The Luckiest Dumb Doctor

“This…We all had an agreement. You should just stay out of this and hurry up and return the Amulet.”

“What’s the rush with the Amulet? Just bring it with me when I return.”

Hearing Quinton Creed’s words, Joe Locke was even less in a hurry to leave. He sat back down, clutching the box that contained the Amulet.

Quinton Creed said with a pained expression, “Mr. Jensen, look at this…”

Greg Jensen said with a cold face, “I have a score to settle with him, and I really don’t want to play with him.”

Without any shame, Joe Locke grinned and said, “Hey, kid, that’s not very fair of you. Didn’t we agree just now?

You give me the Amulet, and I won’t pursue the past matters. Why are you still holding on to that?”

“A real man should have a bit of generosity in his heart, shouldn’t he?”

Max Milton also persuaded from the side, “Yeah, the more the merrier. Let’s start quickly, I can’t wait.”

Greg Jensen frowned, then begrudgingly said, “Alright then. But let’s get one thing straight. We play big, and you better not be a sore loser who flips the table.”

“Aiden Clark, who do you think you’re looking down on?”

Joe Locke slapped down a bank card and said, “You name it, how big are we playing?”

Greg Jensen said, “Three-card brag, starting with two thousand a bottom, two thousand a bet, with a ten thousand cap. Are you in?”

Upon hearing this, Joe Locke, looking utterly astonished, said, “Two thousand a bottom? You call that big?”

“Isn’t two thousand big?” Greg Jensen said, puzzled.

Joe Locke laughed as if he had heard a joke, “You ask old Quinton how big we played before.

Two thousand a bottom is nothing; our antes are worth more than that. Come on, let’s get started so I can deal a few hands and then get going.”

“Alright, then let’s begin.”

Quinton Creed brought out several new decks of playing cards, which he showed to everyone for inspection before the game got started.

Three-card brag is very simple, yet classic, and it is played in various regions all over the country.

The rankings from highest to lowest are: three of a kind (a set), straight flush, flush, straight, pair, and if both parties have high card hands, it begins with the highest card for comparison.

In some regions, a straight ranks higher than a flush, but it’s not the same everywhere.

Greg Jensen’s card skills were average, but his senses were sharp, his vision and hearing countless times stronger than a normal person’s, allowing him to see the card faces in the instant when the cards were shuffled and dealt.

Moreover, both Max Milton and the old gambler Quinton Creed had their own methods of “marking” the cards.

“Marking” is simply using various means to leave identifiable marks on the cards, making it easy to recognize the numbers and suits.

Five people were playing together, with three of them knowing what the cards were. Only Cole Barnett, who was responsible for distracting Joe Locke’s attention, was in the dark.

Whenever Cole needed to know the bottom cards, a few hand signals from Max would quickly clue him in.

It was safe to say that the entire card game was under the control of Greg Jensen and his group.

As a seasoned player, Joe Locke felt something was off after a few rounds, but since he was continuously winning, he kept quiet.

In the beginning, Greg Jensen was consistently losing, with the other three players having mixed fortunes, except Joe Locke, who kept on winning.

In little more than half an hour, Greg Jensen had lost over two hundred thousand, and even Nathan Humphrey, who was watching from the side, couldn’t stand it any longer and came over to persuade him to stop playing.

Greg Jensen, driven as if by the frenzy of a gambler in the red, scolded Nathan Humphrey, “Get lost. Why are you, a kid, meddling in adults playing cards?”

Nathan Humphrey, unaware of the tricks being played, felt he was good-heartedly trying to prevent further loss, but instead received a scolding, felt a little aggrieved, muttered “Lose it all then” under his breath, and walked off to the side to watch the drama unfold.

It was Joe Locke’s turn to be the dealer in this round. As he shuffled the cards, he smiled and said, “Kid, you’re not doing too well mentally either, are you? Getting flustered after losing just over twenty thousand?”

Greg Jensen glared at him with red-rimmed eyes and snorted coldly, “Deal the cards, will you? What’s with all the chit-chat?”

“Heh, sure.”

Joe Locke smiled and swiftly dealt three cards to each player.

Greg Jensen looked at the three cards on the table, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Blind bet of five thousand.”

“Blind bet” meant to wager without looking at the cards. If a player who had seen their cards wanted to call, they had to bet double the stake.

It had been agreed during the game that the maximum bet was ten thousand, so the most one could blind bet was five thousand.

Cole Barnett rubbed his cards vigorously, then exclaimed excitedly, “With such good cards, I call with ten thousand!”

Quinton Creed and Max Milton, sitting next to him, picked up their cards to peek and, sighing that their cards were no good, threw them into the discard pile.

It was Joe Locke’s turn. He looked at Greg Jensen, then gave Cole Barnett a deep look and laughed, “One plays blind, the other calls; well then, I’ll also play blind to see if old Cole’s cards are real or fake!”

As he spoke, he too tossed in a chip worth five thousand.

Greg Jensen frowned and said, “Keep going blind. I refuse to believe my luck is this bad today.”

Several rounds of blind betting followed. Cole Barnett, seemingly unable to withstand the pressure, chucked his cards into the pile, grumbling, “I’ve never seen anyone play like you two, betting blind round after round without even looking at your cards.”

“If you’ve got the money, follow; if you don’t, fold. Quit your yapping.”

Joe Locke glanced disdainfully at him and then turned to Greg Jensen, asking with a smile, “Kid, are you still playing blind?”

Greg Jensen looked at the cards on the table and smiled, “Since it’s just the two of us left, let me take a look at my cards. If it’s a good hand, I’ll call you out.

I can feel it, this hand has got to be big!”

Joe Locke, hearing this, revealed a meaningful smile and said, “Well then, have a look.”

Greg Jensen, looking every bit the seasoned gambler, picked up his cards and slowly started to fold them over. After a long while, his pupils suddenly dilated in disbelief.

Joe Locke’s lips curled into a sneer as he urged, “Have you finished looking yet? Come on, either call or don’t, because if you don’t, I’m taking the pot.”

“Call!”

Greg Jensen hurriedly called out, then hesitated, “About this hand… can we play without a limit?”

Joe Locke feigned hesitance, “Well… that might not be so good, right?”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s just us now. If you agree, let’s play this hand without a limit.”

His eyes reddening, Greg Jensen said, “I’ve lost so much already; if we set a limit, I might not win it back even if I played all night.”

“Alright, for you, since you’ve lost so much, let’s play this hand without a limit.”

Joe Locke warned, “Just for this hand, though. Afterward, we go back to the rules.”

“Agreed!”

Greg Jensen nodded, counted all the remaining chips he had, and said, “I’ve got three hundred thousand left; I’m betting it all.”

“Three hundred thousand? That’s a lot!”

Joe Locke seemed a bit hesitant.

Greg Jensen scoffed, “What, is even three hundred thousand too much for you?”

“Fine, I’ll follow. But I’m doing it blind; I only need to bet one hundred and fifty thousand.”

As soon as Joe Locke finished speaking, everyone including Greg Jensen was stunned.

Cole Barnett said in a daze, “He’s seen his cards and has placed such a huge bet, and you still want to follow blind?”