Chapter 92

I was ambushed by the president and ended up having a poker match for the first time in three months.

The president and I sat across from each other, with a table between us.

"The rules are the same as regular poker. We play normally, and the first to win three times is the winner. However, we switch dealers after each round—do you have any questions?"

"No, I'm fine."

When I nodded, she extended the deck of cards to me.

"Hehe, I'll let you go first."

"Is that okay?"

"Yes, since you accepted all of our conditions. Otherwise, it would be unfair."

"I see. Then, I'll take you up on that—"

With that, I took the deck, shuffled it a few times, and dealt five cards to each of us.

"Hmm, I'll change one card."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Thank you."

The president, after changing one card, relaxed her lips slightly.

It seemed she had a good hand.

"I'm good with this. So... Allen, how many cards will you change?"

The president placed her five cards face down on the table and smiled confidently.

"No, I'm fine with this."

I said this with a smile without even looking at my cards.

"S-Sure... You're awfully confident..."

She showed a slight sign of unease but quickly regained her composure and spread her hand.

"My hand is a 'Flush'...! Now, Allen, show me your hand!"

"Sure, of course."

And so, I revealed my cards one by one from right to left.

The ten of spades.

The jack of spades.

The queen of spades.

The king of spades.

"L-Lying...!?"

And the last card, of course, was the ace of spades.

"This is incredible... A Royal Straight Flush."

First win.

I got off to a good start.

"You... You attacked right away... What kind of trick did you use...?"

"Hehe, just lucky, I guess."

I pretended not to notice and quickly did a shotgun shuffle three times in my hand.

"!?"

At that moment, the president's face turned pale.

Well, it's not surprising.

I maintained a calm demeanor and handed the deck to her.

"Here you go. It's your turn to be the dealer."

"A-Allen... You...!?"

She took the deck with trembling hands and glared at me.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing..."

After that, the president bit her lower lip and, with a look of regret, began dealing the cards for the second round.

Looking at the five cards I was dealt—2, 3, 4, 7, 7.

(A pair of sevens... A straight is not impossible, but aiming for a three of a kind is the safer bet.)

I had already disrupted the president's setup.

I still had two more turns as the dealer.

It's not the time to rush the game.

"Please let me change three cards."

"...Sure, go ahead."

I discarded the 2, 3, and 4 and received three new cards from the president.

As a result, my hand became 7, 7, 7, 8, 10—a three of a kind.

(Not bad.)

The probability of getting a three of a kind with five randomly chosen cards is about 2%.

In a poker game with one card exchange, this hand is quite strong.

I would almost certainly not lose if I played normally.

After that, the president changed one card and we revealed our hands.

My hand was a three of a kind with sevens, while the president had a two pair with 2 and 8—my win.

"It seems I'm having a bit of luck today."

"..."

The president, whose plan had been significantly disrupted, looked distressed.

"Let's move on to the next game, then."

Just as I reached for the deck,

"Wait, hold on!"

"...What is it?"

The president called out to stop.

"The first Royal Straight Flush... How did you set that up!?"

She must have realized she would lose if this continued.

Now she was trying to find out how I cheated.

"No, I didn't set anything up."

When I answered honestly,

"Ugh... Fine, lying to me like that... You have some nerve!"

She stood up with a puffed-up expression and walked over to me.

"Roll up your sleeves."

"...What?"

"Roll up your sleeves! Last time, you hid cards there, didn't you!"

"Ah..."

Reluctantly, I did as she said and rolled up my uniform sleeves, exposing both arms.

The president patted my arms to make sure there were no hidden cards.

"Mmm... You don't have anything...?"

"That's what I said... I really didn't do anything..."

"No way! You must have hidden them somewhere... Like in your chest area!"

"How would I get cards out of my chest without anyone noticing..."

"Th-That's... No questions asked!"

She then searched my chest, stomach, and even both pockets thoroughly to make sure I wasn't hiding any cards.

But of course, there was nothing.

No matter how much she searched, nothing would come up.

"...Are you done?"

"S-Such... Could it really be a coincidence...? No, that's impossible... A Royal Straight Flush is a once-in-a-lifetime hand... The odds are astronomical..."

The president's face turned pale as she muttered to herself.

"Excuse me... I'm a bit cold, so can I put my sleeves back down?"

"N-No! Allen, you'll cheat if I take my eyes off you for a second!"

"Hmm... You didn't find anything, did you..."

Just as I sighed,

"...Ah!? I get it...! You didn't set it up on your body—on the deck!"

The president looked at the deck of cards on the table.

"I don't know how you did it, but I'll fix it!"

She did a shotgun shuffle and cut the deck multiple times.

"Hehehe... Now the setup is completely gone! Even Allen can't do anything now!"

The president pointed at me with a victorious smile.

"Ah... Can we start now?"

"Of course. The game starts now!"

"...Alright."

I looked at her with a warm gaze and quickly shuffled the deck.

After dealing five cards to each of us, the president changed two cards.

And then,

"Y-Yes! I did it!"

She must have gotten a good hand.

She clenched her fist and cheered.

"Alright, let's reveal our hands."

The moment I said this, the president's expression froze.

"A-Allen... You're not changing your cards...?"

"Yes, I'll play with this hand."

"You're not checking your cards again...?"

The memory of the first round must have resurfaced.

She said this with a trembling voice.

"Hehe. In big matches like this, I leave everything to fate."

"S-Sure... Fine, I'll take you on! My hand is a 'Full House'! Show me your hand!"

"Sure, here it is—"

I slowly revealed the cards from right to left.

The first card was the ten of spades.

"J-Joking...?"

The scene was like déjà vu, and the president was speechless.

And then, just as before, the same cards appeared in the same order.

The jack of spades.

The queen of spades.

The king of spades.

And the last card, of course, was the ace of spades.

"Amazing odds... Another Royal Straight Flush."

"M-My loss...?"

With this, I won three consecutive games.

The three-month revenge match ended with my overwhelming victory.