Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Hold'em Preliminaries
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The hellish cross-dressing day was finally over.
Now only the real battle remained.
Honestly, whether it went well or not, it was all the same to me.
They dared to dress me up as a girl to suck me dry? Heh... these ungrateful brats...
Of course, the solicitation was solicitation, but...
Wasn't the key what you were selling?
After the menu, price would be next.
The menu felt like it'd be something safe, like pajeon, same as other classes...
But price was the issue. Maybe we needed a signature dish or something.
Anyway, class ended, and I headed to the Texas Hold'em prelims.
I watched the other teams from behind... and yeah, they were within expectations.
Everyone was just mediocre at best.
There were a few with decent sense here and there... but no real threats.
At this rate, the prize money was mine...!
"Shin Sang-ho, Yi Jun-hyeong, Kim Hyeok-su. Please take your seats."
Finally, my turn.
They said you just needed to place in the top two for prelims.
But if you had skill but got screwed by bad luck, the organizers might cover up to third at their discretion.
I sat at the table and took my cards.
'It's thrilling...'
Sitting there felt strangely surreal.
Poker, which I used to hate so much...
Who would've thought I'd end up here? Was this even okay?
Truth be told, I hated my gambling dad...
But at the same time, it frustrated me.
Why make that judgment? Why fold now? Why keep bluffing pointlessly?
Obvious tricks. Obvious bluffs. Obvious traps.
And Dad falling for them every time—it drove me crazy.
If only I'd been the one playing... If only I'd faced them.
I held onto those thoughts tightly and lived with them.
Sometimes I'd dream about it.
Dreams of sitting in Dad's place, playing poker.
Turning those organized bastards who trapped him into fools in one shot.
Stripping away all the money they'd schemed to gather...
Of course, even in the dreams, the endings weren't happy.
"Let the game begin."
The words snapped me out of my reverie.
I got my two cards and blinked.
I just had to stay careful. I didn't buy into genetics or any of that.
I'd read stories of alcoholics whose sons built liquor factories and succeeded anyway.
It's all about mindset...
*
"Fold."
"Fold."
Uh... hmm.
Gasps kept erupting from the spectators behind.
Something was off...
All the other teams were just hotshots...
But ironically, two solid players ended up at my table.
Two besides me...
"Ah, fuck."
One guy eventually burned through his stack and busted out.
Everyone starts with 1 million in chips, and play continues until one remains.
Right now, Park Hyeong-sik, sitting there, was in first with 3.2 million.
I had 2.8 million.
We were neck-and-neck.
'Shit.'
He looked flustered too.
Like, Wasn't this just full of scrubs?
I was pretty shocked myself. Shit... didn't know there was someone this good. Wasn't our school Suppressed Fury University?
Of course, I was a fury-suppressed type too...
"Uh... hmm."
He seemed to see me as a potential finals rival, playing super cautiously.
His style was peeking through, but he was hiding it extremely well.
Fold at the slightest hint of weakness. Fold, fold, fold.
This sneaky bastard... it was pissing me off a bit. But yeah, it was smart. Couldn't show your hand here...
"Cards open."
Another small pot skirmish.
Bets and raises were extremely cautious, small-scale only.
Same for me. With him infinite-folding, what choice did I have?
Even one pair or two pair was worth pushing, but I held back just in case.
This guy was no newbie... Shit, did he skip meals in high school to grind Hold'em?
"Hand."
Plus, he was wearing a mask.
A huge one covering down to under his eyes...
Lots of pros in real games and tournaments do that.
Your lip twitches or smirks give away tells.
Beginners should wear masks. Facial control is tough...
'Ha, fuck.'
Should've done it in drag.
No, seriously... regretting not going drag right now...
'This guy's face is girly, but why's his voice so manly?'
That mental shake would've wrecked him. Come to finals in drag?
Such sneaky plays made me want to crush his spirit, no holds barred...
'Glancing glances.'
I could feel his eyes flicking to check my face.
Not super helpful... but if he spotted even a tiny tell, he'd note it.
Catching opponent's habits early could help in finals.
'Gotta bait him once...'
Against a passive opponent, forcing aggression is key.
Time to show an artificial style.
Make him think, Is this his style? Then trap him with something totally different in finals.
Prelims weren't the priority...
One bad flop in finals, and you're second place. Gotta think smart...
"All-in."
"All-in."
"All-in."
"All-in again."
All-in strategy: chuck it whenever marginal hands show.
55%+ hand equity? All-in from third street.
Test reactions too...
He predictably folded cautiously. Plenty of chips left.
Of course, he didn't care about losing here either. Trying to probe my style...
'Club K, Diamond 10.'
Pre-flop...
3, 9, J...
Not bad. Brainless raise again.
"Raise."
"Raise."
...Decent hand, huh. He's creeping out.
Pretended to mull it over.
Act impatient to end it quick. No need to take him seriously...
In finals, this would've won just by calling. Limited draws possible...
"Turn phase. Spade 10."
Raise accepted.
Damn, really drawing well.
If not fake, maybe Q-K or 7-8.
Or 8-K, waiting for next card to shove.
No real reason to shove here, though...
Let's check his reaction.
"All-in."
"..."
I saw him hesitate briefly.
Glanced at me slyly.
Wondering my intent...
"All-in."
He called after mulling.
Ooohs from behind. Boring war ends in all-in... probably the final hand.
"River. Heart Q."
River... Q.
9, 10, J, Q. Rare board.
Hands revealed.
"Yi Jun-hyeong: 9, 10, J, Q, K."
"Park Hyeong-sik: 9, 10, J, Q, K."
"Split!"
...Same hand here.
Both straights. No flush, so tie. Split pot halves the money exactly.
"Ooooh."
Murmurs from behind.
Hands identical... stuff like that.
My eyes narrowed. Hmm...
In a real gambling den, sometimes hole cards decide straights, but not here.
If hole cards, I'd have edged it.
But this wasn't a den...
"Other prelim waiters, so we'll end it here."
Host smiled awkwardly.
Spectators sighed and stretched.
Kinda... disappointing.
"Thanks for the great game! You both advance."
"We'll shuffle pairings without ranking you 1-2."
"Good work..."
Ended ambiguously...
Well, others waiting.
Both he and I stood with uneasy faces.
Surrounding folks staring in wonder.
'My 3 million prize...'
Won't yield to this guy...!
Two months' part-time for you...
For me, it's getting my ass reamed by Yi Ju-ha and face-fucked to earn.
I'm more desperate! Pretty boys like you can part-time... not me...!
"..."
He stared blankly, then turned with a sour face.
I felt sour too.
Thought I'd scoop 3 mil easy, then mystery pro appears...
But last hand was my win by den rules.
If wild gambling den... your hand would've flown.
'I'll smash you.'
Drag or whatever, no mercy.
Mental game, whatever—total destruction.
Yeah... even if it means cross-dressing...!
*
'3 missed calls.'
Heading down after the frustrating Hold'em prelims.
Drained.
Unexpected focus sucked my energy...
'Huh. Yi Ju-ha.'
Figured it out. Call from Yi Ju-ha.
No reason for a call... what?
Let's shoot another OnlyFans vid, bitch? Been a while.
"H-hello?"
'Hello my ass. Why ignore calls.'
Used to be all Wanna get beat? Now full of playfulness.
Hearing Yi Ju-ha's voice after ages made me all fuzzy.
Heh... wanna grope Yi Ju-ha's tits.
"I-I'm in that tournament, so..."
'Tournament? What tournament.'
Hold'em tourney... but.
If I say, she'll get fired up pointlessly?
You said don't, but you're doing it? Wanna die? Or...
Oh, poker after ages? Hehe.
"Uh... just a game tournament."
'Yeah? Anyway, it's by our school. That izakaya from before? Come here.'
"School... front...?"
Why... why there again? Festival hasn't even started.
And 'our' who? Who'd she bring this time!
'Yeah. In-ha and me. Hurry. Freezing my ass off.'
"Uh... okay."
Ah... Yu In-ha?
Wondered who.
But me, Yu In-ha, Yi Ju-ha together?
Felt ominous.
And sure enough, ominous words from the phone.
'Yu In-ha fucked up. Come quick.'
...What fuck-up?
Fuck-up? Only car crash comes to mind.
With her skills, finally crashed!
What... expensive thing? Not a person, right?
With Yu In-ha, bad imaginings flashed.
Knew it'd happen soon...
Grabbed bag, quickened steps.
But if she crashed... why call me...?