Pokémon Detective Case Files.

These guests were not unrelated to the high-profile betting, as the outcome of the duel also affected the size of their wallets—the Royal Union would never miss an opportunity to make money through gambling, so naturally, they also offered betting services for their boss's bet with Vio.

Aside from the incredibly high odds of a tie, which is almost impossible in poker matches, the odds for the King and the Sage are basically the same, with the former even having slightly higher odds due to home advantage.

The next moment, the expressions of those who were greedy for the high multipliers became quite interesting, and a few strange cries of uncontrollable joy even rang out in the hall. This was because although the card that Lingju had turned over was a set of unpaired decimals, it could form a straight with the five face-up cards on the table.

For this type of hand formed by consecutive card numbers, Double Dragon Poker has a fitting descriptive term – “Dragon”.

Vio on the screen, seeing this, raised his eyebrows and sneered, then revealed his trump card.

Two 7s and 10s of different suits are inserted into the gaps in the community cards on the table as accurately as bullets, forming another dragon.

If we were to use Pokémon as an analogy, the difference between the two dragons would be as vast as the difference between Dragonair and Rayquaza.

The dealer from the Plasma Group awkwardly moved the messy chips on the table towards his boss, whose pale face finally showed a hint of illness.

"People tend to focus only on the probability of getting a big hand, and few people notice that the possibility of having five cards that don't make any points is also very small. You can make a big hand with a bad board, but your opponent can too."

Vio spoke sarcastically to the gambler in front of him.

The two sides now have a clear advantage, with the magnificent Amethyst Castle, ruled by the Purple-Robed Sage, standing tall and more than a third ahead of its opponent.

Chapter 175 The Magician on the Clock Face

"The game has only just begun"—people often ignorantly claim this when they first start to lose. But as a seasoned gambler, you should know that it is often these seemingly insurmountable gaps at the beginning that determine the final outcome.

The game entered a phase similar to a halftime break. Perhaps feeling that the dealer was too slow in transferring chips, Vio took the initiative to start a conversation.

The old man acted in two ways: firstly, to save face for his uncoordinated subordinate; and secondly, to continue influencing the gamblers on the ship through his live-broadcast speech.

"The reason casinos can profit, and why bookmakers can continuously drain gamblers' wallets, is because compared to the gamblers' bets, the casinos' funds are almost unlimited. With ample funds, bookmakers have countless opportunities to recoup their losses, while gamblers only have a handful of chances, making them completely unable to bear the risk commensurate with their odds of winning..."

"Therefore, trying to recoup losses through more gambling is as foolish as covering a burning fire with dry wood in an attempt to extinguish it. Why can't such a basic principle be widely accepted? Don't you think so, King of Oranges?"

Is the casino legend from the Plasma Cluster trying to use mathematical principles to dissuade people from gambling?

Lingju found it amusing, but he couldn't let the other person continue, so he decisively changed the subject.

"So, you mean that you now have enough chips to take the risk of betting against me? You have enough timber to form an impenetrable raft to crush the burning flames?"

His gaze swept back and forth across the black and white ends of the gambling table, the uneven purple hills gleaming under the indoor light: "With just this one-third difference? You think you can accomplish what casinos can only do with huge sums of cash?"

"The improved clock calculation theory can do many things that are counterintuitive."

Vio picked up a purple chip, squinting as he studied the Poké Ball pattern on it. A bet worth a million dollars was as insignificant as the smallest unit of currency in this game.

"To this day, I am increasingly glad that I did not write this gambling technique into my thesis back then. The modified clock face theory can not only be applied to the outcome of gambling, but also to financial storms."

Mr. Moneybag, who controlled the Plasma Group's finances, spoke with growing contempt, continuing—

"To be honest, compared to the uncertainties in financial transactions, these calculations in casinos are child's play. Stock price fluctuations, exchange rate volatility, price changes, commodity inventory, insurance claims, consumer psychology, and endless off-exchange factors interfere with investors' judgments... The flapping of a butterfly thousands of miles away can cause the stock market on the United States Exchange to crash or hit its daily limit. Don't think this statement is an exaggeration; the real world is indeed such a fragile and unstable place."

"I can't deny it," the evil king nodded in response.

"But if we introduce an improved clock theory into trading, the situation becomes very different. Just like a natural phenomenon called 'lone waves'—some splashes of water caused by the movement of ships or Pokémon that neither disappear nor change shape, but travel straight through the waves unimpeded, sometimes for several kilometers—such a phenomenon can be calculated and reproduced based on initial conditions. Even in such a chaotic ocean of probability, people can still rely on mathematical calculations to anchor a certain fact that will happen in the future."

"Predicting the future? No, it's more accurate to call it predicting the future." Yueju pondered the other person's words with a belly full of suspicion.

"However, even if I saw what you call the 'lone wave' phenomenon in the water, I would probably think it was a prank by a wild Pokémon. And even if such a phenomenon really exists in nature, it doesn't mean it can be perfectly applied to the field of economics, does it?"

The dealer had already arranged the chips on the table, but hesitated to deal the cards because the duel between the two sides was still in the middle of a conversation.

"Applying a formula? That's something only a half-baked amateur would do. Mathematicians wouldn't resort to such a shortcut," the old man said, shaking his head and gazing at his opponent behind the gambling table.

"We rely on equations and formulas. Seventy-five supercomputers, powered by multiple Pokémon, operate at high speed, processing all existing market information simultaneously. Combined with algorithmic models, this allows us to accurately predict the areas where solitary waves are about to occur, sometimes for short-term trading within five minutes, sometimes for value investing over several years. But in either case, our calculations can never be wrong—this is something only mathematics can do."

Vio stared straight at the blueberry, proudly raising his hand: "And for the gamble before us, we don't need the power of computers. My old brain alone is enough to see the shape of the future Lone Wave."

"So this is how plasma clusters make money? I've really learned something new."

The old man's opponent wore a respectful and obedient expression, but on the blueberry's face, this expression seemed like feigned mockery, which instead earned him hostility.

Vio scoffed, "Don't pretend you know nothing, King Yueju. This matter has never been a secret within the Order. With your superb intelligence-gathering skills, you should have known about it long ago. Otherwise, why would you have brought up that paper earlier?"

"Instead of this off-field information, perhaps we should pay more attention to the current game."

Lingju smiled, her slender fingertips tapping the table.

"Although you have claimed to have an advantage that would be an open declaration of victory, I have not yet conceded defeat. If you want to win the Royal Union and the billions of dollars on it in one go, you will have to work harder."

"The game has only just begun."

As if responding to Vio's earlier statement, the Dark-type Elite Four member licked his somewhat dry lips and declared in a menacing manner.

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"You talk so arrogantly, but aren't your current actions just repeating the same mistakes you made before?"

In the lobby, Naz was holding New Leaf Cat in her arms, staring blankly at the high-definition television screen.

Skipping cards, folding, and betting heavily to force Vio to give up calling—the King of Villains' tactics were no different from before—the only difference being that the bets he placed became more and more expensive each round.

Vio was occasionally outmaneuvered by his opponents, but overall he won more matches. The castle built of amethyst grew taller and taller, gradually evolving into the shape of a mountain range.

In contrast, blueberries are gradually falling into a desperate situation—just as the old man had previously declared.

The gap of one-third has unknowingly become one-half, and there is no sign that it will stop there.

The sounds of gamblers cursing and swearing gradually reached Naz's ears; they were the lamentations of bettors who had placed devastating bets on lingonberries, betting their entire fortunes away.

As night deepened, unease and madness began to fester.

Everyone was either ashen-faced or snickering behind their hands. The crowd was mixed together like a shuffled deck of cards, yet it was also vaguely divided into two distinct factions.

"Meow..."

The green kitten opened its eyes wide and looked at its trainer on the screen, then turned back to curiously observe the chaos outside the screen.

Just as it had not yet learned the meaning of the suits on the gambling table, it was equally unable to comprehend the joys and sorrows of the humans in the hall.

In this silent, bustling crowd, amidst the prayers of those who offer their souls, it seems only this little cat is untroubled by winning or losing.

Chapter 176 There is only one kind of wisdom at the gambling table

"All in."

In a daze, Naz heard an unbelievable sound.

Even though she had only a superficial understanding of gambling, she still knew the meaning behind the word.

For a moment she thought she had misheard, but the casino lobby behind her fell silent as if it had been hit by Articuno's "Absolute Zero".

Everyone was like an ice sculpture.

The person who made the sound was Yueju, who was wearing a dark blue suit on the screen. He placed his hands in front of him in a pyramid shape, and his face showed no signs of tension or excitement.

Too calm.

So much so that it seems more like giving up your hand than going all in.

But he was indeed going all in—he had been testing the waters by skipping cards and occasionally trying to bluff with a few harmless stacks of chips, but now he was betting everything.

No one could see through the gambler king's intentions, because this was only the first round of calls, with less than a hundred purple chips scattered on the table as ante, and only one community card in the center had been revealed.

Lingju, still seated, bent sideways and retrieved a pusher from under the Twin Dragons table. This pusher was provided at both ends of the table, and Vio had carefully checked it before the match; there were no hidden mechanisms. Countless mirrors simultaneously reflected the Dark-type Elite Four member's movements, making any possibility of cheating absolutely impossible.

The large, wiper-like lever slowly and steadily rubbed against the tablecloth, moving a massive amount of chips and producing a sound like a tiny elf sinking into quicksand hell.

This is the sound of a gambler succumbing to desire.

After the casino owner finished his operation, the purple castle, which was less than halfway there, had moved forward by twenty centimeters. Although the outer walls of the castle were slightly distorted with the movement, it still stood majestically on the dividing line between black and white.

"12x bet, all in."

Yueju looked at Vio expressionlessly, as if she were worried that he had hearing problems, and repeated herself.

.

"Is Mr. Lanju planning another bluff? But why reveal all his chips? He was playing so cautiously before..."

After a brief moment of shock, the casino grew even noisier, with gamblers beginning to voice their doubts.

"Perhaps it's because he drew a strong hand, but wouldn't going all in like that be too obvious? His opponents wouldn't be able to call the bet."

"Then it must be a bluff. That's quite bold. No wonder he's the evil king who's good at deception."

"Will Mr. Kovio let this opportunity to seal the deal slip by? With his current chip stack, even if he calls and loses, he still has a chance to turn things around."

"They'll probably release it," sighed an elderly guest with glasses and a scholarly air.

His voice wasn't loud, but for some reason it attracted a lot of attention, perhaps because of his profession.

While watching the game, he had been jotting something down on the paper beside him, seemingly a mathematician as skilled in probability calculations as the old man Vio—however, judging from the fact that he could pass the Royal Union's blacklist review without any problems, he probably wasn't some remarkable super gambler.

The guest who was taking notes continued speaking—

“In previous games, Dr. Vio would place a large bet every three to four rounds. Even when Mr. Blueberry called a bluff, he would call without fear—which means that the doctor’s so-called ‘lone wave algorithm’ could predict the next hand based on the cards played several rounds ago. Mr. Blueberry discovered this pattern and took advantage of the chaotic situation to place a large bet, trying to pull the odds back to the chaotic zone where he had the advantage.”

As if responding to the spectator's guess, the old man Vio, who had been in the lead, hesitated, and looked uncomfortable, as if he had eaten an extremely spicy nut.

The old man reluctantly threw away his two trump cards, unwilling to face off against the blueberry directly.

The card fell face up into the shuffle pot, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Vio had discarded two Aces, the highest-scoring hole hand in Double Dragon Poker. Yet, the Sage still chose to fold.

Seeing Vio's discarded cards, Lingju chuckled smugly, smugly counting her spoils for the round.

The face-down hole card was not shown to the opponent at all, and was thus mixed into the shuffle pot.

.

Inside the casino lobby, everyone's attention turned to the older guest, eager for him to continue explaining the situation.

The guest sighed and put down his pencil.

"This is the competitive aspect of Double Dragon Poker—unlike Blackjack, due to the limitations of the call mechanism, mathematicians cannot perfectly set their bets according to the principle of the highest win rate. They can only participate in the competition by doubling down or calling. Although the double Ace hand does have a win rate of over 85%, there is still a 15% probability of losing."

"Mr. Lanju manipulated the amount of chips to make Vio hesitate to act. At this point, the risks that Dr. Vio had to take exceeded the expected returns—although the difference was only a tiny bit, it was enough to make the doctor want to back out."

“But according to the formula Vio introduced last night, about half of the bets should still be within an acceptable range, right?” A gambler counted on his fingers for a long time before finally retorting.

"No, in addition to calling, we also have to consider the ante already paid; moreover, Vio wants the final win rate rather than the profit of a single hand, so his optimal win rate formula is more conservative; lastly and most importantly, there is the community card that has already been revealed. Vio, who has mastered the clock algorithm, calculated the impact of the 3 of clubs on the win rate of both sides, and the result was a slight disadvantage for Doctor's side. Under the combined influence of these three factors, Vio finally folded his hand."

Who is this guy? He talks like he's mastered some kind of weird clock-making method...

Naz overheard the entire conversation and silently complained to herself.

.

Next, Yueju deviated from his previous low profile. Whenever Vio's clock face algorithm entered the observation phase, he would place a heavy bet on the big blind. Although he did not go all in again, every hand was a bold bet that made people's hearts race.

The old man cooperated well, choosing to fold and skip cards until after three or four rounds of observation, when he brazenly placed a large bet.

The two seemed to be in perfect sync, exchanging chips back and forth, with the stakes getting higher and higher. Their chips were like a bowl of soup being shaken back and forth, sometimes leaning towards cranberries, sometimes towards violets, splashing more and more water.

Among the gamblers present, it was clear to everyone that the moment to decide the winner had finally arrived.

There are many signs—

First, both sides' blinds have reached the hundred-coin level. Although Vio's side is still more relaxed overall, in the current turbulent situation, as long as this fragile tacit understanding is broken, either side could end up tragically falling off the table.

The second sign was the explanation from the guest who was good at mathematics. According to him, the later the game went, the more information Vio had about the game using the clock algorithm, and the more likely he was to decide the outcome rather than fold and avoid the game—and Blueberry was obviously waiting for such an opportunity as well.

Thirdly, there is a fact that everyone can see—both of their expressions are becoming increasingly sickly, and the orange-white poker face is becoming paler and paler, almost as pale as the playing card in his hand.

Old Man Vio's face turned red, seemingly because his brain had been operating at high speed for too long, and even his breathing became heavy. If Pokémon could be brought into the gambling room, his Geometric Snowflake would surely have jumped out of its Poké Ball and used "Ice Wind" to cool down the trainer.

Despite this, neither of them appeared weak in the slightest. As if the demon of competitiveness had injected them with an excessive dose of stimulant, the two exuded an unparalleled aura of dominance, making even the tiny leafy cat in Sabrina's arms tremble with fear, even through the television screen.

The final sign came from Sabrina herself. The psychic gym leader, bewildered, watched the duel between the two dragons on the black and white gambling table, and suddenly shuddered—

"Oh dear, it seems like that time has come."

Superpowers can sometimes be just that illogical.

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Lingju examined her hand, then shook her head with a wry smile.

But he said it again—

"All in."

Chapter 177 Train Tunnel Effect