright?"
Hearing this, Xiao Lin stretched his aching arms. "Fine then, go all night. I'll go find you another dealer."
The group started heckling, offering to deal in his place.
Who wouldn't want to be the dealer? A few hundred units a night with zero risk. Yet, in the end, most succumbed to the game's allure; sitting at the table meant not just playing, but the chance to earn even more.
Everyone believed they had a great shot at winning. All players harbor that peculiar brand of confidence.
Only Xiao Lin kept the job. He claimed he didn't care for playing, but Yang Yi could see he was itching to join.
Because Xiao Lin had curiosity—the second trait of a true player. He would often lean toward Yang Yi, and Yang Yi would squeeze the corners of his cards to give him a peek at the hole cards.
Mazi looked down, organizing his fresh buy-in of chips. "Let's look out for the 'newbie' this round. If you don't have a hand, don't go BB-ing Golden Tooth."
The "BB" Mazi referred to was shorthand for "Bad Beat"—a poker term for when a leading hand is overtaken by an underdog. In plain terms, Mazi was telling them that if Golden Tooth seemed ahead, the others shouldn't chase their draws; let the man have his win in peace.
And so, the final game of the night began.
Brother Long and Xiao Liu had already placed today. They spent the evening chatting with Mazi about other things—accounts, odds, stuff Yang Yi didn't understand. After losing a few hands, they called it a night and left early.
Mazi's playstyle turned aggressive, sweeping up the chips from Long and Xiao Liu. Later, Mazi flopped a pair of Aces but lost to Golden Tooth's two-pair and was knocked out.
Even Zhenzhen abandoned her usual steady approach. She started entering pots with a lone King just to see the flop—a far cry from the "Ace Queen" she used to be.
Now, only Yang Yi, Golden Tooth, and Zhenzhen remained. Xiao Lin stood up and gave a deep stretch; dealing all night had taken its toll. This session was a real "dealer-killer."
Mazi motioned for Xiao Lin to take a break and took over the deck himself.
Knock out Zhenzhen, then dump the chips to Golden Tooth. Second place isn't bad, Yang Yi thought to himself.
In Texas Hold'em, winning is hard, but losing? That's the easy part.