MM Racing Chapter 169 Lend Me a Chip
Chapter 169 Lend Me a Chip
Chapter 179 Lend Me a Chip
As the elderly man in a long robe with silver hair parted in the middle stepped into the Royal Union, the gamblers in the lobby all turned to look at him. He was surrounded by his subordinates dressed in silver-white religious robes, and he had his eyes half-closed, exuding an air of high status.
Some people immediately recognized the newcomer, and whispers began to rise and fall among them. Eventually, a kind of fanatical emotion, like the flu during seasonal changes, gradually amplified as the words spread.
In mere seconds, the chaotic whispers coalesced into a rhythmic, orderly chorus, culminating in a name that everyone repeated over and over—a name etched into the collective memory of the United Gamblers, a name once revered as a legend in the casinos—
"Vio, Vio, Vio..."
No one was shouting hysterically; everyone was calling out to the guests in the quietest voices. Gamblers weren't fans in the stadium stands, and the appearance of their idols wasn't enough to ignite their frenzy. This wasn't a welcoming cheer, but rather a urging.
The gamblers' intentions were very clear: they were urging this former casino legend to sit at the gambling table.
This was a kind of malevolent worship; under the shifting lights of the hall, the gamblers' green pupils gleamed like demons from hell urging God to perform miracles.
Amidst the clamor of his own name, Vio smiled amiably, then ignored the King of Oranges who had come to greet him, abandoned his subordinates, and went straight to a blackjack table.
"Sir, could you lend me a chip?"
This sage from the plasma cluster seemed to have rediscovered his state of mind when he was a university professor, politely yet uncompromisingly making demands of the gamblers around him, as if asking students to come up to the podium to cooperate with his teaching.
Blackjack is a game between the player and the house, so there is no competition between gamblers. The uncle who was approached by Vio was taken aback at first, but then realized that he had no reason to refuse the casino legend's suggestion. So he turned over his pocket of chips and handed Vio a white chip as requested.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it may seem a bit unromantic to say this here, but I am about to reveal the secrets to how I made money in casinos thirty years ago, and the following sentence is a warning I would read to my students before every probability class involving gambling when I was a teacher—"
Before the game began, the old man leisurely began to give a speech. However, the once noisy casino hall was now as quiet as a classroom on campus. Even more gamblers who came down from the upper floors to see what was going on immediately perked up their ears and gathered around the gambling table when they heard Vio's words.
"There are only two kinds of gamblers in the world: the poor, and the poor of the future."
"In probability theory, as long as a person continues to participate in risky gambling, the probability of him losing everything is infinitely close to 100%—that is to say, gamblers are destined to lose everything."
A faint hiss came from the crowd, but the old man ignored it.
"Nevertheless, if the scope of gambling is limited to a certain number of times, certain mathematical analysis methods become meaningful—just as Pokémon trainers increase the catch rate of Poké Balls by weakening wild Pokémon's stamina, we can use these mathematical methods to increase the probability of profiting, thereby profiting in the duel with the casino."
Behind Vio, members of the Plasma Group somehow pushed a blackboard over and placed it behind the old man—now he looked exactly like a university professor.
"It seems this old gentleman's goal isn't just about winning money. If all gamblers become card masters like Vio, your casino will go bankrupt, won't it? Aren't you going to stop him?"
Miss Naz appeared behind Lingju at some point, fanning the flames with a mischievous glimpse of the drama.
"Making guests feel like they can increase their winning odds is one of the ways casinos increase revenue. Now, please enjoy the ultimate lesson from a legendary gambler."
As the casino owner, Yueju spoke with composure. Although he was completely ignored by Vio, who had come to his door in a menacing manner, he still calmly observed the situation.
"Is she truly so magnanimous, or has she simply accepted the reality that she is powerless to change anything?" Naz asked meaningfully, glancing around.
She had already noticed something amiss in the casino—just as Vio was giving his grand speech, the Team Plasma members who had boarded the ship with the old man had dispersed in front of the casino staff, all of them placing their hands on the Poké Ball switches at their waists, seemingly ready to take action at any moment.
It seems that if the jasmine and casino staff try to obstruct Vio's performance, they will not hesitate to resort to violence in the lobby. Not only will the order inside the cabin be thrown into chaos, but the gamblers who are eager to see Vio's skills will also be enraged.
The old man with the middle-parted hair had no intention of leaving Yueju any way out from the moment he boarded the ship.
.
At the gambling table, the blackjack game began. The dealer, with his sleeves tucked into his upper arms, dealt cards to the dealer and each player as usual.
The core rules of this gambling game are very simple: the player's goal is to get as close to 21 as possible. The player's hand is compared with the dealer's, and the player with the most hands (within 21) wins. However, if either the player or the dealer's hand adds up to more than 21, it is considered a complete loss—a situation known as "busting."
The old man drew two 8s—a rather dangerous hand.
The dealer's revealed card is a King—which is considered a 10 in Blackjack.
"All in."
Despite being at a disadvantage, Vio gave up on drawing more cards and lightly tossed his chip onto the table. The lone white chip bounced and lay flat on the empty table, creating a scene of dark humor.
“I am not a seasoned cheater. In an isolated game, my probability of winning is the same as everyone else’s. At this moment, I have no other means than to take the cards I am entitled to according to the rules. I can only pray that the fifty-fifty odds will turn in my favor—most people would probably think so.”
Vio gave a shrewd smile, instantly refuting his own argument: "But the truth is not so."
The dealer quickly revealed the dealer's hole card: 4 points.
The latter's gaze turned serious. Anyone with a basic understanding of card games knows that if a player's score is less than 16, the dealer must ask for another point.
The new cards were dealt to the dealer, and with 10 points, the dealer busted—a gasp rippled through the casino.
"No need to make a fuss, my friends in the casino," the old man said casually. "Blackjack is a game that can be calculated. By counting the high cards that have appeared, such as 10, J, Q, K, and A, the fewer high cards that have appeared before, the greater the chance that the dealer will bust."
“From the moment I boarded the ship, I kept an eye on the game at this gambling table. There had been several rounds where big hands were scarce. So when I entered the game, I didn’t aim for a hand close to 21. Instead, I patiently waited for the dealer to bring about their own downfall. This wasn’t a 50/50 gamble, but a precise calculation with an 80% chance of success.”
Even after all that, Vio was still not satisfied and picked up the chalk again to start writing mathematical formulas on the blackboard behind him—
“如果我们将前面说过的大牌记作+1，7、8、9这样的中立牌记作0，剩下的记为-1，则完全可以得到一串并不复杂的公式……”
The grid-like table took shape in the old man's hands, and rows of formulas were listed. The gambling winning method that gamblers had always dreamed of was now being presented to everyone in a dignified manner.
The dealer and the banker watched helplessly as the old man, spitting as he spoke, and the gamblers around him, their faces beaming with ecstasy.
According to casino rules, they cannot shuffle unused decks. All the guests at the table were captivated by Vio's explanation and, at their request, patiently listened to Vio's complete casino instruction course.
This is a scheme that is infinitely worse than simply causing a disturbance—physical vandalism and provocation will not affect the casino's long-term revenue, but such gambling instruction can drag the Royal United into a black hole of losses.
On Vio's gambling table, two white chips, seemingly multiplied by themselves, reflected the light shining from the ceiling, glaringly bright.