The strategies for playing with 26 cards and 5 cards are completely different.
If both sides have a full deck, situations of single cards and three-card sets will arise.
In the previous Joker card game, three cards could be played as a pair. Before starting a new round of gambling, Sazaki Gen did not re-state the rules, meaning the old rules were still in effect — if one side plays three identical cards early, there is a high probability the game will end in a draw.
Having agreed on one game to decide the winner, neither side intends to drag it out, so Fushimi Roku naturally wouldn’t start by playing three identical cards.
Only when he is certain he can play all his cards will he play three defensive cards, leaving a single card stuck in the opponent’s hand, essentially giving them an ’unplayable Joker card.’
Similarly, Sazaki Gen would try his best to form pairs by drawing cards.
The focus of the competition, besides leaving the Joker card to the opponent, is to ensure neither side holds single cards.
Dealing ends, and Fushimi Roku glances at his hand; he has a colorful JKOER card, meaning both he and Sazaki Gen have a Joker card each.
The game begins officially. Fushimi Roku is the first to draw a card, and Sazaki Gen again declares one of them is a Joker.
He was unfazed; such declarations are like rock-paper-scissors, presetting the opponent’s psychology, assuming whether they ’believe’ or ’disbelieve’... Sazaki Gen, this guy, inherently sees through, being a casino veteran, guessing accurately is normal.
The way to counter it is simple; Fushimi Roku uses the ’Chicken Pecking Rice’ trick, picking randomly whichever the little rooster pecks.
Luckily, it wasn’t a singleton.
Fushimi Roku bowed his head and began to contemplate his playing strategy; the three identical cards in his hand must not be played, but neither should all pairs be exhausted at once, lest the opponent easily forms matching pairs.
Similarly, four identical cards can’t be played casually; they are excellent defensive cards. If Sazaki Gen draws them, he’ll end up with an extra single card.
To be cautious, he plays a pair of 3s in his hand.
It’s Sazaki Gen’s turn; he reaches out to draw a card when Fushimi Roku suddenly steps back and asks, "Which one are you going to draw?"
Sazaki Gen was taken aback and did not answer.
"Decide in advance before reaching out to draw," Fushimi Roku, eyes hidden behind the cards, said.
Sazaki Gen sighed, showing a helpless expression; he finally believed Fushimi Roku was deliberately holding back: "Did you figure it out?"
"I figured it out a while ago," said Fushimi Roku, "Your eyesight is failing, isn’t it?"
When he first saw Sazaki Gen discharged from the hospital, his eyes were veiled with a white film (Chapter 91), the aftermath of poisoning had impaired his vision.
After some recuperation, Sazaki Gen’s face gradually became rosy, his eyes lively, skin regaining elasticity; besides still being in a wheelchair, he seemed no different from an ordinary person.
In reality, he was almost blind.
Aside from a slight sense of light, Sazaki Gen couldn’t see anything.
Having lost his vision, his tactile sense became extraordinarily keen. All the cards on the table were specially made, with extremely subtle bumps on the edges, like Braille, detectable by touch.
Initially, Fushimi Roku didn’t notice this because his hands were too rough, covered in calluses from practicing swordsmanship.
A few days later, Fushimi Roku realized, after all, Sazaki Gen’s fingers would slide over the cards repeatedly when drawing, it was too obvious.
Fushimi Roku rubbed the card’s back against his face but found nothing unusual, as his skin was thick; he finally discovered the card’s secret by sneakily brushing them against his inner thigh...
Of course, don’t get the wrong idea, he was using his thigh.
After seeing through Sazaki Gen’s cheating methods, Fushimi Roku didn’t feel happy at all, especially since he was playing against a blind man, and he owed this blind man a favor... The effort Sazaki Gen put into maintaining the syndicate seemed too tragic to Fushimi Roku.
Prior to this, he hadn’t figured out how Sazaki Gen cheated at rock-paper-scissors, and so halfheartedly persuaded himself, under the guise of exploring cheating methods, to deliberately lose to Sazaki Gen, as a way of repaying the favor.
Until today, Fushimi Roku found out that Sazaki Gen didn’t need his sympathy at all.
Even though blind, Sazaki Gen was still a fox with insight into the human mind.
Because of this respect for the challenger, Fushimi Roku decided to go all out, to confront Sazaki Gen directly, conveniently letting go of Sazaki Gen’s hope to recruit him.
"The doctor said, my eyes are worsening; maybe in a few months, I won’t even have basic light perception."
Sazaki Gen spoke calmly, without the slightest resentment, as if stating a most ordinary thing.
Fushimi Roku rudely waved his hand in front of him: "I’m a bit curious, how do you see the rock-paper-scissors results?"
"I can’t see," Sazaki Gen touched the button on his collar, "There’s a camera here, someone in the monitoring room watches the cards for me, acts as my eyes..." As he said this, he tapped his ear: "There’s a mini earphone here."
"Isn’t this considered cheating?" Fushimi Roku asked.
"But I didn’t look at your cards, how’s it cheating?" Sazaki Gen smiled bitterly: "Just consider it a bit of special accommodation for the blind."
Fushimi Roku neither agreed nor disagreed, urging Sazaki Gen to quickly pick a card. The latter, having no choice, randomly called out a number and then reached out to draw a card.
Both sides took turns drawing and playing cards, constantly calculating in their hearts, with the number of cards in hand gradually decreasing, the time spent thinking became longer and longer.
After about twenty minutes, Fushimi Roku was left with eight cards: "7, 7, 7, 7, 6, 8, 8, JKOER" ... If he hadn’t miscalculated, Sazaki Gen’s hand should be "6, 6, 6, 8, 3, 3, JOKER."
It was his turn to draw a card.
The situation was quite complicated; ostensibly, the ideal scenario was to draw a 6, then play a pair of 6 and a pair of 8, leaving four 7s and a Joker for Sazaki Gen — but the problem was, he would also have to draw a card in the next round, and if he didn’t have an 8, he would probably be left with a single card.
After pondering, Fushimi Roku reached out and drew a card; it was a 6, and he immediately discarded a pair of 6, ending the turn.
"Why not play the pair of 8?" Sazaki Gen asked.
If he didn’t discard the pair of 8, there was a risk of Sazaki Gen drawing it, leaving Fushimi Roku with only a single 8, greatly reducing his chances of winning.
"I’m betting on you drawing the Joker card," Fushimi Roku said.
"A one in seven chance, not that unlucky," Sazaki Gen casually remarked, "I’ll draw the seventh card."
As he said this, he reached out his hand, touching the seventh card.
At the moment his thumb contacted the back of the card, Sazaki Gen’s expression slightly changed, and he slowly drew the card, flipping it over, revealing a colorful JOKER.
"You lost." Fushimi Roku grinned.
Sazaki Gen played three 6s and a pair of 3s, leaving him with only three cards: a single 8 and two JOKERs.
He extended his hand bravely, ready for anything.