Chapitre 37: 37 - Blackjack
The next morning, Li Yun decided to watch the others play. He would rather play Texas Hold'em in the afternoon with the same group of regulars.
Li Yun walked toward the blackjack tables. It was unusual to see crowds around a table, but he wasn't surprised to see a crowd around Ning Xuxu. The woman attracted people like flies to a Venus flytrap.
"How is she doing?" asked Li Yun, pushing his way next to Ju De.
"Pretty good, she made 15k since yesterday," Ju De replied.
"Is she counting?"
"Probably."
Li Yun sighed. Ning Xuxu had money to burn, but he didn't.
Counting cards required a solid bankroll and lots of practice. Rookies think that if they are a mathematical genius, they could make millions sitting in the casino for a day. However, reality quickly barged in after a 7-rounds losing streak, and no chips left to play.
It was only possible to make millions in a day if a person was already wealthy, lucky, and skilled enough, like the Australian billionaire who won 40 million USD in a day. Take into account that on any other day, he could be losing 40 million.
Professional card counters played a very methodological game for over hundreds of hours, and often in teams. With a good bankroll, a dedicated team could make millions a year.
Li Yun knew the basics of counting cards, but he didn't have enough patience over the long run to ever make it profitable. He would rather gamble on Texas Hold'em where more betting skill was required.
"She's going to start," Ju De commented.
The dealer looked nervous. If the guests make too much money, he could say goodbye to his year end bonus. He didn't expect to have a card counter at the table. In the beginning, he was suckered into believing she was just a regular guest because of her pretty face.
Ning Xuxu looked at her cards, and tapped to split the eights. After getting a pair of eights, she split and doubled down on both. The house busted, and she won.
"She's awfully lucky today," Ju De commented.
"Can we both agree that it was my charm?" asked Li Yun.
Unfortunately, that was the last of her run before a pit boss stopped by to offer her a drink and politely asked her to back off. Ning Xuxu tilted her head and agreed.
Since all of Macao casinos used a continuous shuffler rather than a shoe for dealing out cards, it gave the house a slight edge, making card counting not as effective as in other casinos. Most pit bosses didn't care if people counted cards, but they may be scared off if they saw someone like Ning Xuxu who looked like she knew exactly what she was doing and was on a winning streak.
"How the heck do you get backed off in a blackjack game with card shuffles?" asked Ju De.
"I guess I was too lucky for them," she responded.
"It's the poor way you act," Li Yun commented. "If you have toned down a bit, they would probably let you keep going."
"No way, why would I pretend to act like that loser over there?" Xuxu looked over at Bufu, who was still playing blackjack, looking almost half drunk.
"Sis, that loser is up 20k."
"Oh, did he finally make some money after losing yesterday?"
"Yeah, but he made back the money from yesterday. 20k is his net."
Xuxu clicked her tongue. "Whatever, he's just lucky today."
Li Yun nodded. They were really lucky that day.
"Mr. Bu Fuzheng, would you like more drink?" Li Yun asked playfully.
"Shut up," Bufu pushed Li Yun away and continued playing, still pretending to be drunk.
Bufu normally played on the computer. He was mainly playing in Macao to test his skills, not to make money. At the very least, he wanted to break even by the end of their vacation. The best way to do that was to keep playing. If people played enough games while following the basic strategy, the number of times people win or lose would eventually reach around 50-50.
Later in the afternoon, Li Yun left on his own to the poker table. An Luchang and Lui Jing wanted to try their hands at playing poker, but at a table with lower buy-ins.
"Are you really going to teach them how to gamble?" asked Li Yun.
"Not how to gamble, how to be a poker player," Ju De replied.
"All right then."
Li Yun left them alone as he walked toward the high roller table. A petite woman approached him to offer him some service. The woman was in her late twenties, and wore heavy make-up. Her makeup was trying to create a false illusion of full cheeks, but there were slight hollows, which suggested recent signs of a weight loss.
"What's the best way to tell her she has AIDS without getting hit?" Li Yun thought.
"Miss, are you in need of medical advice for a problem that appeared recently?" he asked her.
She looked at him suspiciously.
"Good, she didn't hit me," Li Yun thought. He was almost prepared to jump back.
"I am a TCM doctor," he watched her face carefully, but all he got was indifference.
It was not difficult to read women in the pleasure service industry and to understand their situation. Even someone without face reading knowledge could guess that these women grew up in a harsh environment. The problem was getting them to trust you enough to listen to your advice. Many women in the profession have the ability to detect lies as well as gamblers. The best approach was not to rely on b*******, as they could naturally tell when someone was genuine or not.
Li Yun could rely on micro-expressions, but he wasn't particularly an expert.
"Your father.." Her left eye lifted up curiously.
"If you do that often, you're going to develop wrinkles above your eyebrow," Li Yun thought, it was an obvious sign of skepticism.
"Your father is a good man, whom you are looking after," Li Yun changed his original thought about the father. It seemed like she had a good relationship with him. That meant the resentment line was reserved for the other parent. "Your mother abandoned you. So now you're in this profession. Initially, you were repulsed, but now you are used to it and enjoy it as just work. You have a carefree nature, and you feel like you have a purpose."
"Are you a psychic or Taoist master?" She asked with her senses heightened. She was still skeptical.
"Obviously neither, there's no such thing in the 21st century," he responded.
The woman had a high eyebrow and a long nose, so she was the practical sort. It was no use appealing to her emotional side.
"I'm a licensed TCM doctor," showing her his work badge. "I'm just stating things that I see based on complexion and knowledge of your profession. Your habit creates a situation where you are in constant contact with many potential diseases. Was your most recent client skinny or sweat a lot?"
Her eyes widened in fear and disbelief.
"I suggest visiting a hospital as soon as possible."
The petite woman nodded quickly and rushed to the hospital.
Li Yun was not sure if she had AIDS, but the likelihood that she contracted it was high. If not AIDS, then some other transmitted disease. As for the reason why he told her that he was a TCM doctor, it had more to do with human psychology.
When a western doctor tells a person to visit a hospital, they are less unwilling to, but if a TCM practitioner tells you to visit a hospital, most people are willing to listen. There were fewer conflicts of interest.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
chocomug
chocomug Split previous chapter, so this chapter is the same as chapter 36.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone