World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 109 Black Jack

“I’m not playing with you guys anymore.” Mishi’s expression was a little subtle. “I heard that the bar over there has delicious shrimp cocktails, haha… goodbye, goodbye.”

"We'll come find you in a bit," Lin An said.

"No, no need." Mishi laughed awkwardly and disappeared into the crowd.

"That's the direction of Crazy Horse 2 Club, Lin. Forget about it. They don't allow kids under 25 in," Barry said casually. "There are lots of male strippers inside."

"..."

Melissa—!
You have already become the degenerate form of the Eagle Nation!

Helpless, Lin An followed Barry up the steps to a relatively quiet card table. The man in black in the shadows did not stop them and tacitly approved of their actions.

The gamblers' clamor injected a strange atmosphere into the neon-lit casino. So many ecstatic and laughing people filled the room with a crazy and irrational hormone, almost suffocating Lin An.

Barry took a bundle of banknotes out of his jacket pocket and casually divided it into two.

A dealer in a dark blue uniform stood at a horseshoe-shaped table with six decks of cards spread out in front of him, smiling as he welcomed the two men into the game. Several gamblers sitting on high stools glanced at him.

"Did you used to play blackjack?" Barry asked.

"No, I know a little about the basic tactics."

The dealer, or the banker, deals two cards to the players. The players add up the numbers on their cards, trying to get as close to 21 as possible, but not exceeding it.

To add cards, tap the table with your finger; to stop playing, wave your hand.

If the hand after the addition exceeds 21, the player has "bombed," and the dealer will take the money. However, if the first two cards are exactly 21—called "Blackjack"—the dealer has to pay the player one and a half times the bet.

The gamblers take the cards first, and the dealer takes them later.

The playing style of the dealers varies from casino to casino, but generally they will raise their cards if they don't reach 17, so it is easy to overextend.

When a player receives two identical cards, they can split the cards and place two separate bets.

Sometimes, players double down on their bets after receiving their first two cards; experts call this "doubling down." If they then win against the dealer, they can get even more money.

"If the dealer has a strong hand and you have less than 17, you should keep asking for more cards; if the dealer has a weak hand, such as 5 or 6, you should generally hold onto the first two cards and not ask for more. I also know that it is a good time to 'double down' when you get 11, because if you get another face card, it will be 21."

Lin An pondered for a moment before speaking.

"The rules of Blackjack aren't too difficult; I only know a little bit about them."

The gamblers sitting on the high stools stared wide-eyed, quickly trying to remember Lin An's words. This was a "commoner's" place, and most of them were just itching tourists. How could they know so much about it?

"Would you like to try it out first?" Barry pointed to the high stack of black chips.

"Hey, I've never gambled before," Lin An refused repeatedly. "What if I lose all my money?"

"Don't worry, give it a try."

Lin An rubbed his hands together and sat down on a high stool: "Since we're already here..."

Seeing that the number of gamblers had been reached, the gamblers pulled out banknotes and handed them to the dealer, which was about $200. Lin An did the same, since it was Barry's money anyway. The dealer calculated the same number of chips and distributed them to everyone, and then began to shuffle the cards.

Her hands danced gracefully on the card table, the cards clattering. She then spread the cards out, selected a player to carry the cards, and finally distributed the shuffled cards to each player.

Lin An picked up his two cards, 10 points, a truly awkward middle-of-the-road position.

Gambling is ultimately nothing more than luck.

Lin An's card skills were only theoretical; as he expected, they were neither good nor bad—he won twice and lost once.

“Let me give it a try,” Barry, who was watching from the sidelines, suddenly said.

"Oh."

Barry's playing style is similar to Lin An's; he doesn't get carried away when he wins, nor does he get discouraged when he loses.

However, after watching a few matches, Lin An noticed something was wrong.

On one occasion, Barry had a 16 against the dealer's 2 (players can only see one of the dealer's cards). It would have been easy for him to lose the hand if he drew another card, but luckily, he got a 2, making it 18 and winning the hand.

On another occasion, he only got an 8, but suddenly doubled his bet and put all his chips on the line, leaving everyone else confused. When the cards were drawn again, he actually got an Ace.

"Brush it."

The dealer drew the last plastic card, indicating that the card box was empty and the round was successfully completed. The dealer raised his hand and announced that the cards would be shuffled again.

"Alright, time to go." Barry pushed over his chips.

He had just exchanged 5000 dollars, and when he got it back, it had become 12000 dollars.

Even in the dim light, Barry could feel Lin An's twitching face as they left the gambling table.

Las Meadows truly lives up to its reputation as one of the craziest cities in the world; once you arrive here, some of the unexpected true natures of the people around you will be revealed.

Lin An's eyes held a complex expression.

The impulsive Missy went to see a male stripper, while the dull-witted Barry turned out to be a con artist...

My colleagues are really going to have a wild time in private!
“Don’t look at me like that. This is the MGM Grand Casino. Anyone who dares to cheat is asking for trouble. Blackjack can be beaten, so let’s beat her.” Barry waved to a waiter serving drinks, took two glasses of vodka from the tray, gave him a $10 tip, and turned to Lin An, gesturing for him to look at the card table where the two had played.

"Do you remember the last round of cards?"

“You were really lucky back then. There were a lot of big cards, like K, Q, and twice the top card was A.” Lin An took a sip of vodka and almost passed out from the alcohol, so he quickly put it aside.

"Actually, there are 19 face cards and 3 Aces, plus 8 low cards."

Lin An couldn't help but glance at him, surprised to find that Barry's memory for the cards was just as good as his.

I rely on my unusually fast reading and learning speed, but what does the other person rely on?
How did you know in advance that the divine tablet was coming?

“Because she’s shuffling the cards,” Barry smiled slightly. “Right in front of us.”

“Logically speaking, you can’t track where all those cards went after they were shuffled,” Lin An said, somewhat puzzled.

"No, there's a technique involved, called 'shuffle tracking.' With practice, you can even calculate the percentage of low cards in a round from the dealer's shuffle. Then it's a matter of practice. A master can track up to 15 cards in six shuffled decks."

Lin An found it difficult to listen; this was not a topic he liked.

Noticing his confusion, Barry shook his head: "For you, all you need to do is observe the opponent while they shuffle the cards and fish out the card you want."

"The card I want? What does that mean?"

“We sit on the first stool, the one closest to the dealer, right? Sometimes, when the dealer shuffles the cards, you can see the bottom cards. If they ask you to move a card, you move that card to a fixed position, maybe after the 52nd card.”

"Then, once all the cards are put into the deck, the card you see will remain in that specific position. If you're a good player, you'll try to get the player in the seat to deal that card to you."

"Ultimately, it all comes down to luck. Even if you get the dealer's bottom card, it might not be the card you want," Lin An said.

“It depends,” Barry said. “There’s never a sure way to win at gambling, but if you see an Ace, then this is a more than 50% chance of winning. That means if you bet $10 on that hand, you could win back $15. That’s more than how many hands of $200 you lose?”

Lin An seemed to be deep in thought. Just as the two were talking, someone suddenly tapped Barry on the shoulder.

"Hello sir, we are hotel security guards and we would like to say something to you."

The two were led by guards to a private elevator. The people following them did not interfere. They sat on a floor and found themselves in a Hong Kong-style lounge.

It was dark and quiet here, with only pale incandescent light shining from the ceiling.

Compared to casinos outside, it felt like entering another world.

The person with long hair standing with their back to the light did not turn around when they heard the noise; they simply continued playing pool silently.

Lin An couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He had heard a lot of underworld rumors about Rasmedos, not to mention that this was an era of mysterious resurgence.

"Snapped!"

After a while, the man's voice came as the billiard ball fell.

"I thought they were some kind of supernatural beings, but it turns out one is just a ghost story and the other hasn't even awakened," he sighed. "You can't use mystical abilities at MGM. Please be careful. And don't touch my gambling tables or machines again."

After saying that, he waved his hand, and the guards signaled for the group to leave.

It turned out that Barry's gambling skills had attracted the attention of the patrol team. Since they were mysterious, the patrol team was unsure of what to do, so they reported it to the man. After evaluation, the patrol team concluded that they had only used some card counting techniques.

And so, they were let go by that man, and Lin An breathed a sigh of relief.

"Indeed, one should never get involved in prostitution, gambling, or drugs."

Without a system, you really can't act too recklessly!

Let alone the man who thinks he hasn't awakened, Lin An can't even distinguish between a mystic and an ordinary person now. Apart from using a magic wand, he's practically a blank slate.

Barry smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

As Lin An descended in the private elevator on the other side, he was greeted by a lounge that was completely different from the casino lobby. He habitually looked around and saw a man dressed as Elvis giving testimony to a couple.

This is a "wedding hall" specially prepared for young men and women who are hot-headed. Although it looks ridiculous, it has strict legality.

Lin An blinked and was surprised to find that the next couple getting married was the blonde woman he had met once before, and the man beside her.

"Sigh, I wonder how long they'll regret it," he thought to himself.

As they walked through the lounge, Elvis had almost finished reciting his lines, and the blonde woman's partner nodded in agreement.

Since the two were walking side by side, with Lin An on the inside and Barry on the outside, the latter always intentionally or unintentionally took up some space, causing Lin An to unconsciously move to the other side.

Suddenly, a hand abruptly grabbed Lin An's arm and pulled him abruptly into the man's position.

“I am willing to acknowledge him as my husband, to faithfully obey God’s commandments, to live with him, and to submit to him, cherish him, comfort him, respect him, and protect him, no matter what the circumstances, until I am called to the Lord.”

Lin An turned his head sharply, and as the blonde woman finished her vow, she gave him a sexy smile.

The fake Elvis Presley sealed the deal.

"I hereby declare you two a legally married couple."

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(End of this chapter)