The core rules of Texas Hold'em are simple: players combine their two private cards with any five of the five community cards to form the best five-card hand; the player with the stronger hand wins. The community cards are dealt in three rounds—three cards in the first, one in the second, and one in the third. During each round, players may bet, call, or raise, continuing until no further raises occur or until only one player remains in the game. He chuckled, murmuring under his breath, "Then perhaps Donatien de Thénardier will earn the nickname 'The Sleeping Gambling God'... Keeping his previous habit of discarding hands after merely glancing at them—now he has already lost one small blind and one big blind (half the pot and one full pot, respectively, with this hand's pot being one pound). It's now his turn to act. At this moment, however, Clynne noticed something: Undersecretary Chounas Colg, the deputy at MI9, had lost twenty pounds to General Émilien in this hand. The bid was successful... Admiral Emilius should have noticed that Qunus had tapped into the power of the Corrupted Baron, though he might not yet know that the Deputy at MI9 was half-divine. Next up, now—that would be delightful. When the server placed two fresh cards before him, Caine’s spirits lifted. Instead of lifting one corner to inspect the face, he simply pressed his metal chip—still held in his hand—onto the new cards, adopting the air of someone who wasn’t looking at the cards and was committed to seeing it through. The remaining player folded. Daven Tancès didn't go ahead to count them precisely—he simply picked up a handful of chips and tossed them onto the table. "Twenty pounds, call," the waiter said, having glanced at the stack and immediately given the correct figure. "I thought it was fifty pounds. Seems he's not yet familiar with these chips," Daven Tancès, with silvering hair and distinguished bearing, remarked with a smile. This often means that Admiral Emilius has a strong hand—either a pair of aces, or a pair of kings, or an ace with a king. Senator Mahert decides to fold, while Colonel Chounas Colg runs a hand over his high nose and glances around with deep, nearly black eyes, saying, "I'll call." Colonel Calvin again checks his hand, hesitates for about ten seconds, then chooses to fold. Donn Thonard runs a hand over the metal chips resting on his two hole cards, smiles, and says, "I'll call." After this round of decisions, only three players remain in the game. Then, the dealer server places the three community cards one by one in the center of the table, spreading them out: "Two of spades, nine of hearts, king of spades." Admiral Emilius Levitt is the first to make a bet, leaning slightly forward with a commanding posture, and says, "Fifty pounds." He directly calls for fifty pounds! Members of the committee, including Colonel Calvin, felt an inexplicable sense of suffocation, even if they had not been actively involved in the game. "...”Colonel Chounas Colg’s body slightly trembled, but he eventually reached out and tossed in fifty pounds of chips. Dowen Thantès glanced at the deputy director of MI9 and smiled with a calm, unbothered expression—completely unaffected by the pressure. “Call.” Upon hearing this, Colonel Calvin turned his head and nodded slightly at Dowen Thantès, whose deep blue eyes were as serene as a night lake, indicating his agreement. In his view, the commanding presence of General Emilius would have no impact on someone whose sole objective was to lose money. At that moment, the red-suited waiter revealed the fourth communal card: “The Nine of Spades.” Now with three Spades appearing on the board, the probability had increased significantly, yet General Emilius remained undisturbed and calmly pushed forward a stack of chips: “One hundred pounds.” Qiongna Colg's fingers tapped continuously on his own hand cards, showing a lack of confidence, but in the end, he decided to call. Dawn Tangtze glanced once again at the lieutenant colonel, maintaining a warm smile and said, "Call." Until now, he had not looked at his own hand cards, which slightly worried Colonel Galvin, as such a performance seemed overly dramatic—almost like he was giving away his money—something a more conservative general like Emile would likely find difficult to accept. At that moment, the red jacket server announced the fifth community card: "Five of Hearts." Now the community cards were complete: "Two of Spades, Nine of Hearts, King of Spades, Nine of Spades, Five of Hearts." General Emile pushed a pile of metal chips down with a loud clatter, displaying remarkable strength. Qiongna Colg took a deep breath first, then placed two stacks of chips on the table: "Five hundred pounds." This amount already equates to his stated six-month salary. Is he trying to bluff? Colonel Calvin and Senator Mahet exchanged glances, sensing that Major Colg's performance was somewhat obvious and easily detectable. After all, in playing Texas hold'em, beyond sound financial management and probability calculations, there's often a psychological dimension of the game—whether through body language, facial expressions, or betting patterns, personal holdings are frequently revealed. Of course, some accomplished players deliberately use these nuances to mislead their opponents. Dow Tancès studied Chounas Colg carefully and then suddenly smiled, as he had done on several previous occasions, saying, "I'll call." General Emile raised both hands, ready to commit all his remaining chips, aiming to overwhelm his opponent. At that moment, however, his action abruptly halted, and a slight seriousness appeared on his otherwise composed face. After a brief silence, he calmly said, "I'll call." "At this point, it's time to reveal your hands and compare the rankings. General Emilius began by laying down his cards: the ace of spades and the ten of spades, together with the spade 2, king, and nine from the community cards, forming a flush—a quite strong hand, only surpassed by straights, four-of-a-kind, straight flushes, and royal flushes. 'It's your turn,' Emilius promptly urged Chounas. Chounas first revealed one card—the king of diamonds—which paired with the community cards to form two pairs: kings and nines. Then, he picked up his second hidden card. At that moment, the remaining cards at the red jacket server's table momentarily blurred slightly. 'Crack!' The card was set down, revealing its face: 'Nine of hearts!' 'What?' exclaimed Members Mahert and others, stunned, hardly believing their eyes. This meant that Chounas and Colg had formed a full house: three nines and a pair of kings—outscoring the flush! 'Sorry, full house.'" Qunus turned to General Emilius, smiling. Then, he looked at Doane Thonnes and said, "You may now reveal your cards." "I'm just as curious about what you'll show," Doane Thonnes replied with a gentle smile, picking up the metal chips resting before him and casually flipping over and setting aside his two hidden cards. "Hmm..." "What?" ...The officers, including Colonel Calvin, rubbed their eyes in surprise. Doane Thonnes' starting pair was quite small: "Two of Hearts, Two of Diamonds." And among the community cards, there was also a small pair: "Two of Spades, Two of Clubs." Together, they formed the smallest possible straight, yet larger than any of the flushes! "Bravo, goddess!" Doane Thonnes exclaimed, eyes bright with surprise, drawing a crimson moon on his chest—something he hadn't expected at all. "An excellent hand," General Emilius said, after a brief pause, and then gave a light clap. Quinnes. Colg looked intently at Daven. Thantès, sighed, and smiled. "I never expected you to be the ultimate winner." Cline returned a smile, murmuring to himself, "I deserved to beat you all. First, Admiral Emirius relies more on his presence and pressure than on exceptional skill—so he hasn't truly cheated. You, on the other hand, focused all your attention and strength on Emirius, overlooking me. Also, the person who actually played against you was named 'The Winner,' Enyuni." Without looking at his cards, of course, it was all down to luck! When Cline pressed his metal chips firmly onto the table, he had already swapped places with 'The Winner,' Enyuni—each of them now embodying the other's presence. Though Colonel Calvin had previously instructed him to deliberately lose the 1,000-pound stake, upon seeing Quinnes. Colg, Cline resolved to secure a significant victory. This doesn't mean he was reluctant to part with the money—his primary objective was to draw the attention of the Nine District's half-god, get to know him better, and establish a connection! Only in this way could Caine gain intelligence from Quinás Colg, and even carry out an attack. After all, as a half-god, anyone in Beckett seeking to oppose him would need to be exceptionally cautious and deliberate—without a decisive, one-hit success or a clear plan to remove him from Beckett, they would simply abandon the effort, fearing exposure and being watched over by multiple half-gods and even angels. Throughout the rest of the game, Caine had both wins and losses, ultimately not only preserving his original 1,000-pound stake but also gaining an additional nearly 1,000 pounds. Throughout this period, Colonel Calvin repeatedly signaled that Doane Tanghès was losing, but each time, Doane attributed it to sheer luck, insisting that no matter how he played, he couldn't lose. When the game ended, the first person to approach Doane Tanghès with a smile was none other than Major Quinás Colg. PS: The description of Texas Hold'em here is quite concise, omitting many details. Otherwise, it would have required explanations about the concept of "entry position," "3-bet," "turn," and "river"—which would have been cumbersome and inconsistent with the tone of the book. After all, this is a fantasy novel, not a poker one. We don't need to transform "The Lord of the Rings" into "Magic: The Gathering," nor should the focus be on the mechanics of the game itself. The purpose of playing is what matters. Therefore, I've strived to present everything in the simplest, most accessible way possible. While this may differ significantly from actual betting and raising strategies, please don't attempt to replicate it exactly.