Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

After browsing through several different gambling tables in the casino and dropping in a few coins to test the waters, Lu Chen quickly figured out the casino's approximate cash flow situation.

There were quite a few gamblers, probably fifty or sixty people, and most of them bet a few coins or even copper coins.

Occasionally, someone would place a bet of three or five taels of silver.

Not counting the gamblers, the silver ingots piled up in front of the dealers on just a few gambling tables amounted to more than five hundred taels.

Lu Chen didn't quite understand some of the game rules and wasn't interested in studying them. After browsing around for a while, he chose the simple and easy-to-understand Sic Bo game.

That is, using an opaque dice cup to roll dice and bet on big or small or the number of points.

4 to 10 o'clock is "small", and 11 to 5 o'clock is "big".

A "leopard" is when all three dice show the same number, meaning the dealer wins both the "big" and "small" hands. This includes three-pointers and eighteen-pointers.

Even in the fairest betting game, big or small, gamblers only have a 40% chance of winning, while the house has a 50% chance.

This is assuming the bookmaker doesn't cheat or use any underhanded tactics.

Betting on a single point, or even a triple, may seem to offer much higher odds, but compared to the probability of winning, the odds are actually much lower.

Unless you're incredibly lucky, you'll only lose faster when betting on Sic Bo.

Lu Chen secretly tallied the results of more than a dozen gambling games, finding that the odds of the house winning or losing were roughly 60/40, with the house winning 60% and the gamblers 40%.

Several gamblers who won money left the casino without being harassed.

During the observation process, Lu Chen was also formulating an action plan.

This casino looks decent enough; at least it doesn't cheat blatantly, and its practices aren't too ugly. It mainly profits from the difference in odds.

That's true. If gamblers who win money aren't allowed to leave, who would dare to come and gamble?

At least casinos won't make things difficult for gamblers who win small amounts of money.

However, his goal wasn't to win a few taels of silver, but five hundred taels!

Having won so much money, will the casino let me leave?

These days, casino owners are all gangsters, not some kind-hearted people!

In the end, it will mostly come down to fists and swords.

However, Lu Chen decided to give the other party a chance.

Don't be too sharp or aggressive, and don't pretend to be a gambler who wins money by luck.

If this casino is really legitimate, I might let them off the hook and stop when they win five hundred taels.

Since I'm a civilized person, it's best to avoid fighting if possible.

. . .

"You, it's you, come here for a second."

After winning a few more rounds, Lu Chen casually picked up a small piece of silver, weighing about a few coins, and tossed it to a nearby casino henchman.

"I'm tired after playing all day, so let's call it a day."

"Count it for me, how much silver is on this table."

"Thank you very much, young master."

The young thug was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He stuffed the loose silver into his pocket, walked to the gambling table, and began to count the silver.

It took about ten minutes to count everything; the total was 507 taels and 4 mace.

"Find a box and put the five hundred taels of silver in it for me."

Lu Chen gave further instructions to the casino thugs.

"Take the seven taels and four mace change to hire a carriage for me to take me to the 'Hanjiang Post Station' outside the South Gate. The rest is for you to have some tea."

To Lu Chen's surprise, even after he had almost won his goal of 500 taels of silver, no one from the casino came to cause trouble.

Moreover, during the several-hour-long gambling game, Lu Chen did not detect any cheating by the dealer on the other side.

You should know that today, it wasn't just him who won five hundred taels from the casino.

After Lu Chen won over a hundred taels, some sharp-eyed veteran gamblers saw through the trick and started placing bets. These people won several hundred taels in total.

The casino suffered a loss of nearly a thousand taels.

This even made Lu Chen feel a little guilty.

Since the other party had taken the bait, Lu Chen decided to stop there and take the five hundred taels of silver back to the post station.

We will leave Gucheng County early tomorrow morning and travel by boat downstream to Xiangyang Prefecture.

. . .

That evening, at "Hanjiang Inn".

"This is Master Ma, who has come here specifically to visit Young Master Lu."

Lu Chen had just finished dinner in his room when the postmaster brought a middle-aged man dressed in a gorgeous satin robe to the guest room.

"I am Ma San Kui, the owner of Rong Sheng Casino."

After the postmaster retreated outside and closed the door, the middle-aged man cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Lu Chen.

"I have come specifically to pay my respects to Young Master Lu."

"So it's Boss Ma."

Lu Chen returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute, then pointed to the small wooden box on the table containing five hundred taels of silver.

"What, the gambling den is open for business, but can't even afford to lose five hundred taels of silver?"

When Ma San Kui mentioned Rong Sheng Gambling House, Lu Chen knew that what was coming had finally arrived.

The fact that he was allowed to leave with the five hundred taels of silver he had won was simply because the other party didn't want to ruin their own reputation in front of so many gamblers.

I told you, Rongsheng Gambling House is just a small gambling house in a small county town. For them, five hundred taels is not a small amount.

Those who have the ability to run casinos are not exactly benevolent people; how could they possibly let me leave Gucheng County with all this money?!

He left the gambling den and returned to "Hanjiang Inn" without any attempt to conceal his identity, and even had the gambling den's henchmen hire a car for him.

The people at the casino were local bullies; they knew this small county and the surrounding area far better than I did.

It's impossible to hide where I live from them, so it's better to be open and honest than to try to conceal it.

This also reduces the likelihood of the other party attacking on the way.

"Hanjiang Post Station" was, after all, an official post station, where not only self-funded guests like myself stayed, but also officials on official business.

If we were to take action here, it could easily escalate the situation.

Lu Chen originally thought that even if the other party really intended to make a move, they would choose to do so after he left the post station the next day.

The fact that the casino owner, who called himself Ma San Kui, would personally come to his door was somewhat unexpected for Lu Chen.

In comparison, having the postmaster introduce you is nothing special.

If you're capable of running a casino in a county town, you certainly don't lack connections.

"Young Master Lu is joking."

Ma San Kui didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down in a chair at the table.

"It's just a mere five hundred taels of silver; I don't even consider it a concern."

"I apologize for the intrusion; I wish to make friends with Young Master Lu."

"Mr. Ma, please speak frankly."

Lu Chen was somewhat surprised to hear Ma San Kui's words.

"Young Master Lu is indeed a straightforward person, so I won't stand on ceremony."

Ma San Kui laughed, then reached into his robes and took out three dice and two gold ingots, placing them on the table.

"Young Master Lu's skills today have truly broadened my horizons."

Mr. Ma was really itching to see for himself.

This hundred taels of gold can be exchanged for about seven or eight hundred taels of silver, which is my gambling capital.

I hope Young Master Lu can give me this face.

As soon as Ma San Kui entered the room, Lu Chen had secretly used his mental power to examine him.

Aside from a sheathed dagger strapped to the inside of his right boot, he only had two gold ingots and three dice on him.

I could sense the shape of the gold ingots with my mental power, but I couldn't sense their color. I originally thought they were just two silver ingots, but I didn't expect them to be two gold ingots.

One hundred taels of gold, 3730 grams, that's a huge sum! In my original world, it would be worth over four million!

This guy just said that one hundred taels of gold can only be exchanged for seven or eight hundred taels of silver.

Was the gold-silver ratio during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty really that ridiculously low?!

He's clearly eager to test his skills; does he want to play a few rounds of dice with me one-on-one?!

wrong!

What this guy really values ​​is his "gambling skills"!

Although he deliberately concealed his talents, he experienced both wins and losses, pretending to be a gambler who won money by luck.

The onlookers might not realize it and think they're just lucky, but that can't be hidden from the casino!

Statistically speaking, this is impossible; the casino would definitely suspect them of cheating.

However, the rules of Sic Bo are very special, as the entire dice-rolling process is operated by the dealer.

Dealers do have ways to cheat, such as using lead or mercury-filled dice to artificially control the numbers.

However, gamblers have no way of touching the dice cup, and unless they collude with the dealer, there is no way they can cheat.

Casinos will be even more ruthless towards internal traitors than towards cheating gamblers!

If someone were to collude with the dealer to cheat, they would be extremely careful, and would only win a few taels of silver before stopping, as any further exposure would be too risky.

No wonder that even though he kept winning more and more, the dealer couldn't cheat.

It's not that I don't have the ability, it's that I don't dare!

If cheating methods were used and the gambler still won so much money, the dealer would have a hard time explaining it to the casino!

Since winning money wasn't due to collusion with the dealer, what image does the casino owner have of him?

A true master of gambling!

There's no chance of cheating when you win money in a Sic Bo game, so it's true that you can tell exactly how many points the dealer rolled!

Thinking of this, Lu Chen glanced at Ma San Kui again.

This guy is really calm!

If you're really relying on your hearing, it's actually quite easy to crack!

All you need to do is create noise to distract people while they're rolling the dice.

But he didn't do that; instead, he let himself keep winning.

That's right. If one is truly a gambling expert with exceptional hearing, then in the eyes of the casino owner, one's value is far greater than this amount of money!

Now this guy has come knocking with a hundred taels of gold, just wanting to test his worth in person.

If, as he suspected, I could discern the dice rolls and win those two ingots of gold, he would surely recruit me immediately.

If he couldn't tell the difference, whether he genuinely couldn't or was deliberately ignoring it, he could rightfully win back the five hundred taels of silver.

If you refuse outright, that would be disrespectful, like refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.

This is an open conspiracy!

You can't hit someone who's smiling. If the other party is polite and comes to visit without resorting to violence, it's not good for you to turn hostile first.

Deliberately hiding your skills and letting him win the money back is certainly not advisable!

Doing this not only means that today's work was in vain, but more importantly, it reveals your lack of knowledge!

Showing weakness in front of these underworld figures will only make them look down on you and treat you like a fat sheep to be manipulated.

Why not let this Mr. Ma show off his "gambling skills"?

It would be foolish not to refuse such gold that's been delivered right to our door!

"Since Mr. Ma is in such a good mood, I will naturally keep him company."

After making the decision, Lu Chen sat down across the table from Ma San Kui.

"Mr. Ma was right about him."

Ma San Kui picked up an empty teacup from the table and placed the three dice inside.

"Let's not beat around the bush. If we only bet on big or small, then we are underestimating Young Master Lu's abilities."

Why don't I roll the dice, and Young Master Lu guess the numbers? Three rounds will be enough.

If Young Master Lu can guess the winning number correctly even once out of these three rounds, I will gladly offer him this hundred taels of gold.

What does Young Master Lu think?

As expected, this guy didn't mention what would happen if he guessed wrong.

"That's excellent."

Lu Chen smiled gently.

"I thank you in advance, Mr. Ma."