A crowd of onlookers, all gambling enthusiasts, found this round particularly thrilling.
But they also felt that Mu Jinyu, in this round with his cards face up, was very unlikely to beat his opponent. Why then did he dare to raise the bet by two hundred million? Hadn't he not looked at his hole cards?
Could it really be that he wasn't scared at all? Even in a game worth billions, he trusted his luck that much?
Seeing that both players' four face-up cards were out, the middle-aged man also felt that Mu Jinyu couldn't possibly have three sevens. Since his own face-up cards were apparently much stronger than Mu Jinyu's, and it was his turn to speak, he opened with a taunting suggestion:
"Young man, if you fold now, you can still save some money. Do you want to fold?"
His tone was somewhat arrogant.
After all, Mu Jinyu had bluffed him a few times earlier, which made it hard for him to contain a sense of dread in this statement, fearing a loss to Mu Jinyu.
And at this point in the game, the outcome seemed almost decided, with Mu Jinyu seemingly doomed, so naturally, he couldn't resist the urge to mock Mu Jinyu a bit.
Mu Jinyu sat in his chair, composed and natural, and said with a light smile, "Are you that certain you're going to beat me?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" the middle-aged man retorted. "Your face-up cards make it impossible for you to have a straight, a flush, or a straight flush. The chance of having three of a kind is also very low, unless your hole card is a 10 or a 9, making two pairs. But even then, you're still bound to lose."
"Oh, so you have two pairs, huh?" Mu Jinyu asked.
The middle-aged man's heart skipped a beat, sensing trouble. He had become too complacent and let something slip unintentionally. If Mu Jinyu really got scared and folded, he would miss out on winning those two hundred million!
However, he had a strong mental game, showing no change in expression. Instead, he sported a triumphant smile and said, "Of course. Don't believe me? Try me. I'll show you what 'dead' looks like!"
Mu Jinyu casually replied, "Why do I feel like you're bluffing me? It seems like even with your hole card, you don't have two pairs. You're trying to probe whether I have two pairs, aren't you?"
"You guess!"
The middle-aged man burst into a brazen laugh, then slid the remaining two billion of the three billion chips he had just taken from the table across, declaring, "Showhand!"
Having spoken, he looked at Mu Jinyu with a challenging gaze.
Half-truths and half-bluffs; a mixture of reality and deception. It seemed like he was very eager for Mu Jinyu to fold quickly and not follow, yet he also seemed to want Mu Jinyu to keep playing to the end!
The watching crowd, including Li Heshan, were all feeling the tension.
Li Heshan felt that if he had been in Mu Jinyu's position, he might not have dared to follow. After all, based purely on face-up cards, Mu Jinyu's pair of sevens was already being crushed by the opponent's pair of kings. Not to mention, with the opponent hinting, half-truthfully, that he had two pairs—which added even more pressure.
Even if he wanted to follow, he definitely wouldn't dare to do it like Mu Jinyu, who hadn't even looked at his hole cards yet. If it had been him, he would have definitely checked his hole cards; if they couldn't form two pairs or three of a kind, he would promptly fold!
"Showhand!"
Yet, under the incredibly shocked gazes of the crowd, Mu Jinyu still chose not to look at his hole card, pushing his chips forward with a smile.
It appeared that he genuinely enjoyed gambling with fate and luck!
"Hahaha, young man, you really are audacious. In over twenty years in the game, through hundreds of thousands of rounds in gambling dens, I've never seen anyone as daring as you. You even dare not to look at your hole card in a game where the ante is one hundred million?!"
Seeing that Mu Jinyu had followed, the middle-aged man suddenly stood up, unleashing a hearty, wild laugh, laughing out all his suppressed frustration, almost to the point of tears.
"On our face-up cards, I'm crushing you helplessly, and yet you don't even bother to look at your hole card. How can you be so sure that you'll end up with two pairs, or even three of a kind? And even if you do have two pairs, I..."
The middle-aged man looked down on Mu Jinyu, speaking arrogantly and excitedly. Abruptly, he gripped the hole card that was face down on the table and then slapped it down with a snap to reveal its face.
"But I really do have two pairs, a pair of kings and a pair of fives. What makes you think you're lucky enough to draw three of a kind and crush me?!"
As soon as his words ended, everyone was shocked and quickly turned their gazes to the revealed hole card!
The 5 of Spades!
He had five cards in his hand, the 5 of Spades, Clubs 5, King of Spades, King of Hearts, and Jack of Clubs!
Indeed, he had a pair of Kings along with another pair.
Mu Jinyu's hole cards, even if they also made up two pairs, were the 7 of Spades, 7 of Diamonds, 10 of Hearts, and 9 of Spades.
Therefore, no matter if Mu Jinyu had another pair of 10s or 9s, he couldn't beat the middle-aged man!
Unless his hole card was the 7 of Hearts or Clubs 7, only then would he have a chance to muster a set of three and mount a remarkable comeback!
But the chances were so slim, could it be possible?
The audience felt that even the odds of him making two pairs were low, let alone a set of three!
When the middle-aged man revealed his hole card, the crowd let out disappointed exclamations.
They felt regret for Mu Jinyu and also for the conclusion of this thrilling, high-stakes gambling round.
Mu Jinyu didn't care about the crowd's laments. Even when the middle-aged man uncovered his hole card, there was no change in his expression; he still wore a faint smile on his face.
After the middle-aged man exuberantly vented the frustration in his heart, Mu Jinyu also spoke softly, asking in return, "Who told you that I haven't looked at my hole card?"
No sooner had he spoken
than the middle-aged man's reckless whisper came to an abrupt halt.
Like a duck quacking loudly, it suddenly had its fate's throat seized in a tight grip!
"You've seen your hole card?!"
The middle-aged man stared at Mu Jinyu with a look of horror, disbelief etched across his face.
The crowd, which had been somewhat noisy, thinking that there was no suspense left in the game, suddenly found their hearts racing after hearing Mu Jinyu's words.
Their feelings started to fluctuate dramatically.
Could Mu Jinyu, in this seemingly hopeless situation, actually turn it around with his knowledge of his hole card and form the lucky 777, pulling off an incredible comeback?
The audience began to look forward to it.
Reclining lazily in his chair, Mu Jinyu began to speak indifferently, "Did you think that you were the only one who could peek at the hole card ahead of time?"
As his words ended, the middle-aged man turned even paler.
Just from that sentence, he believed that Mu Jinyu had indeed seen his hole card.
Mu Jinyu looked up at the middle-aged man with a smirk, speaking indifferently, "Did you think that after I bluffed in the first round and lost a billion, I really became cautious, only daring to be aggressive when the community cards were good? Once I got a good hand, I'd rely on luck?"
At these words, the middle-aged man's face grew even paler.
He suddenly realized that after winning the first round against Mu Jinyu, he had unconsciously underestimated his opponent. As the game's momentum shifted, he had completely fallen for Mu Jinyu's strategy!
A sense of panic began to unsettle him.
He prayed continuously that Mu Jinyu's hole card combined wouldn't make a set of three 7s, that he was just bluffing.
After speaking, Mu Jinyu looked at the fear-stricken middle-aged man, chuckled softly, then reached for the hole card on the gambling table and gently flipped it over.
The 7 of Hearts!
Without any suspense, it was a direct astonishing comeback!