Daisuke Ishiwatari - Original Bet


Nozomi considers herself to be pretty good at poker. She may not be the most technical player (counting cards is cheating) or know all the rules (is it an ace high straight or five high?), but she still thinks she's pretty good. After all, the key to card games is getting inside your opponents' head and figuring them out. In that aspect, Nozomi is rather proficient. On top of that, her perpetual smile makes for an excellent poker face that intimidates lesser players into submission.

But the real reason the purple haired woman wins a lot is because of her luck. She only plays seriously on days when her tarot cards predict good fortune.

It is on such a day that Nozomi finds herself in the casino, losing the last of her money to blinds. A string of bad hands and "four-card combos" has left her destitute, but not broke. Now, the final player at the table (an unsavory man in a white suited, decked in gold chains) pushes forth a stack of chips, forcing her to go all in. With a hand of unsuited ace-2, Nozomi calls; she will be forced to go all in from the blinds next round if she folds. Unfortunately, her opponent has pocket kings, putting her at an early disadvantage.

Well, it's all up to the cards now, thinks Nozomi. I can only trust in the luck that my cards predicted.

A flop of King of Clubs, 8 of Clubs and 8 of Hearts crushes her hope. The man chuckles and reaches for the pot already. A pre-emptive move, to be sure, but not unjustified. Nozomi has been pretty much flopped dead.

The spiritualist can feel her mouth go dry. Had she read the tarots wrong? She's had bad luck all day and now she's about to be soundly defeated. Or could it be that her tarot cards were wrong?

No. It's still too early to think those kinds of thoughts. The odds are slim, but Nozomi can still win. All she needs is…

An 8 of Spades on the turn.

Green eyes light up as Nozomi's brain begins to turn. She can win this yet if she gets another eight. The chances are low but this is where the luck her cards predicted comes in.

Time seems to slow down as the dealer takes the card at the top of the deck…

…and places it on the burnout pile. Temporal progress retards even more as the dealer pulls the next card out and brings it down to the table. He flips it over, revealing…

The 8 of Diamonds.

Nozomi allows just a little bit of authenticity to leak into her smile as she rakes in her chips. The man opposite to her swears and slams his meaty hands on the table.

Nozomi's luck is looking up.


Loosely based on Busquet vs Reichardt at EPT 11.

Also, shoutouts to cerealkiller49 for sharing the cover picture.