I made a mistake trying to post at 59 minutes…
This is embarrassing.
Poker is a game where players compete to form hands using five dealt cards, aiming for rarity based on combinations like three cards of the same number (Three of a Kind) or all cards of the same suit (Flush).
While poker traditionally involves strong psychological elements and player interaction, many single-player Computer Casino Games simplify the rules, turning it into a straightforward game of forming strong hands.
This is no different in “Nekoneko.” Players first pay a stake, and if they successfully form a hand, they receive money back based on the hand’s strength.
To be precise, the currency used is not casino coins or tokens, but actual money, with no betting limit.
You can exchange cards once, and Jokers are included.
There are two Jokers in the deck, and they can substitute for any card.
The specific hand multipliers are as follows:
2 Pair x1
3 Card x2
Flush x4
Straight x5
Full House x10
4 Card x20
Straight Flush x50
5 Card x100
Royal Straight Flush x500
All Cat x1000
First, leaving aside the fact that the multipliers for Flush and Straight are reversed, the multipliers are generally high even for Casino Games.
The highest payout, All Cat at 1000x, is particularly impactful.
After all, betting 1 E would yield 1000 E, and betting 10,000 E would result in a prize of 10,000,000 E – that’s incredible.
To receive medals, the condition is to earn 10,000,000 E, which would be cleared just by this single bet.
Incidentally, All Cat is a hand unique to this game, apparently requiring a combination of four cat-themed hearts (11, 12, 13) and the two Jokers.
Compared to the Royal Straight Flush, where Jokers reduce the difficulty, the difficulty here is undeniably high.
Furthermore, there’s a way to increase these winnings.
This Casino is equipped with the signature feature of Casino Game Poker: Double Up.
Double Up is a system where, after winning with a successful hand, you can wager your entire prize money on another game.
If you choose to attempt Double Up, you’ll play a simple card game called High-Low.
The rules are incredibly straightforward: you just guess whether the next card’s number will be higher or lower than the previous one.
If you guess correctly, your poker winnings are doubled; if you fail, they are, of course, forfeited.
In the in-game Casino, this is incredibly advantageous.
With a greater than 50% chance of winning, your prize money increases exponentially.
It’s a bet so favorable to the Player, it’s almost foolish not to take it.
…However, the “Nekoneko” Casino, naturally, isn’t that generous.
Jokers included.
No betting limit.
Double Up available.
Indeed, based solely on the rules, it appears more favorable to the Player than the Casinos in other games.
However, upon actually playing, that impression changes.
The difficulty escalates dramatically, especially when the stakes get high.
When comparing card distributions at a stake of 1 E versus 10,000 E, intrepid Players took some statistics, and the results were astonishing.
While the cards dealt at 1 E were nearly identical to general cases, the distribution at 10,000 E showed an alarming bias.
Specifically, hands would simply not form.
The chance of having cards of the same number in your hand was about one in a thousand, and even having three cards of the same suit was rare.
Even after exchanges, the desired cards wouldn’t come, and despite around three thousand attempts, hands only formed eleven times.
Moreover, most of these were the lowest-paying Three of a Kind, and the highest hand formed was a Straight, which is simply disheartening.
Then, naturally, one would consider earning prize money through Double Up, but even Double Up is subject to the hand of cheating.
After the prize money exceeded 10,000 E, unnatural failures became frequent, and once the prize money surpassed 1,000,000 E, success became almost impossible.
According to the High-Low rules, the highest card is the Joker.
Therefore, if you draw a Joker and predict “Low,” you should almost never lose. However, when the prize money exceeds 1,000,000 E, the next card is almost invariably another Joker.
Since drawing the same card results in a Player loss, an illogical development where you lose even with the strongest card is a common occurrence.
The extent of this correction system’s unchecked power is tremendous; Jokers even appear when two are already on the board.
However, it seems the dealer isn’t cheating, as they merely tilt their head in confusion even when I express outrage, which is all the more infuriating.
By the way, the dealer is a young woman in a bunny outfit.
When she tilts her head, she’s a little cute.
This is probably another trap set by the Nekoneko staff.
I’m perfectly fine with it, but some people might fail because they get distracted by the mole on her chest.
Truly, how lamentable!
“So, that’s why. The place we’re going now is a terrifying battlefield that has claimed countless Players.
In other words, it’s the stage of a holy war… You should be prepared as well, Sahzan.”
After giving a lengthy explanation to Sahzan, I stepped into the Casino.
Sahzan hastily followed.
“W-wait a minute! Are you really going to a place this dangerous?
It’s impossible to earn 10,000,000 E here, right?
In that case…”
“It’s not impossible.”
I calmly corrected Sahzan’s words.
“Huh?”
“It’s not impossible, Sahzan. It has been proven in videos.”
Perhaps, in the past, there was one individual.
A warrior who counted a prize money of over 10,000,000 E.
“Listen. When the prize money increases, the probabilities are manipulated.
However, the probabilities only decrease, they don’t become zero.”
A video by a man later known as “The True King of Gamblers” or “Man Among Men.”
From a stake of 9999 E, a surprising Four of a Kind.
And from there, a miraculous five consecutive Double Up successes.
The prize money at that point, approximately 6,400,000 E.
His hands were probably trembling with tension and excitement.
Doubt might have whispered in his ear, suggesting he stop there.
Yet, he pushed forward.
Without fear of losing his 6,400,000 E winnings, he advanced towards the dream of surpassing 10,000,000 E.
The card in his hand was a Spade 3.
Almost the lowest numbered card.
Normally, one would choose “High” and aim for a card of 4 or higher, as is customary.
However, in this situation.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that aiming for “Low” might actually work better.
A ten-second deadlock.
In the end, he chose High.
He predicted that the next card would be higher than 3.
Once the prize money has reached this level, probabilities no longer matter.
The world’s correction system, with its rigged draws, would likely end his fate. The moment everyone who watched the video thought so!
—It was a 4 of Hearts!
A result no one predicted, yet deep down, everyone had hoped for, appeared before his eyes.
He had won an impossibly risky gamble!
…Incidentally, after that, he got carried away and chose Double Up again, promptly losing.
His prize money became zero, and he naturally didn’t receive any medals.
This is why he is known as “The Man Among Men.”
“There is a precedent. Therefore, it’s not impossible. It’s a probability with a decimal point, but there’s a chance of success.
It’s an unimaginably low probability, but it’s not zero.”
“B-but, even so, just because of that…”
Shaking off Sahzan’s pleas, I stood before the poker table.
“You can play poker here. Would you like to play?”
The bunny-girl from the game smiled as she said this.
“Yes. Please.”
“Soma!!”
Sahzan cried out from behind me as I responded without hesitation.
I glanced back once and slowly opened my mouth.
“Sahzan. You can understand, can’t you?”
“W-understand what?”
Looking straight into my eyes from behind the mask, I said with all my might.
“—There are times when a man must challenge something, even when he knows he cannot win.”
At my words, Sahzan feebly lowered his hand that had been reaching for my shoulder.
“I… I can’t understand that…”
The moment of truth had arrived.
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself.
I slowly closed my eyes, and then slowly opened them.
The dazzling lights of the Casino, the murmuring roar of the surroundings, the pattern on the back of the cards, the mole on the bunny-girl’s chest – everything was clearly, vividly visible.
It’s okay, I’m calm.
“Now then, please place your hand on this Monolith and bet any amount you wish.”
Seeing that I was ready, the bunny-girl prompted me.
First, I reached out and placed my hand on the Monolith beside the table.
If you’re sharp, you’ll understand, but this small Monolith is the same save point found in towns and Fields. When you place your bet, a forced save is performed by this Monolith, meaning you cannot retry if you lose. Furthermore, if you reset in this state, not only will your bet money not be returned, but the game will also restart from a game-over state. The reset tactic is not an option for this poker game.
However, I was prepared for this from the start.
With my hand on the Monolith, I presented my wallet Crystal.
“Then, 10,000,000 E.”
“—!”
I wagered 10,000,000 E without hesitation.
I felt Sahzan gasp behind me, but I didn’t turn back.
“T-10,000,000 E. Understood.”
The bunny-girl accepted the bet with a slightly strained smile, and the game was about to begin. The bunny-girl dealt the cards of fate—
“Ah, excuse me, I actually don’t want to play.”
—Just before that, I backed out of the gamble.
The bunny-girl froze for a moment, then rebooted after a few seconds.
“A-alright. I’ll return your bet.”
With a business smile, she returned the 10,000,000 E bet to me.
And then,
“Ah, congratulations!
You’ve surpassed 10,000,000 E in winnings, so I’ll give you your bonus medals!!
…Huh?”
Leaving the bunny-girl frozen with her head tilted, I triumphantly left the Casino soon after.
I couldn’t win at poker…
I plan to update one more episode before the deadline (October 12th).
