A straight and a pair.
No, no…
I tapped on the last pair three and clicked discard.
I looked at the words at the bottom.
First.
I put my phone down and looked up at the teacher, a middle-aged lady droning on and on about some mathematical formulae.
Fatty, my roommate, tapped my shoulder from behind.
‘Fight the Landlord’?
I smiled.
Yeah. I haven’t lost at all today.
Well, isn’t that good luck? Another round when we get back?
he asked.
We can start right now, why wait?
I responded.
I mean a real game.
Fatty grinned.
I nodded. Why not? I had been winning the whole day.
I had faith in my luck that day.
And we’ll play with money,
Fatty added.
Real money?
I asked doubtfully.
Gambling with real money was something I hadn’t tried before.
One dollar minimum. Rules remain the same,
Fatty continued.
I looked down at my phone and thought about it for a while.
I’ve bet so much more in those games so what harm could one real game do?
After school, we returned to our dorm area.
Fatty pulled me into our neighbors’ room.
A huge stench welcomed us as we entered.
Must be that student who dislikes washing his feet.
In the innermost corner, a skinny guy was lying on his bed and shaking his feet nonchalantly.
Two games?
Fatty suggested.
The boy in the corner immediately perked up and looked at us.
Golden flower or the cow?
My friend here only plays ‘Fight the Landlord’,
Fatty stated.
I nodded.
Just learn then. It’s easy. ‘Fight the Landlord’ is lame,
he replied, shooting me a glance.
The extremely unfriendly glance gave me goosebumps.
Hey, I finally found someone whom you can play with, so just compromise, alright? Start with ‘Fight the Landlord’,
Fatty tried.
The skinny boy raised his brows before nodding.
Alright, we’ll get to know each other through this game.
He took out a deck of old poker cards from under his bed.
The cards were so old that their corners were mostly opened up.
Should I go get a new deck?
I asked.
No need. This deck has sentimental value. I can’t bear to throw it away,
he explained.
Ignore him. Buying cards is a waste of time!
Fatty laughed.
Skinny Boy started shuffling and dealing the cards.
His hands moved fast and it didn’t take long for him to finish dealing.
Even before Fatty received his cards, he shouted,
Snatch the Landlord!
I’ll snatch,
I followed automatically.
Take it then.
Skinny Boy let out a laugh.
I picked the card up.
I had three to six. A seven away from a straight.
The cards I picked varied largely but there just wasn’t any seven.
Deal the cards, Landlord,
Skinny Boy said, smiling.
Wait. What’s the rush?
I asked.
All good cards?
Fatty grinned.
Yeah. Pair three,
I called out.
During the first round, I was overpowered by the King twice.
Eight dollars.
Skinny Boy took out a pen and paper to record it down.
In the second round, he snatched the landlord.
I had no seven.
My cards weren’t bad since I had three pairs and should’ve been able to clear them all.
However, toward the end, my teammate, also Fatty, slipped a single card to Skinny Boy.
I was trapped.
Skinny Boy cleared all his cards smoothly over a few rounds.
I shot Fatty an irritated glance.
What are you doing?
He smiled sheepishly.
I thought you had nothing so I…
I only shook my head in response.
Still wanna play?
Skinny Boy asked.
There was something fishy going on.
Play.
I picked my cards up. Lousy.
Over the next ten over rounds, I won some but lost more.
I lost mostly because my cards were squashed by theirs.
All because I lacked a seven. I couldn’t get rid of my small cards and could only watch them clear theirs.
Skinny Boy won the most and even Fatty lost some.
I, on the other hand, made a huge loss.
It was recorded that I owed a total of 430 RMB.
Skinny Boy laughed and said,
I’ll count it as 400.
I indignantly took four banknotes out from my pocket.
Skinny Boy looked at Fatty and said,
50 will do.
Fatty smiled,
I didn’t bring money today, I will just pass it to you tomorrow.
No worries, come again!
Skinny Boy grinned.
Irked by it all, I left the room.
You find the cards questionable, too, right?
I asked Fatty.
He shook his head.
Didn’t you say you’ve been winning the whole day?
You made me lose a few times by blocking my cards!
I raised my voice, obviously annoyed.
I thought you were able to clear them!
Fatty answered foolishly.
…
400 RMB.
That was half of a month’s expenses.
As I was vexing over this amount the next day, Fatty showed up again.
Do you wanna play today? Recoup our losses?
Fatty suggested.
I declined and found it more and more suspicious.
Fatty leaned over and whispered,
I’ll tell you the truth, Brother Liang. That skinny monkey cheated!
I raised my brows.
Elaborate.
I only found out yesterday that he’d been trained to shuffle the deck in a way that you’ll never get a seven. He’ll keep all four cards together at the bottom before you cut the deck, and then wash them back into the deck and distribute them to himself slowly,
he explained.
Why did you still play with him then?
I asked furiously.
He lowered his head slightly.
I only found out after…
How? What do you propose we do today?
I asked him.
We can work together and teach him a lesson.
Wait,
I said.
Fatty looked at me, panic-stricken.
Are you two in cahoots?
I probed.
He narrowed his eyes in thought for a short while before nodding and then shaking his head immediately after.
I patted his shoulder.
I dislike traitors but I loathe cheaters more.
Fatty shook his head, paused for a moment, and then started nodding his head vigorously.
I’ve thought about it. We won’t let him shuffle the deck. I’ll help you win against him.
If he likes to shuffle that much, we’ll let him do it. Just help me shout for the landlord and double up,
I grinned.
Brother Liang, you..?
What? Just do as I say.
Back to that stinky room.
That familiar spot.
Skinny Boy smiled as he shuffled his cards.
You guys sure know what loyalty is! Thanks for coming back. I can tell that you both have skills but just lack the luck.
Not only do I patronize your business, I’ve even invested in it,
I announced excitedly and placed a completely new deck on the table.
Skinny Boy was stunned. A few beats later, he gave a cold laugh.
No problem, let’s continue.
He opened the deck and shuffled it.
Fatty kept his word and I won all four games.
Fifth game started and all the sevens were gone again.
He must’ve done it again.
I finished that round calmly and wasn’t mad that I lost.
Skinny Boy laughed.
Fortunes rise and fall eh?
When he was done shuffling the cards, I pushed it aside and brought out a new deck of cards.
Skinny Boy stared at me, confused.
That deck is old so let’s use this.
…
With a bitter smile, he accepted that new deck and started shuffling.
I won three consecutive rounds.
After that round, I pushed the cards aside once again and took a replacement deck out.
Nervous, Skinny Boy asked,
How many decks did you bring, Brother Liang?
Relax. There’s still so much time.
I wasn’t as capable when it came to cheating but I was good at counting and remembering cards.
Skinny Boy lost over 700 RMB that evening.
Fatty lost a little over 300 RMB.
Feeling generous, I proposed,
Let’s round it down to 700 and 300 shall we? Can you pay now?
No, can I return the amount to you slowly?
Skinny Boy requested.
Sure thing. We have many more games to play in future.
I left the room.
Skinny Boy clenched his teeth.
What were you doing, stupid Fatty? I kicked to tell you not to double up but you didn’t seem to care!
Fatty half-cried,
I thought the kicks were signs to double up since you wanted to cut your losses.
Skinny Boy flared up.
I’ll remember this. I’m going to get even with him.
