Chapter 009: Gambling

Fat Sheep! Ouyang lifted the curtain and entered the gambling house, where dozens of people simultaneously uttered a name. Judging by his young age, with a face like jade and neatly dressed, his hair neatly tied up, it was evident that he was a young master from a prominent family, here out of curiosity to seek amusement.

Ouyang sat down, scratched his head, took a handful of money from his pouch, then counted it, taking out two hundred wen and putting the rest back. The dealer began to shake the money, and after finishing, placed the bowl on the table, calling out: "Bet more to win more, bet less to win less, place your bets now"

... ...

Now, place the bets on positions 1, 3, and 4. Ouyang lightly shook his head; gambling was not as simple as he had imagined, especially since he was only familiar with modern gambling tools. He now understood a saying from an old cheat: the simpler the game, the harder it is to cheat. With two singles and one double, I am not without courage. Ouyang took out 200 wen and placed it on the single bet. If the dealer is astute, I should win a small amount in the first round as a fat sheep.

Only the last type gave Ouyang the most confidence, which is the coin betting. The first method involves shaking a pile of money and betting on one, two, three, or four. After the draw, the last four are grouped together, and the remaining amount is counted as the final result; this betting method is called "Yiqian." Another method is called "Zhiqian," which is similar to the heads or tails game that children play today.

I have, I have a lot of consistency! Ouyang took out 800 wen and then put on the 200 wen he had just won.

Young master, take your time to enjoy.

The young woman played with the dice and said: "Young master, we are indeed lacking in the habit of not playing."

Ouyang is no stranger to ball games; he has dismantled several peripheral groups. However, these peripherals cannot manipulate the matches. Ouyang is purely focused on gambling. In Ouyang's view, gambling techniques that cannot manipulate matches are not highly skilled, and he loses this type of bet fourteen times out of ten.

Gambling during the Song Dynasty was diverse and colorful, encompassing ball games, board games, dice games, cockfighting, and various card games. Participants ranged from scholars and emperors to ordinary citizens, and even to ruffians and individuals from all walks of life, making it truly all-encompassing. Well-known figures such as Ouyang Xiu and Li Qingzhao were also fond of these activities.

Good, this is interesting

Old Nine, let us begin! The lady threw the dice into the bowl

This year, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the gentleman still shared a table with me www.hetushu.com. Ouyang instructed: "You wait outside. If I do not come out after one hour, go find the young master to rescue me."

No, this risk is too great and difficult to control. Ouyang stood up and said, "It's so noisy, is there a quieter place?"

If you don't cheat, that's fine; if you do cheat, I guarantee victory. Ouyang chuckled and said, "This is fun"

The dealer finished arranging and called out: "One, pay one, eat two, three, four."

The man led Ouyang into a private room, which was quite serene. There was a table for four people: a dealer, a graceful young woman, a familiar middle-aged woman sitting half on a stool, and a middle-aged man who appeared to be a traveling merchant.

Fighting birds are now rarely seen, and Ouyang Zhizhi is not many, with a considerable loss rate.

Ouyang is quite unfamiliar with chess, only knowing the basic rules of Xiangqi. He is completely betting based on the reputations of the two players and believes he has a 60% chance of losing

Ouping nervously said: "Young master, the gentleman says that gambling is the root of all evil"

Young master, please take a seat; I will pour you some water

One position: fifty wen. Two positions: three hundred wen. Three positions: three hundred wen, four positions: thirty wen. Ouyang lightly inhaled a breath of cold air; this time, is it one or four? Is it odd or even? Glancing again at the gamblers, he realized that the third position was a plant! Big brother, please be a bit more professional; seeing you dressed so poorly, yet putting down three hundred wen, it seems you have no desire to see the outcome at all

Gambling can only be held on New Year's Day, the Cold Food Festival, and the Winter Solstice. In the early Song Dynasty, gambling was strictly regulated, with severe penalties such as execution for offenders. However, as time went on, the emperor developed a fondness for gambling, rendering the laws mere formalities. Particularly during the late Northern Song Dynasty, when Ouyang lived, it became fashionable among officials and literati to gamble on characters. By the Yuan Dynasty, the situation escalated further, with the emperor deciding promotions for officials based on the outcome of dice thrown in the main hall.

... ...

Such clumsy techniques were immediately recognized by Ouyang, who noticed that the dealer was cheating. Hidden within the rolled-up sleeve was a copper coin, which, when the arm bent slightly upward and then downward, fell into the bowl, blending in with the pile of coins. This technique could only conceal one coin, as more would create noise. It seemed that the dealer was willing to take small losses for larger gains. As for how the dealer knew the number of coins for the draw and the * diagram * book, perhaps the answer lay in the urn, or perhaps the dealer could judge by weight; this was something Ouyang could not discern at the moment.

A fellow immediately stepped forward: "What would the young master like to play?"

Indeed, it is a novice! The dealer joyfully called out: "Young master, why not try your luck with some money? Just take a look." One dealer understood and grabbed a handful of copper coins from a jar into a bowl, then combined two bowls to start shaking. The bowls were set down, and the players placed their bets on one, two, three, or four. The dealer revealed the result by tipping the coins onto the table, then used chopsticks to separate the coins into groups of four, ultimately leaving one as two. Following this, the payouts were two to three times for certain bets, one time for doubles, while chips placed on single or on one, three, or four were lost. The dealer revealed the result by tipping the coins onto the table, then used chopsticks to separate the coins into groups of four, ultimately leaving one as two. Following this, the payouts were two to three times for certain bets, one time for doubles, while chips placed on single or on one, three, or four were lost.

It has been proven that dice can be controlled by humans. The first and most inferior, shameless, and easily beaten method is to press the desired number into the palm and then flick it out with the fingers, causing the dice to land in the bowl without bouncing or rolling. The second method utilizes the rough edge of the bowl's bottom to control the number of times the dice roll. Ouyang only knows one method, which is also the most difficult to learn, called "colliding dice." In this method, the dice do not hit the bottom first; instead, they hit the edge of the bowl and then bounce back to the other side before finally landing in the bowl. It may seem that www.hetushu.com is very lively, with the dice almost jumping out. However, in reality, they can only jump a maximum of three times, and all three jumps are controlled by the surface, allowing for the manipulation of the numbers.

However ... ...

Introduction to the game: "Three Dice, the maximum is Leopard, with double payout. If the result is 4-4-1, it counts as one point. If the result is 4-4-6, it counts as six points. If there are three non-pairs, it counts as no points."

"Listen to me, there is no mistake." Ouyang glanced at the sign of the gambling house: Four Seas Gambling House. He smiled to himself, wondering whether it was his modern expertise in gambling or the extraordinary skills of ancient people. Ouyang did not have a penchant for gambling, as he had rarely seen anyone become wealthy through it, nor had he witnessed a gambler who ended well after cheating in a casino.

One of the fellows immediately said with enthusiasm: "Why not, young master, try your luck with the sizes."

What is relatively simple

"San Niang said to start, then of course we shall begin." The dealer, Lao Jiu, said: "Everyone, place your bets."

Although Xincheng County is a small county, it does have two gambling houses. However, compared to the more than one hundred gambling houses in the capital city of Bianjing, they are insignificant

Dice games also involve betting on high or low, but the upper-class individuals prefer a gameplay that resembles a board game, similar to the modern game of Ludo. Those with wealth and status use beautiful women as game pieces, which is quite decadent

Oh?