Poker turned out to be much more complicated and interesting than Adam had expected. He wasn't sure, but Alexia also seemed to be interested, or at least she was watching the game because one of the participants was Louis.

Louis was not only her Operator, but also her husband. This definitely added a new layer to their strong relationship.

But what surprised Adam most about poker was not the rules or the game's process itself, but how much money a single player could win if they were lucky with their hand.

'In the first round, Silvana bet 50K, everyone else bet another 100K, and Louis and that woman raised the bet twice. There were only six players at the table, and there could clearly be more, but with just one win, he earned 950K!'

Sure, it was still not enough to recover everything Alexia had lost at roulette, but at this rate, after a few rounds, Louis would be able to restore their bank.

True, Louis couldn't win every time; in a fair game, that's impossible, even if he had incredible luck. He wasn't going to cheat; there was no point in that. He was completely confident in his skills.

Moreover, Silvana was at the table, and if she got lucky a few times, the two of them would essentially take money from the other four players.

After a few rounds, what Adam had been expecting for some time happened:

"Straight Flush!" Silvana exclaimed happily, placing her two cards on the table.

The burly man sitting to his left and going last was unhappy with this turn of events, as was evident from his expression.

"DAMN IT!" He slammed his fist on the table and threw his cards away. He had the same combination as Louis in the first round — Four of a Kind.

His combination was only one rank weaker than Silvana's, but that was enough for her to get everything and him to get nothing.

Where did Silvana get the money? After all, she and Adam only had 15K. That wasn't even enough to make the minimum bet at this table. The 50K credits Louis gave her at the very beginning, one purple chip, she spent it right at the start.

Well, Louis just gave her the money.

If she wins, she can pay back the debt, and if she loses... They didn't consider that option, but it was obvious to everyone that it wasn't a huge amount of money for them.

Although apparently, neither Louis nor Silvana was in danger of bankruptcy.

"Yay!" Silvana rejoiced, pulling a stack of 15 black chips toward her.

It was a long and difficult round, each of the seven players, one new since the last round, calling until the end, and there were several raises.

Thus, having risked 300K, Silvana now took 1.5 million. It was the amount Alexia had lost at roulette, well, almost all of it.

"Tsk, good luck." The burly man grunted and left. He wasn't going to lose any more money here.

He had already spent several hundred thousand, and as an experienced casino guest, he had enough to stop at the right moment.

Silvana's smile beamed with happiness. It was her first big win. In fact, right now she was holding 1.5 million credits in her hands. Nothing was stopping her from going and exchanging the black chips for real money.

It was the largest amount of money she had ever had in her hands.

Sure, after everything Adam had done at the Dead Lands, he had much more than 1.5 million in his account, and Silvana had full access to that money, but she understood that it wasn't her money and she hadn't earned it herself.

Louis nodded and turned to the woman who was the only one of the original players left in the current round.

"If I'm not mistaken, you've already lost 700K. That's quite a lot of money even for a very wealthy person, isn't it?" Louis smiled slyly as he shuffled his black chips. Soon, Alexia would lose that money again, but for now, it was his.

In response, the woman sighed heavily.

"I think I'll stay for a few more rounds. Who knows when I'll get lucky again? This has been one of the luckiest tables in recent memory. Almost every round, someone gets a strong combination. I'm not that lucky."

Louis nodded and prepared for the next round. Silvana glanced at Adam, who nodded in agreement. While she enjoyed the game, he didn't mind staying in the auditorium a little longer.

...

The next half hour passed in this manner.

Poker and watching the game did not evoke the same intense emotions in players and spectators as playing slot machines or roulette, but poker definitely had depth.

At any moment, a strong hand could turn out to be weak due to the actions of the dealer who revealed the last card. Or, in the end, it could turn out that two players had the same combination.

Several times, Louis managed to bluff, which saved him money and allowed him to win another round.

Silvana tried to copy his actions, but she was a novice while he was an experienced player. She clearly lacked the practice to repeat the tricks he performed.

Sure, every poker table was different. Much depended on how much money the players were willing to spend in case of a loss, as well as where the game was taking place.

Poker could be played by rich people from the First Ring in a skyscraper casino, or by criminals from the slums or poor neighborhoods of the Third Ring.

In some places, cheating made little sense or was too dangerous, while in others it was the main way to win.

Either way, any game, even one as deep and interesting as poker, eventually came to an end.

Tap.

Louis moved his chair back to Alexia with 20 black chips. Now, they were back to 2 million. That was what Alexia had already lost.

"So," Louis looked around. "What shall we do next? There are many interesting things in this casino, for all people, ordinary and not."

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