Chapter 27: If I join, the gaming experience is going to be quite miserable for everyone else!

As for Lin Tian, he neither enjoyed gambling nor playing cards, and his status wasn't quite high enough to earn an invitation from Jordan. He was perfectly content with the downtime, finding a corner where he intended to catch up on some sleep. After all, despite his total victory in the battle with the bullfighter the previous night, Lin Tian had expended quite a lot of energy! He had been operating on back-to-back, continuous combat, after all!

However, just as Lin Tian sat down and before he could even pull a blanket over himself, Jordan’s shout rang out: "Hey, you! Come over here and play cards!"

Lin Tian looked left and right, and upon realizing he was the only one in that direction, he decisively chose to pretend he hadn't heard anything, pulled the blanket up, and prepared to close his eyes.

"F***! Lin! LT! Dammit, get over here! Come play cards, are you deaf?" Jordan rolled his eyes and shouted again, helpless. This time, he finally, albeit reluctantly, called Lin Tian by name.

Lin Tian realized he couldn't keep up the act, so he abandoned his warm blanket, stood up, and walked over to sit beside Jordan and the others. "Just a disclaimer: I don't know how to play, and I don't like playing. I’ll likely ruin your gaming experience."

"You don't know how to play?" Jordan’s eyes lit up the moment he heard that. "As long as you know how to lose money, that's fine! That Spanish girl last night didn't take all your money, did she? I hope you still have enough cash on you."

Aha! The cat was out of the bag! Lin Tian understood Jordan’s intentions immediately. This guy was jealous! Jordan—the world-famous, number-one superstar of the league, the King of the basketball world—considered himself a top-tier heartthrob, always surrounded by people wherever he went. Yet, what happened? Last night, surrounded by over a dozen college girls, he hadn't managed to take a single one home and had to pay for his pleasure instead. Compared to Lin Tian, who got it for free, he was leagues behind!

Why? In terms of looks, Jordan felt he was on par with Lin Tian. In terms of wealth and achievements, he could crush Lin Tian into the dirt. So why did he have to pay, while Lin Tian took someone to his room in three minutes? Jordan still had enough dignity not to ask that question directly, but whether he asked or not, Lin Tian had already figured it out. This man, with his pathologically strong desire to win, was looking for payback.

"We're playing Stud. It's very simple. Five cards, highest hand wins. You bet after each card is dealt. You can fold at any time. The highest is a straight flush, then..." Jordan was clearly a casino veteran; his hands moved fluidly as he shuffled the deck while explaining the rules. Once he finished, he looked up at Lin Tian. "Got it?"

"Got it, but two small questions," Lin Tian shrugged. "Is there a cap on the bets? And if I don't have enough cash, can I use other things as collateral?"

"You're a rookie, so of course I won't clean you out completely," Jordan said with a grin. "Let's set the cap at $100,000 per hand. That work for you? As for the cash, as long as you can pull it out, I'll take it!"

"No problem. Deal," Lin Tian shrugged and leaned back in his chair to wait.

After the first round of cards was dealt, the highest face-up card belonged to Rodman, who sat to Lin Tian’s left; he had a King. Rodman glanced at his hole card and hesitated for a moment. "$300."

Then it was Lin Tian’s turn. His face-up card was a lowly 2. Jordan looked at him and said, "A 2 will never beat the big cards, Lin! You need to know your place. When it's time to fold, you have to be decisive, or you’ll end up losing the shirt off your back."

"You're right, Michael. I'll pass the same advice back to you." Lin Tian shrugged, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the keys to his limited-edition Corvette. "I don't have cash. I bought this car for $230,000, let's value it at $100,000. I’m all in!"

"What the hell?" Lin Tian’s words stunned all four men at the table. They had played plenty of cards, but they had never seen anyone go all-in like that right from the start.

"You have a 2 and you're going all-in? Do you even know how to play?!" Jordan looked at Lin Tian, bordering on losing his mind. "And damn it, you haven't even looked at your hole card yet!"

"I know how, but I just like to go all-in. Is there a problem?" Lin Tian smiled. "Besides, if I look at my hole card, you old pros will analyze my expression to figure out what I have. How would I play then? Today, we’re just betting on luck! Let’s see who has the better cards!"

"You're going to lose everything!" Jordan cursed and sat back in his chair, fuming.

"Crazy, I'm out," Kerr, sitting to Lin Tian’s right, shook his head and folded his cards. Pippen glanced at his hole card and followed suit.

That left only Jordan. He stared at Lin Tian, breathing heavily. He had played in games where the stakes were twenty times higher than this $100,000 hand, but he had never encountered anyone who just threw money around like this.

"Is this your strategy, Lin? Huh? Forcing us to rely on luck to eliminate our advantage in experience and skill, pulling us all to the same level, then winning the money?" Jordan thought for a moment, seemingly satisfied that he had deciphered Lin Tian’s strategy. "You want to scare us, right? Well, sorry, you can't scare me! $100,000, I'm in!"

"Two lunatics," Rodman muttered, and as soon as Jordan matched the bet, he quickly tossed his cards away. As the saying went, he was wild, but he wasn't a lunatic. He had no interest in participating in a game that jumped straight to six figures.

"Since everyone else folded, let's not waste time. Deal the rest and see who's higher." Lin Tian gestured for Pippen to deal, then looked at Jordan. "By the way, Michael, there’s one thing you’ve forgotten. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in psychology, and I was on a full scholarship! Let me remind you that the psychology department at UPenn is ranked third in the world. So, going all-in wasn't to hide my lack of experience."

"It was me choosing to abandon the method of winning by reading your thoughts. I was going easy on you, not relying on 'newbie luck'! The truth is, without pure luck, there is absolutely no way you could ever beat me!" Lin Tian leaned back in his chair again. "I told you, if I join, the gaming experience is going to be terrible!"

"Kid, what do you mean? Are you saying that except for luck, I couldn't possibly beat you?!" Jordan’s eyes widened. He had been a veteran of the gambling world for over a decade—well, he had lost quite a bit, but he had never backed down, and he had never been looked down upon like this!