Meanwhile—
Seeing the table was full, the dealer, who had been standing by without a word, took a step forward. After a slight bow, he announced, "The game at this table is—Texas Hold'em. As per the school's request, I will now begin explaining the rules of the game."
Symon: "How's this for you?"
Hiyori Shiina blinked: "Is something wrong?"
"I've heard of this game, but how should I put it…"
Symon thought for a moment before explaining, "It's said to be the poker game with the strongest competitive and gambling elements. Its main feature is that you can lose everything you have in a single game. I don't know the specifics, though."
While the two were chatting in their minds, the dealer, dressed in a black tuxedo, had already taken out a brand-new deck of cards. After unsealing it, he spread all the cards out on the table.
From the 52 cards, he publicly removed all the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s. He then placed the small and big jokers in front of Kōenji and Kanzaki respectively, explaining, "These two cards serve as markers, representing the small and big blind positions. They will not be used in this hand."
"Additionally, this game will be played using Short Deck Hold'em rules. Only cards from 6 to Ace will be used, for a total of 36 cards."
"Before the game begins, the two players currently in the blind positions are requested to place their bets. The first player will bet one chip, and the second player will bet two chips."
Before he had even finished speaking, Kōenji had already tossed out one red chip, and Kanzaki added two more—these two were clearly experienced.
The dealer showed no particular reaction, gathering the three chips into the center of the table. He explained, "This is the starting pot for this hand. As the game proceeds, the pot will continue to grow with player bets until a final winner is determined. The winner will receive all the chips."
Honami Ichinose hesitantly raised her hand. "Um, if only these two people have to bet before the game starts, how is fairness guaranteed?"
The dealer placed the shuffled deck on the table and explained, "To ensure fairness, after each hand, the blind positions will move clockwise according to the seating order. One full circle is considered one round."
Having received such an answer, Ichinose decisively lowered her hand.
Seeing no further questions, the dealer dealt two cards to everyone in turn, then placed the deck down. Gesturing invitingly, he said, "Please look at your hole cards."
Hiyori Shiina did as she was told. In her hand were DA and DA.
"After checking your hole cards, the player in the 'gun position'—that is, the first player after the blinds—will act first. You have five options: check, fold, bet, raise, or all-in."
"Check: Pass the action to the next player. If a player bets later, you will have to choose again whether to fold or call."
"Fold: Forfeit this hand. Please be careful not to show your hole cards."
"Bet: Please ensure your bet amount is equal to the last bet made in this round. The current minimum bet is 2."
"Raise: Please ensure your bet amount is a multiple of the minimum bet."
At this point, the dealer's expression turned serious, and he spoke in a solemn tone, "Please note—there is no upper limit to this multiple."
Yahiko Totsuka exclaimed, "No way! Doesn't that mean you can lose everything in a single game?"
The dealer nodded upon hearing this and said seriously, "Of course. The final option is to go all-in—that is, to push all of your chips onto the table."
"This amount has no minimum or maximum; even if you don't have enough chips to match a bet, you can still choose to go all-in. You will not need to bet further in this hand, but accordingly, if you win, you can only win the amount from the pot that you were eligible for. Any subsequent bets exceeding your all-in amount will be returned in full."
Kakeru Ryūen let out a sneer. "Giving a gambler one last sliver of hope while cutting off all escape routes, leaving no room for retreat. What an interesting game."
Symon couldn't help but complain in his mind, "Now I get why people can lose everything they own. One all-in and you won't even have your underwear left."
Hearing this, Hiyori Shiina silently nodded, pushed her only chip forward, and asked softly, a little embarrassed, "Is this okay?"
The girl's action drew everyone's attention, but those present knew better than to say anything. Only the dealer smiled and nodded, "Of course it is."
After receiving this answer, the other players at the table also pushed out two chips one by one to continue the game.
Kōenji, at the end, also added one more chip, matching the amount everyone else had put in.
Once everyone had completed their bets, the pre-flop betting round ended. The dealer flipped over three cards from the deck, displaying them in the center of the table, and said, "After the pre-flop betting round, the game will proceed through three more rounds. I will reveal, in order, in the center of the table—three flop cards, one turn card, and one river card."
"After the cards for each round are dealt, starting from the first player clockwise, each player will repeat the five choices—check, fold, bet, raise, or all-in."
"During the game, if all players fold except for one, that last remaining player will automatically win."
"If the game proceeds to the very end…"
At this point, the dealer dealt two more community cards. The board now showed:
DA, DA, D6, D6, DK.
"With these five community cards, all players can use them along with their own two hole cards to form the best possible five-card combination out of the seven available cards, and compare its strength against the other players."
"The hand rankings are, in order: Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Flush, Full House, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card."
"For identical hand types, the rank is compared in the order of A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6."
"One special note—in a straight, an Ace can be used to substitute for a 5."
Having explained this, the dealer smiled and asked, "Are there any questions you don't understand now?"
Everyone shook their heads in unison, though it was unclear if they had no questions or simply didn't understand.
Seeing this, the dealer didn't say anything more. He collected the chips and all the poker cards, then announced, "Well then, the game officially begins. Players, please place your bets."
Ding-dong~! — Kōenji and Kanzaki threw in their chips in succession.
After the cards were dealt, Hiyori Shiina had no intention of looking at them. She pushed her only chip onto the table and asked softly in her mind, "Mr. Ghost, what do you make of this exam?"
"Hmm, I have a strange sense of déjà vu."
Symon pondered for a moment before casually remarking, "Making all the students join a gambling game, with a format that emphasizes probability calculation and psychological warfare, or perhaps focuses more on individual student performance... it feels like they're trying to make up for the VIP exam that was ended prematurely."
"However, it seems your school overestimates you all. I'd say that in less than three days, the vast majority of students here will have lost all their points."
"If any student can emerge from a money pit like this unscathed, they must either have extraordinary personal abilities or a mentality far beyond their peers. If it were up to me, I wouldn't mind giving such a student an excellent evaluation."
"From this perspective, although the detailed rules of the exam are still unclear, one thing is certain—this special exam has likely already begun."
Hiyori Shiina tilted her head. "It couldn't... be that serious, could it?"
"Who knows? Why don't you give Sakayanagi a call and ask? I bet she knows."
"Dame yo~"
"…"
____
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