Death Game: Starting as a Trickster, Pretending to Be a God

Chapter 457: Strange Strategy, Possibility of Cheating

After Twenty finished explaining the rules, he also sat down on a wooden barrel.

”If there are no questions, then we shall begin.”

Naturally, no one objected.

Soon, one face-up card and one face-down card were dealt to each person.

The face-up card Lin Yu received was a Jack, and then he glanced at the hole card in his hand, which was a 9.

”Thatʼs pretty high...”

Lin Yu couldnʼt help but raise an eyebrow.

It seemed he wouldnʼt need to take a hit this round.

So he looked at the face-up cards on the othersʼ tables.

Fern had a 7, Algae had a 3, and Moss had a King.
All three of them were also checking their hole cards.

Algae, after looking at his card, kept rubbing it in his hand;Fern lifted a corner to peek before immediately slapping it back down.

Moss picked his up and took a glance.

For now, their reactions gave no clue as to what cards they might have.

As the dealer, Twenty, just like Lin Yuʼs hole card, had received a 9.

”Moss didnʼt announce Black Jack, meaning his hole card isnʼt an Ace...”

Lin Yu pondered, and then Twenty began asking the player to his left, Lin Yu.

”Do you want a hit?”

”I do not.”

Lin Yu shook his head and said.

While the game of Blackjack doesnʼt have a guaranteed winning method, there is a strategy that can increase your odds of winning.

This method is arguably the most well-known among various card games—because itʼs so legendary!

The story of Ma Kaiwen, a Chinese student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the pinnacle of human academia across the ocean, who swept through Las Vegas casinos with his classmates, using card counting to rake in millions of dollars.

This story was even adapted into a film called *21*.

Lin Yu had watched that movie repeatedly—after all, one of its lead actors, Kevin Spacey, is an Oscar winner. For Lin Yu, who is passionate about acting, he couldnʼt miss a drama film starring an actor with such masterful skills.

Therefore, Lin Yu was also familiar with that card counting system.

To put it bluntly, itʼs a real-time calculation strategy based on statistics and probability—keeping track of all the cards that have already appeared on the table and assigning them point values.

Although Twentyʼs choice to let everyone hold one hole card reduced the amount of information each participant could grasp about the table, he was, after all, using a ”single deck” and there were five players.

This provided room for real-time strategic calculation.

Of course, for Lin Yu... starting this hand with two cards totaling 19, even a player completely ignorant of optimal hit/stand strategy would know not to take a card this round.

”If the goal is purely to win the game, at most Iʼd only need to calculate one more probability for the ʼcard exchangeʼ... And besides, even if I lose and get asked a question this time, it doesnʼt matter. In fact, Iʼm quite looking forward to Twenty asking more questions.”

After all, the one answering likely wouldnʼt be himself again... Even if he did answer, it could still mislead Twenty.

Twenty still isnʼt certain whether the four people at the table are actually Lin Yu or not.

In Lin Yuʼs view, the ideal scenario would be to make Twenty believe all four are Lin Yuʼs ”personalities,” and then use the performances of the other three to mislead him.

But this also means that in this game, Lin Yu has a task more important than ”winning.”

”I have to make that guy Twenty believe that Iʼm in cahoots with the other three, and I also have to make him understand, without alerting them, why I wasnʼt a split personality last time but suddenly am now.”

Hmm... It must be said, the task is arduous and the road is long.

But Lin Yu felt it wasnʼt impossible.

Twenty now looked towards Fern, who was sitting next to Lin Yu.

”Do you choose to take a hit?”

Fern had a 7 in hand. Given the current table situation, Lin Yu felt that as long as her hole card wasnʼt one of the highest values, she could afford to try for a hit.

After all, even if she busts, she can still stubbornly push for another card—this rule essentially lowers the ”cost” of taking a hit, encouraging players to take the risk and draw another card even when thereʼs a chance of busting.

Even if Fernʼs hole card is a 10-point card, whatʼs called a ”Ten” card in Blackjack, sheʼd only be stuck exactly at 17, that special dangerous point.

Fern is smart. Lin Yu felt that even if she wasnʼt familiar with Blackjack strategy, she could rely on intuition to make a relatively optimal choice right now—based on this, Lin Yu could completely deduce what Fernʼs hole card was.

But Fernʼs reply took Lin Yu by surprise.

”I wonʼt take a card.”

She calmly passed.

Lin Yu was somewhat taken aback.

”Could her hole card be an Ace or a Ten...”

He pondered expressionlessly, his face showing no fluctuation.

Twenty, however, didnʼt hide his surprise that Fern didnʼt want a hit.

Though the expression of Twenty, wrapped in his cloak, couldnʼt be seen, it didnʼt stop him from letting out a soft click of his tongue.

”Youʼre not taking a card either, alright,” Twenty turned to Algae, ”What about you?”

”Iʼll take another card.”

Algae only had a 3 showing;of course he would take a hit.

Only after Twenty turned towards him did Algae finally put the hole card he had been rubbing back on the table.

Twenty dealt another card to Algae;this card was a ”5”.

”Thatʼs pretty small.”

Algae muttered, then seemed to fall into thought.

Watching Algae think, Lin Yu couldnʼt help but speculate again.

”Right now, ʼAlgaeʼsʼ visible total is 8, but heʼs still hesitating... In other words, his hole card might be a middling number?”

”Could be 6, 7, 8, or 9... If we consider that Algae isnʼt as adept at puzzling these things out as Fern is, being closer to the Enforcer role among the personalities, maybe the range is even larger, because he might not have your excellent numerical intuition and precise probability calculation skills.”

The scene was extremely quiet, with only the sound of their breathing and some faint noises from deep within the mine tunnel audible.

After a moment, Algae, as if having made up his mind, spoke up.

”I want another card.”

A new face-up card was placed in front of Algae.

This time, Algae received a new 6.

Seeing this, Fern couldnʼt resist teasing, ”Ha, if this were Showdown Poker, thatʼd be great. If your hole card is decent, you could even go for a straight flush.”

Only after Fern said it did Lin Yu notice that Algaeʼs three cards—3, 5, 6—were all coincidentally Hearts.

Unfortunately, suits donʼt hold much meaning in Blackjack.

Watching as Algaeʼs visible total had already reached 14, yet after another brief silence, Algae spoke up once more.

”I want to continue taking a card.”

This made Lin Yu feel even more puzzled.

”Visible total of 14 and still hitting? Just how small is your hole card?”

If Algaeʼs hole card was high, then he shouldnʼt be taking a card now.

But if Algaeʼs hole card was low... what was he hesitating about earlier?

Thinking this far, Lin Yu suddenly remembered the conversation that happened earlier, right before Twenty arrived, when Algae and Fern had just gotten here.

”Unless...”

”Those two are cheating again!”