Once the dealer spoke, the casual players at the table all greeted Old Black one after another. Some even gave up their seats for him to sit down.

At first, Old Black had tried to talk me out of playing, but now, without hesitation, he sat down confidently.

He slammed four hundred yuan onto the table and said to the dealer:

“Just one round, four hundred, no doubling. If I lose, I’ll walk away…”

The game they were playing was called "La 9" (Pull Nine), a popular folk game from the Harbei region.

The rules were simple: each player gets three cards, and the total sum of the points on the cards determines the winner.

* Aces count as 1 point, 10s, Jacks, Queens, and Kings all count as zero points.

* Other cards are counted by their face value.

* 9 points is the highest, with a five-time payout. 8 points pays three times, and 7 points pays twice.

* Any hand lower than 7 points pays only one time.

* If both the dealer and the player have the same score, the dealer wins.

* However, if this happens, the payout is not multiplied and stays at 1x.

In addition to the basic rules, there were also "three-of-a-kind" (called a "leopard") and "straight" hands.

* Only a "leopard 3" counts as a true leopard, with a ten-times payout.

* Other three-of-a-kinds are considered regular hands and paid according to their points.

* A straight only counts as 2, 3, and 4 (because their sum is exactly 9 points), with an eight-times payout.

* Other straights are considered normal hands, calculated by their point value.

As for what Old Black had said about “no doubling,” it meant that he was betting four hundred yuan, but regardless of the result, whether he got a leopard 3 or anything else, the payout would be calculated at the normal rate—no multipliers.

Usually, when someone says “no doubling,” it’s because they don’t have enough money. If they lose after a doubled payout, they won’t be able to pay the dealer.

This style of play is straightforward and has no real technical skill involved, making it quite popular with gamblers.

Old Black’s luck seemed to be holding. In the first round, he got a Jack, a 7, and an Ace, totaling 8 points, while the dealer only had 5 points.

Normally, with a 400 yuan bet and 8 points, Old Black would win 800 yuan, but since he wasn’t doubling, he could only win 400 yuan.

After playing for a while, Old Black’s luck continued, and he won over two thousand yuan.

He noticed me standing aside and, concerned I might be bored, pulled out a thousand yuan and handed it to me.

“This round is good, you should play a bit. It’s fine if you lose, it’s on me…”

Old Black didn’t care much about money; he was generous.

But I shook my head and declined.

I stuck to my rule: I always watch first before deciding to join a game. Only after I’m certain everything is fine do I step in.

After watching the game for a while, I was certain the dealer was cheating.

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The method he was using was so basic it was almost laughable.

He was employing a "bottom deal"—sometimes discreetly pulling out the bottom card.

He probably knew his skills were lacking, and typically, he hesitated to deal from the bottom, with his fingers trembling as he almost revealed the card a few times.

I couldn’t help but laugh internally.

This amateur trick, which any rookie could see through, still seemed to be his go-to method.

Was he not afraid of being caught and losing his hands?

Aside from observing the table, I kept an eye on the area around the gambling hall.

Though this wasn’t a formal casino, but rather a card room, there could still be undercover agents around.

But the place was so large that it seemed there weren’t enough undercover agents.

In all the time I’d been watching, only one person who looked like an undercover agent came by, glanced at the table, and then left.

What caught my attention, however, was a young man nearby.

He looked to be around eighteen or nineteen, with dirty clothes, unkempt hair, and a face covered in grime.

His attire was large and ill-fitting, with several patches here and there.

At first glance, it was hard to tell whether he was a man or a woman.

But what stood out were his eyes—clear, bright, and full of life.

Initially, I thought he might be an undercover agent in disguise, but as I watched him for a while, I realized he wasn’t paying attention to the game at all.

Instead, he seemed only interested in who was winning and who was losing.

Whenever he saw someone win, he would inch closer, as if hoping to get a share of the winnings.

It looked like he was just a young beggar trying to catch some "lucky money."

In La 9, the betting happens first, and after three cards are dealt, the players simply compare their points without drawing cards or making any further bets.

This makes it difficult for someone to cheat beyond switching cards or hiding them.

Even if you could see the cards, it wouldn’t help, as the game’s outcome is decided immediately.

The best way to win is to be the dealer.

In this game, the dealer isn’t fixed.

Anyone who gets a leopard 3 or a 2-3-4 straight can take the dealer’s position.

If a player doesn’t have enough money or doesn’t want to deal, they can sell the position for a few hundred yuan.

While I was watching, Old Black had lost all his money.

It was obvious he still wanted to play, sitting at the table a little unwilling to get up.

I pulled out two thousand yuan and placed it in front of Old Black.

“Take this and play for now…”

Old Black looked at me gratefully.

Seeing that Old Black and I were on good terms, the dealer invited me to join in:

“Come on, brother, you should deal next…”

I had been thinking of joining anyway, so when he made the offer, I seized the opportunity, found an empty seat, and sat down.

The minimum bet for this round was 100 yuan, with a maximum of 1000 yuan.

I bet 100 or 200 yuan here and there, not caring about winning or losing, waiting for the chance to become the dealer.

Maybe I was just unlucky.

After over an hour of play, neither a leopard 3 nor a straight appeared.

I decided I couldn’t keep waiting.

Cheating was the fastest way to go.

As Old Black had once warned me, a cheat must never leave behind evidence.

I asked Old Black once what to do if I had to hide or swap cards.

He had remained silent for a long time before telling me:

“There’s only one way—frame someone else. But it’s best not to do it.”

That’s why I hadn’t resorted to cheating yet.

This hand, I had four points: two 2s and a 10.

After the cards were dealt and the hand concluded, I quietly palmed one of the 2s as I returned the cards to the deck.

This technique is called (Palm Concealing the Universe), a beginner-level cheating move.

Typically, cheaters bend their fingers slightly to ensure the card stays in their hand.

But I don’t need to do that—I simply keep my palm flat, and the card stays securely in my hand.

If someone tried to look at my palm, I could flip it over in a way that’s too fast for the naked eye to catch.

Of course, in a messy game like this, after palming the card, I quickly moved it to another place—my sleeve, pants, or wherever was convenient.

After hiding the 2, I waited a few hands before I was finally able to use it to form a 2-3-4 straight.

But I didn’t bet too much, just 100 yuan for an eight-times payout.

The dealer paid me 800 yuan, and I got the chance to be the dealer.

I shuffled, cut, and dealt the cards, all looking perfectly normal.

But in reality, I had the entire game under control.

While shuffling, I didn’t need to use any cheating tricks—I could easily remember the order of the cards.

When dealing, I could pull out any card from the deck, no matter where it was.

Even if you watched me closely, staring with all your might, you wouldn’t be able to spot anything wrong.

But I remained cautious, making sure each round’s cards were neither too big nor too small.

I only needed to win against three players and lose against two.

And, of course, one of those two would always be Old Black.

Occasionally, I’d let some of the others win to maintain balance and avoid suspicion.

Just as I was in the middle of a game, I suddenly heard a man’s voice from the side:

“This guy looks like I've never seen him before...”