After a series of dangerous experiences, proper relaxation is also necessary, not to mention that the injuries on Leo, Isenas, and Ente will not heal in a while.

So everyone unanimously decided to take a good week in this city of science and technology, which is known as the world's number one.

"So why is there a casino here?"

Esenus looked strangely at a certain shop.

"Casino?" "Little Paul, who followed Esenas out, carefully observed one of the entertainment toy stores that Isenas had mentioned, but he didn't see any doorway.

"Eighty percent of them are. Esenas nodded. "Anyway, it's nothing, I'll take you in to see and see. ”

With that, he took little Paul and walked inside.

There is no shortage of beautiful toys in the store, from educational toys for children to entertainment products for adults, and the prices are very reasonable. Except for the pokers on the shelves behind the clerk.

The style of poker is ordinary, but the price is ridiculously high, a box of paper-printed poker can be sold for as much as 100 gold coins, that is, a family can only buy it after 20 years of savings without eating or drinking.

"Is there any poker that is cheaper? Looking around, Esenus asked casually.

"Yes, go out and turn right, past six shops, Old Jack's shop has cheap poker. The clerk looked at the newspaper and replied without looking up.

The appearance of the clerk further confirms Isennas's suspicion that the staff is so unconcerned about their work, and the customers still come to inquire casually, which is simply unimaginable in such a bustling city. This shows that selling toys is only an optional job for employees.

After the psychological bottom was realized, Isenus began to test further

"But I just want to play your poker. Esenas propped his hands on the counter and tilted his head slightly at the deck of pokers on the shelf.

The clerk put down the newspaper and looked at Isennas, who was sure it was a new face.

"Sorry, this deck is dangerous, and if you're not careful, it can break the bank, so we don't sell it. ”

"How can gambling not take risks?"

Since Isenas's words had been made straightforward to this point, the clerk didn't make a fancy gesture and asked, "New here?"

"Just entered town the other day. ”

"No wonder there are no acquaintances to introduce you. The clerk muttered quietly.

"Show me your badges, I've got to make sure you're really new to Artisan Town lately. The clerk put away the newspaper and said to the two of them

Isenas handed over the badge he had received when he and little Paul registered their information.

The clerk took the badge and inserted it into a square box, carefully checking the information inside.

After a while, the clerk returned the badge to Isenas and said, "No problem, the third shelf from the left hand, count the third row from top to bottom, there is a button under the largest doll, don't press it, turn it clockwise twice and press it down again, then turn it counterclockwise and press it again." ”

"It's complicated enough, it seems that your business is not very allowed. ”

Isenus followed the clerk's instructions to find the button, and asked as he operated it, "It's complicated enough, it seems that your business is not very allowed." ”

"It's not that it's not allowed, it's just that there are big restrictions on us. ”

"What restrictions?"

As Esenus pressed the button a second time, the shelves slid open to both sides, revealing a pitch-black passage that extended downward.

"No fanfare, no too large a large number of people. But the goddess of wisdom recognizes that this is also part of wisdom, so we are still a serious business, but there are often inspection teams to confirm the scale of our business. ”

"I see. Esenas nodded. "Then we'll go down. ”

"When you enter the door, remember to tell me which store you entered from, and I have a commission. ”

Walking in the passage underneath, the faint light of torches guided the way, and the dim atmosphere made little Paul a little nervous, and he randomly found a topic to relieve his emotions: "Gambling is also wisdom?"

"Yes, and the demand for wisdom is high. ”

"Isn't this a game of luck?"

Isenas smiled and explained: "This is a mathematical problem, of course, you must also have a grasp of your own psychology and that of your opponents, especially when you are losing in a row, and don't be manipulated by the emotion of defeat." ”

Little Paul nodded as if he didn't understand, it was still difficult to understand how this game, which had bankrupted countless people, could have something to do with wisdom.

"Of course, those stupid people are just giving money to other people when they get involved in this game. ”

As he spoke, Isenas and Paul Jr. had already passed through the entrance and entered the casino.

The interior of the casino is decorated with resplendent gold, chandeliers made of crystal, fountains made of gold, solid wooden floors, and paintings on the walls are also carefully selected, which is very in line with the style of the casino.

There are also all kinds of gambling in the casino, from basic roulette, bingo, to cards, guess the size, and even Isenas saw a place to bet on wars and games large and small in the world, such as who loses and who wins in the war that takes place on the border between the free country and the country of faith...

Esenas came to the front desk with little Paul and asked, "How do you change the chips?" ”

"Fifty gold coins each, and a minimum of one thousand gold coins. ”

Esenas raised his eyebrows and said, "It's a big game, let's change a hundred first." “

The counter took five golden tickets and took out a small basket from under the counter, which contained exactly one hundred chips.

Esenus picked up the locket, took out a chip and tossed it, and asked little Paul: "What do you want to play, blackjack?

Little Paul nervously caught the small chip that would last him for most of his life, and said, "Blackjack? ”

"You're lucky, it's really the easiest way to win, can you play?"

"Never heard of it. ”

"Then I'll tell you while I play. ”

Isenus sat down at the blackjack table and waited for the dealer to start.

"The way to win the game is to try to get as close as possible but not more than blackjack, two to nine according to the value of the card, each card counts the number of points, 10, j, q, king are counted as ten points, and A counts as eleven points. Esenas gave a brief explanation of how to win, picked up two chips and placed them on the table.

The dealer looked at the four people at the table and decided that no one would join in, so he started the round.

"The first is the dealt, two cards per person, two cards for the player, and one card for the dealer and one card for the dealer. ”

Little Paul looked at the cards on the table, an ace and a king, and said in surprise: "It's already blackjack." ”

"So we just win. Esenas said lightly, taking back his two chips from the table and the dealer's two chips.

The dealer couldn't help but glance at Esenas and praised: "Good luck, just get the king fried on the table, such luck is rare enough." “

"It's just luck. Isenus said modestly.

Little Paul fiddled with two chips and said, "So easy?"

"It's just luck. Isenus glanced at the dealer dealing the cards next to him.

Isenas didn't believe that such a thing would happen to him, but it was more likely that the dealer was deliberately tempting him to play here.

But I have to say that such a start is really comforting.

The dealing began again, this time the cards were much more normal, a 10 and a 2, just stuck at the position of twelve.

"It's not far from blackjack. ”

Esenas looked at the other players' cards, a pair of jacks, a set of 7 plus 5, a set of 8 plus 8, and the dealer showed a queen.

After a moment's thought, Isenas said, "Then we'll have one." ”

Isenas motioned for the dealer to deal the cards.

The card unfolds, and it's an 8 again. With the addition of the previous twelve points, it is exactly twenty points, which is a little short of the blackjack of victory, and there is no room for additional cards.

Two of the remaining three also asked for a card, and now there is a pair of jacks, a set of 7, 5, 4, and a set of 8, 8, and 3.

The man who got the 7, 5, and 4 frowned, hesitated, and asked for another card.

Isenas shook his head and said to little Paul, "This man looks like he's lost a lot. ”

"How do you know?"

"He now has a total of 16 points, and only with 2, 3, 4, 5 will he not bust because the sum of his points exceeds 21. But now there are a lot of twos to fives on the field, and he is more likely to have a hand above 6 in comparison. ”

Sure enough, when a 9 was sent in front of him, he angrily pushed all the remaining weights in front of him to the middle of the table, kicked the chair away vigorously, put on his clothes and left the table.

Isenas shrugged and said, "This is the guy whose mentality has been broken, and he still has a chance to win a dealer bust and under sixteen." ”

Look at the fact that everyone doesn't ask for cards anymore. The dealer also opened the face down.

A 4.

Isenus whistled, "Good card." ”

"A good hand for whom?"

"Of course it's ours. "Isenas looked at the frowning dealer for a long time.

"What's so good about that? The dealer's card is so small, he could have taken another one, and maybe he got 21 points. Little Paul, who knew a little about the rules, frowned.

Isenus smiled and said, "Don't just look at what's on the bright side of your eyes. The dealer now has 7 points to play, which means that if you get 8 to A, you will lose. ”

Little Paul silently calculated, and suddenly realized: "There are twenty-four cards from 2 to 7, and twenty-eight cards from 8 to A, which means that he is more likely to get a bust in the next round." ”

"More than that, you look at the cards on the field. ”

Little Paul obediently counted the cards he already had on the field.

A Q, a pair of J, a 10, a 9, three 8s, a seven, a five, a pair of 4s, a 3, a 2.

With addition, subtraction, and the ratio of victory to defeat in the deck becomes eighteen to twenty, and the ratio is close to one to one.

"When the odds of winning are clearly skewed, it's easier to make a choice, but in a nearly half-to-half situation, greed can be irrational. ”

After a long decision, the dealer finally gave up the cards and paid everyone the corresponding chips.

At the request of Izernus, the dealer revealed the original next card.

An ace of spades was displayed in front of little Paul.

The dealer couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, rejoicing in his choice, if he coveted victory, it would have paid 50% more weight for the bust.

"That's a little bit of a simple application of math here, and it's not going to make you win every hand, but if you're gambling for a long time, it's going to make your expected win rate close to 51%, and that's how you make sure you make money from the casino." ”

Little Paul nodded.

Isennas was a little unsatisfied, and said, "Let's have a few more to verify the correctness of the theory." ”

Five minutes later, Isenas calmly threw out two weights: "As expected, we are still winning now." ”

However, after another five minutes, four more weights were dropped, and the dealer opened the game with 21 points to kill Blackjack, and all players who did not have Blackjack paid double their chips to the dealer.

"Hmph, he's lucky, let's come again, why can't we leave here with money, we're here to manage money. ”

Little Paul began to have a bad feeling at this time.

"Again, in theory, we should win the next one. ”

"How is that possible? Luck players can't go far! Come again! This time I'll get ten chips!"

"Why?" Isenas ripped off his collar and stepped on the stool with one foot, looking at the dealer viciously: "Say, did you do something inside?"

The dealer glanced at Esenas contemptuously and said, "A few hundred gold chips are not like this, if you don't believe me, you can change the machine to dispense cards." ”

"Okay, then change the machine!"

An hour later, a disheveled Isenas appeared on the street with little Paul outside.

The wind in the street blew a puff of leaves, whirling past them.

Paul Jr. swears that this is definitely the biggest nightmare he's ever seen———— as Esenas has been losing more and winning less, and even opening eleven points and playing straight to an ace can happen twice in a row.

In just half an hour, five thousand gold coins were gone.

In the remaining half an hour, tens of thousands of gold coins evaporated again.

"Is the math you talking about, really useful? There was a silence in the street, and little Paul asked in a skeptical tone.

With a trembling tremble, Isenas took out a crumpled cigarette from his bosom that the dealer had thrown to him before leaving, put it in his mouth, and said in a trembling voice: "Mathematics does not lie. ”

"That..."

"That's enough!" Isenas interrupted little Paul a little rudely, and shouted angrily, "Math doesn't lie!"

Little Paul had to keep his mouth shut.

After standing for a while, little Paul felt that this was not an option, and proposed, "Why don't we go for a drink?" ”

Then, without saying a word, he pulled Isenus to the tavern of yesterday.

On the other side, Leo, as the head of the regiment, naturally went to settle the task.

"You're a good person, reminding us of the damage we've done to Artisan Town, but not to our relationship. Leo sighed at Asted.

Astrid smiled and said, "It's strengthening our friendship." ”

Leo smiled similarly and said, "I like this reinforcement very much. ”

After saying that, Leo was about to sign the task book, looking at the end of the reward number on the task book, Leo suddenly moved in his heart and asked, "I remember that you said that you can erase zero, right?"

"I, I probably said that, right?" said asted, hesitating, recalling yesterday's conversation. "How much did I say?"

"Fifty gold coins. Leo said honestly.

"Then I did say that. Astrid breathed a sigh of relief.

Leo couldn't hide his joy between his eyebrows, and said, "Then in addition to the maintenance costs, you can give me fifty gold coins." ”

"No problem. Astrid happily took out fifty gold coins, and then asked curiously: "Didn't you all earn 100,000 gold coins, why do you still value these fifty gold coins so much?"

"It's a symbol of our friendship. Under the suspicious gaze of Isennas, Leo carefully hid the fifty gold coins in his clothes.

God is pitiful, he has handed over all the gold coins obtained from this sale to Nana to pay off his debts, and the gold coins he distributed last month have already been spent cleanly, and he can't even afford half a glass of ale. In other words, these fifty gold coins are already all his net worth for him.

Leo was so excited that he almost cried.

And the fifty gold coins, Leo immediately thought of where it went.

If the gold coins are not exchanged for fine wine, it is an insult to the gold coins!

Compared to these two losers, Ente was much more normal, he inquired all the way, and finally found a foundation in the north of the city, which was established specifically for the relief of war orphans.

As soon as the Foundation heard that Ente had come to donate, it immediately welcomed him in with a smile, and when the payment was completed, it immediately changed its face and drove him out without saying anything.

Ente looked at Arrando floating beside him, and said helplessly, "Are all the people in the Foundation like this?"

After a long time, Ente said again: "Compared to this, I am wondering whether to explain my true situation to Leo and them. ”

Arando's mouth was wide open as if to say something.

After hearing this, Ente shook his head and said, "Forget it, I'll talk to them when I'm close to the kingdom of faith." Let's go get some food now?"

It was still yesterday in the tavern, and as soon as Leo entered the door, he saw Omoni sitting in the corner with a pipe in his mouth.

"Hey, Lao Mo, what a coincidence. How are you today?"

Omoni tapped the air beside him, but Leo knew it was his storage space.

"Bought some magic materials and novelty gadgets. ”

After a pause, Omoni complained, "Why don't the things here have a price? ”

Leo paused for a moment and said, "You're going to spend all your money, can't you meet a black shop?"

Omoni nodded awkwardly: "There is a hundred gold coins left, and this money really can't buy anything to keep it." ”

Leo suddenly laughed and said with a smile: "No wonder you sit here and don't order anything, come on, I'll treat you to two drinks!"

"Where did you get the money?" Hearing that Leo was actually asking for a treat, Omoni immediately asked curiously.

"Didn't Astrid wipe the repair money to zero, I didn't give the fifty gold coins to Nana, I kept it for myself, don't say it. Leo turned and asked the bartender for two good drinks, only to see a disheveled Exenas and little Paul coming in through the door.

"Here, Izsenas, little Paul. ”

Leo looked Esenus up and down, and teased, "Hey, why are you so red and disheveled?

However, Isenas was so immersed in the defeat that he had just failed, he couldn't figure out how the invincible mathematics could fail miserably?

Little Paul had to explain in a whisper: "He just went to the casino to give me a lesson." ”

"Casino class?" Leo's expression immediately became weird, the casino class came back with this expression, needless to say, Leo could imagine what kind of luxurious teaching this was.

"How much money do you have left?"

"Forty-nine. Isenus leaned back in his chair and murmured as he salted fish.

"It's okay, at least there's a little left. Leo comforted.

"Because a chip costs a minimum of fifty gold coins. ”

Fifty gold coins?Did Isenas get kicked out of the house with such a disheveled appearance?

Leo coughed dryly, stopping the dangerous conjecture and proposing, "Have a drink?"

"Two glasses. Hearing the word wine, Esenas actually came to his senses, and doubled Leo's proposal with his mouth open.

"You're all here. Ent, who was tall, stooped through the tavern door and sat down next to Leo and them.

"Ente, why don't you look very happy?" Leo asked, greeting.

Ente was silent for a moment, and said a little sadly: "I went to donate to several foundations today, but they don't have a very good attitude towards me, is it that I donate too little?"

Leo thought for a moment and asked, "Have you checked their credentials?"

"What is that?" Hearing these four words, Ente's head was full of question marks.

Leo couldn't help but pat his forehead, looking at Ente's expression, he knew that he didn't understand the crooks in the middle of charity at all, and the foundation he went to was a fraudster.

After Leo explained in detail, Ente lay on the table with a look of remorse, not because he felt sorry for the money, but because he felt sorry for missing an opportunity to help the children, and the opportunity to earn so many gold coins was rare.

Leo coughed twice and asked, "How much did you keep for yourself?"

"Five hundred, all for emergency use. ”

"That's a lot luckier than we are. Leo patted Ente on the shoulder.

"You guys?"

"Yes, we do. Leo couldn't help but laugh as he talked about the unexpected loss of Omoni and Isennas.

"So, try a drink?" Leo suggested.

"Two glasses. Ent, who never drank alcohol, stepped up his efforts and agreed to Leo's proposal.

Leo looked at the eight glasses of wine on the table, and couldn't help but feel a little sorry for his wallet, the price of these eight glasses of wine was as high as two gold coins per glass, and his small vault immediately went to a small half.

Leo picked up his wine glass and shouted, "For the sake of our four financial geniuses." ”

"Cheers!"

p.s. Gambling harms others and yourself, don't listen to the mathematical conclusions of the professors, we don't need this, the end of abuse is the end of Isennas.