Since Xia De was required to defeat his opponent in the game, he couldn't waste time playing cards one by one. After consulting with the staff of the Prophet Association, a multi-player game was adopted this time. This kind of game usually only appears in very formal Rhodes card competitions.
Shad returned to the second floor ahead of time and asked the people from the Prophecy Association to check his deck. Of course, he saw Luvia among them. Dorothy had already reunited with her.
The eager Marquis Grassley said that no one would give in to Shade in the upcoming game:
"This is the origin of darkness!"
The Marquis, whose hair was combed shiny, raised his eyebrows. He was really excited and couldn't control the smile on his face:
"If Duke Lucas knew this would happen, he would never miss the banquet because of the flu. Ha, he might regret it until he dies. Even if we beat you, we can't get this card. But if you want to get the card of the founding series, Sir Hamilton, you must go through the test!"
He probably regarded the Origin of Darkness as a treasure, and Shad was the knight seeking the treasure.
"Of course, but how do you play this game? I've never played a multiplayer game before."
This is actually what Xia De is worried about.
"It's okay, it's very simple."
The Marquis smiled and put his arm around Shade's shoulders:
"You're going to enjoy the rest of the game."
After the Prophet's Association arranged the rules of the game and selected four other people to participate in the game with Shad, the servants went upstairs to ask Queen Diana to come down.
Such an interesting thing happened at the Queen's birthday party, and the invited newspaper reporters were more excited and thrilled than the people who were going to participate in the card game later.
When the Queen arrived to watch, Shad and his opponents, the Marquis of Grassley, the Earl of Talancon, the Viscount Fordman, and Mr. Spears, all sat down, and as the crowd began to predict the outcome of the game, the flashbulbs flashed almost brighter than when Queen Diana first appeared.
Around the card table were a knight, a marquis, an earl, and a viscount. Mr. Spears, who had no noble title, was the first permanent secretary of the King's Council. According to regulations, the person holding this position could immediately obtain the non-hereditary status of baron when he retired or died in office.
"Everyone, please note that I will be the referee for this game, and the dealer will be Mr. Ciccone from the association."
Vice President Cynthia Mark's voice attracted everyone's attention. He was the one who led the team to Yodel Palace tonight:
"Today there are five players in total. After discussion, we have adopted the following rules: Each player has ten gold stars!"
The staff of the Prophet Association placed fifty pure gold five-pointed star buttons provided by Queen Diana in a brass box and distributed them to the five people at the card table. The one next to Shad was Luvia.
"Please keep it, Mr. Hamilton."
She pretended not to know Shad and leaned over to whisper in Shad's ear as she put the box away.
“After getting the first hidden card in each round, you can choose to bet using gold stars.
After everyone stops playing, except for the last player who stops playing, they can choose to use gold stars to place additional bets. After each round, the winner takes back the gold stars of the first bet multiplied by 2 and the second bet multiplied by 1.5, with decimals rounded up. If there is any remaining bet on the table, it will be kept by the referee; if the bet on the table is not enough, it will be taken from the referee; if the bet on the table and the bet in the referee's hand are both insufficient, the winner can only get the full bet on the table. "
Mr. Mark said, asking the five people in turn if they understood the rules, and after everyone nodded, he announced:
"If you lose all the gold stars, you will automatically leave the game. When there is only one person left at the table, the final winner wins the game. If someone holds more than or equal to 25 gold stars in the game, he or she will automatically become the winner."
Many of the guests who came to the banquet were Rhodes card enthusiasts. After hearing this rule, they discussed it with each other, and some even asked whether this was the final rule of this year's "Big City Players".
Xia De calculated that according to this way of playing, if everyone can remain rational and only bet one gold star in each round, then even if someone can win consecutively, they must win at least 10 rounds in a row to win. If no one wins consecutively and everyone chooses to bet one gold star in each round, the game will be longer.
“But it’s really fun.”
Xia De thought to himself, picked up a star from the box beside him, and prepared to throw it into the center of the round table. In the first round, let's see how it goes.
There is only one dealer, but everyone has his own deck, so Mr. Ciccone from the Prophet Association has to use five decks to deal the cards. Although this is a bit time-consuming, it also gives others a chance to think.
Shade added all the special cards in his hand to the deck, but none of the nine special cards appeared on the first card. The first card was the Moon 6.
Throwing a star to the center of the table was similar to Shad's idea. Except for Earl Talancon, his other three opponents also chose to throw a star as an attempt in the first game.
Count Talancon was the youngest person at the table besides Shade, and he looked to be only about 30 years old. He pretended to look at the expressions of the others, and after a little hesitation, he actually threw out two stars.
"Did you draw the king or the queen?"
asked Lord Grassley.
"Marquis, why can't I be confident that I can win the first game?"
"Come on, you played cards with me in the Lucky Club when you were still a minor, and I know you're not the type to gamble on luck."
Marquis Grassley stroked his chin and said, then looked at the dealer:
"After you draw the king and queen, you can't continue to ask for cards. So do you want the dealer to continue dealing cards?"
"I can honestly say that I didn't draw the Kingdom, but I still didn't ask for more cards, and of course, I didn't raise the bet."
Count Talancon said with a smile, and then asked the other four people:
"What about you?"
If the hidden card in his hand is really the queen, then he does not continue to ask for cards in order to comply with the rules. If not, he will definitely try to hit 21 points when the other four people think he is. Once the other four people bust, and the earl's hole card is not the queen, he will be the only one who does not bust, and he will be the winner of the first game.
"I can't believe you're so lucky."
Viscount Fordman smiled and said:
"I'll continue to ask for cards."
"Me too."
Mr Speirs also said that the parliamentary first permanent secretary, 43, with sunken eyes and thinning hair, was the kind of person who looked very intelligent.
"I don't want any cards, and I won't raise."
Marquis Grassley said, becoming the second player to stop playing. But he also did not reveal his cards, after all, giving up the cards is not giving up.
"I'll continue to ask for cards."
Shade said, observing the expressions of his opponents, listening to the discussions of the onlookers around him, and thinking under the crystal chandelier:
"In this kind of multiplayer poker game, you have to consider not only the opponents who continue to draw cards, but also the points of the people who have stopped playing cards, to prevent the two sides from fighting and letting others win. In this case, if you have the ability to read minds, you will surely be invincible."
So, will you learn mind-reading skills specifically because of the Rhodes cards
The voice in my ear whispered.
"Who do you think I am?"
Shad asked back.
A person who changes other people's cards to cheat his opponent.
She whispered in his ear, a hint of laughter in her tone.
The second card, Shad got a flower 6, a total of 12 points. Just as he was considering whether to stop playing, Mr. Spears took the lead in announcing that he would stop playing and not raise the bet, while Viscount Fordman continued to ask for cards.
Xia De thought about it and glanced at the Earl who seemed to have drawn the "Queen". The latter smiled at him, and it was unclear whether he was nervous or not.
"I'll continue to ask for cards."
Shad said.
So the only ones who got the third card were Viscount Fordman and Shade.
"I'm on hold."
The Viscount glanced at his third card, then revealed his hidden card;
"8+2+9, 19 points. Talancon, I don't believe you are the queen! Add a gold star."
Seeing that someone finally revealed his cards, Marquis Grassley and Mr. Spears, who had already stopped playing, also revealed their cards because they couldn't possibly win. The former had 13 points, so he stopped playing in the first round, and the latter had 17 points.
"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not."
Count Talancon said, without revealing his trump card, but asked Xiang Xiade:
"So Knight, do you want to continue with the fourth card?"
Each card is thrown out with the back facing down, but except for the first card, it needs to be revealed before other opponents and you choose whether to continue to ask for cards. Because there are no other opponents who want to ask for cards, Shad's third card has not been revealed yet.
"I... Count Talancon, no matter what your trump card is, you are doomed to lose."
He said hesitantly.
"Oh? You drew the king?"
The Count was very surprised, but Shade shook his head:
"Count, I guess your bottom card is the Queen, and my third card is, Flower 8, the Eastern Landscape of the Old World, Lake Tiss."
Seeing the Earl standing there in a daze, Shade continued to explain:
"After drawing this card, guess the number of a card that your opponent has not revealed. If it is correct, you can choose whether to force your opponent's card number to increase by one after the opponent reveals his card. If the opponent reveals his card first, there will be no effect. Now your hole card is unknown. I guess it is the queen."
He revealed his cards:
"6+6+8, I have 20 points. Count, you open your cards."
There was silence at the card table for a moment, and then Marquis Grassley couldn't help laughing out loud, and the other two gentlemen also tried hard to control their laughter:
"Haha, Talancon, you'd better not be the queen. Even though we will all lose, if you were the queen, we would laugh at you for months."
“It was a great game.”
Queen Diana, who was watching behind Shad, also understood and said with a smile, and the guests watching also smiled.
If the Count with only one card is not the Queen, then Shad wins; if he is, according to the rules of special cards, the Queen plus one means bust.
Count Talancon's face suddenly turned red. He gasped and looked at Shade. After a long while, he said:
"I've been playing Rhodes for so many years, but this is the first time I've encountered such an annoying situation. Oh, it's really annoying. I heard that someone won a King's Secret in the downtown area last week. Mr. Hamilton, it seems that it wasn't luck."
He revealed the card and it was indeed the queen.
There was a polite laugh from the crowd. The Earl put his right hand on his forehead and shook his head. Marquis Grassley tried to control his laughter, and he was shaking in his seat.
"This is the charm of the Rhodes brand."