Although there wasn't a device for time around, Leon could tell it was close to midnight and he just wanted some more cash, so he could visit a casino. After verifying the contents on the piece of paper, he nodded in approval with the price.
The price itself was quite enticing. The cores were being priced quite high considering the silver and 50 bronze coins were after the flat fee deduction. This was only possible because of that lucky final third tick when the cores were tested.
After verifying the contents on the piece of paper, he nodded in approval with the price.
"I'll take you up on that deal."
The lady smiled, before taking out the silver and 50 bronze coins from a locked box underneath the tabletop and handed it over to Leon, while counting out the number for accuracy.
"10, 20, 30, 40, and 50. Plus the one silver, that adds up to one silver and fifty bronze coins. Thank you for conducting your business with the Bureau! Come back any time!"
Leon watched the middle-aged woman count out the money himself, so he immediately scooped up the coins and put them in his money bag. He taking a look at some of the trinkets that were way out of his price range and leaving the shop with another ring of a bell.
With the cores sold, Leon went to find a casino to check out. His search didn't take too long, as almost every street in Mifis housed a casino of some size and since he had just come from the main square.
The casino he found was one of the biggest and popular ones and looked quite fancy. It was a huge building compared to the other buildings that were smushed together. As Leon started to walk towards it, he noticed that there was a ton of foot traffic considering it was the dead of night.
When Leon walked through one of the three sets of double doors made with a magic reinforced glass, he was hit with an array of smells. A strong smell of alcohol took the primary spot, while a supporting cast of food and perfume stood alongside it.
Leon walked to the main floor where all the gambling was happening and saw a huge amount of people from different sides of life. There were some that had an addiction, while others came here to blow off steam with friends or were simply so rich that they had become bored.
The ones that were playing with large amounts of money always had a pretty girl next to the most likely hired or ordered by the casino to get the big spenders to bet big.
Since Leon would be considered quite poor compared to some of the whales at the big tables, he went to one of the lowest minimum tables he could find and decided to settle down.
At this particular casino, there were no special chips to use for gambling but to make bets with large amounts of coins easier. The casino gave each person 10 chips that signified a number between 1-9 and all the person had to do was put a coin plus the number in to signify the bet. For example, if Leon put a bronze coin in with the number 8 chip. This meant he bet eighty bronze coins.
The table Leon sat down at was quite open and only three other people had started gambling at that particular table.
Like all casinos, a variety of different games were offered, but the one Leon chose was something rather simple that he often played with Old Man Jenkins. It was called Parthian Poker.
The game worked by having everyone being dealt two cards at the beginning of each hand and then players would bet money before each stage of the hand as three cards were dealt in the beginning, then one for each subsequent round.
Players would attempt to get the best hand with the cards that the dealer dealt and would bet against other players, but sometimes people bluffed. The cards in the game were the numbers two through ten, the villager, the knight, the adventurer, the noble, and the king.
Each of those was the cards in the game and the order of value of the cards was the two's, at the bottom, and the king at the top of the card hierarchy.
(Author Note: The game is a lot like Texas Hold-em poker, but with the face cards changed and an additional face card added in. I will explain some things for the people who don't know how to play, but not all so the chapter doesn't feel clunky)
When Leon sat down, the dealer at the table had already started preparing to deal the next hand, but waited for Leon to enter. Luckily for Leon, this game was a game he did not have to always put money in as a person would only ever put money in, before the cards, when they were the small or big blind.
This meant the two people had to put money in if they wanted to see their cards and at this particular table the small blind was fifty bronze coins, while the big blind was a silver coin. Leon had come at an opportune time as his spot was just beyond the small blind, which meant that it would be another two hands including the one to be played before Leon had to put money in just to see his cards.
Sitting on the comfortable leather cushion that had been sewn onto a wooden chair, the dealer dealt each person two cards. When both cards had been dealt to Leon, he put both hands over his cards as a wall, before he lifted the cards just enough to see what each was.
As he slowly lifted up the cards, Leon could only think one thought.
'Please be a face card and not a number...'
When he saw his cards, he didn't show his reaction, so he didn't give any information but he was ecstatic on the inside.
'The knight of hearts and a ten of clubs, not bad. I guess I'll play this hand as long as no one raises the bets before the first three cards.'
Fortunately for Leon, the other three people at the table did not raise the bet and only called the normal one silver bet. Although none of the people made any obvious facial expressions, Leon thought that most likely none of them had extremely strong hands that had cards like a king or a noble.
Leon had previously taken out three silvers with a few bronze coins out of his money bag and placed them on the nice felt that covered the table. He tossed a silver in and the dealer promptly burned a card before dealing three cards.
Even though each person felt some sort of emotion when the cards went out. They all tried their best to appear stoic like a statue. Leon had also tried to not even let his face twitch, but on the inside he was ecstatic.
'What a flop!'
(Authors note: Like Texas Hold-em poker, a flop is when three cards are dealt, a turn is the fourth card, and the river is the fifth card)
In the center of the table, the cards that had been dealt were the ten of spades, ten of diamonds, and a five of spades. Leon had a three of a kind, with his lucky ten.
(Authors note: A three of a kind is the seventh strongest hand out of ten possible hands, but is quite a strong hand usually despite its ranking. If confused, search 'hand rankings poker' for a reference)