It's time to bet during Round 7. I look at my cards and Yumemite's cards, trying not to look obvious. Yumemite won't give me any cards that will end up helping me, so I'm essentially stuck with what I have. I have a pair of 7s- a cruddy hand, but as I look at Yumemite's hand I realize that it might be the best hand I could have.
She has a 2, 2, 6, 6, 7. If she gives me a 2 or 6, I win because I have a pair of 7s against her pair of 2s. If she gives me the 7, I win because she gives me a three of a kind of 7s- a hand that's higher than a two pair.
I try to act as wary as I can as I bet 3 more chips on top of my 7 chip blind. Yumemite tries to bluff me out- that idiot! She bets to 27 total chips. I, of course, call. The crowd holds their breath, as this basically determines the winner of the match. When I win, Yumemite will have only 6 chips against my 54.
We swap cards, and I give a card that regains her two pair, but I've been lucky enough not to get anything that could positively affect her so far. She looks annoyed. I see she only has a two pair of 2's, so she gave me a 6 and a 7. I look at my cards and see that I got a 7 and a 6. Tough luck, Yumemite.
"It's show~~down~~!"
I flip my cards over in a dramatic fashion, revealing my hand. I see Mary cheering for me with most of the crowd as Yumemite tries to hide her rage.
"Wow, Kokoro!" She looks behind her and slowly turns around back at me. "How... do you do it?" Shoot. She saw the mirror. "Yomozuki," Yumemite asks, "can you restore the old settings of the game. I'd like to play the old fashioned way."
Yomozuki nods as two orange jacket ladies wheel the mirrors away from both sides of the stage. I don't think there's any way for Yumemite to cheat now, so I guess it's time for an actual match for once.
"Because Yumemite only has 6 chips," Yomozuki announces, "this gamble will only involve 6 chips! There will be no additional betting phase. Round 8, begin!"
I get my cards, making sure to cover them up as well as I can this time. I check to make sure there's no mirror or any way for her to see my cards. Yumemite chuckles. "Oh, Kokoro-chan," Yumemite teases me. "Why are you so paranoid?"
"I just want a clean game?"
"Trust me, Kokoro" Yumemite's tone goes darker, even though the crowd is in earshot of our conversation, "this will look like cheating, but it will all be pure skill."
At first I didn't believe it- I still don't- but as she announces my hand to the crowd with perfect accuracy for two rounds in a row, I understand how I would think it was cheating.
