Chapter 2

The room went silent. Mila shot Lance a worried glance, but he didn't meet her eyes. 

Lance did a little thinking. He only raised 2bb preflop. This idiot doesn't take small risks if he knows he can win. That means it's likely he's holding a Kx card instead of KK. It's definitely not K2. That's out of his range– Then again, he's an idiot, and a very rich one at that.

Tapping his finger on the table, he glanced at Kenji. Assuming he's not being an idiot today with K2… K9? K8? If it's K9, he wouldn't have been raising there and then. Since I have two 9s, it's unlikely he would have a K9. If he wanted to keep me in the hand longer with the best hand, he would have called instead of a re-raise. He wasn't sure of his hand. K8? Possible, but unlikely.

After some deliberation, he called. 

Kenji laughed and flipped his cards – K♦️10♠️. His grin returned. "Sorry, buddy. Trips with a 10 kicker. Better luck next time."

Lance slapped Kenji's hand away from the chips as he turned over his cards. "Full House, Goldilocks. Keep your hairy paws away from my money."

The room erupted into chaos. Mila grabbed his arm, half in disbelief and half in delight. Kenji's jaw dropped as he stared at the cards, then at Lance, as though seeing him for the first time.

"Holy crap," Kenji muttered. "You hustled me."

"I didn't," Lance said, unable to hide his grin. "I just…figured it out."

It wasn't just luck. It was logic, deduction, and reading his opponent. And given the fact that they had known each other since childhood, Lance knew all the tells – Kenji wouldn't have stopped talking shit if he knew he could win for sure. 

As he arranged the chips in front of him, Lance realized that poker was quite fun. 

The room buzzed with post-game chatter as Lance calculated the money he had won. "$900…" He glanced at Kenji and smirked, "Thanks for the majority of it."

Mila leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms with a grin that could light up the dim room.

"Not bad for your first game," she teased, her tone warm and playful. "You might actually have a knack for this."

Kenji, however, was less amused. He slouched in his chair, arms folded, and stared at the cards as though they'd betrayed him. "Beginner's luck," he muttered, though a trace of admiration lingered in his voice.

Amara, the quietest of the group, chimed in, "It wasn't just luck – this guy did beat all of us in everything."

Lance shrugged and smirked at his best friend.

"Hey, I still beat you in Go, so don't get too cocky," Kenji scoffed, finally cracking a smile as he reached over to fist bump Lance. "But I gotta say, you played me this time, and I don't know whether to be mad or impressed."

"Both," Mila quipped, standing up to stretch her arms. "But seriously, Lance, if you're into this, you should check out online poker. We all play online every now and then, and it's more fun when you don't have to see Kenji's scowling mug across the table."

Kenji threw a handful of chips at her in annoyance.

Lance blinked. He had known that his friends were all poker fans but he had never joined them for any games since, to him, poker was just another form of gambling. 

Kenji said, perking up, "If you are afraid of losing, there are platforms where you can play for free or with small stakes. Heck, just join those freerolls! Some people actually win some serious money with freerolls."

He then leaned back in his chair and smirked, "If you call me Daddy, I'll throw in a couple hundred bucks for you to play with."

Everyone gave him a "shut your mouth up" look. 

"Ignore my brother," Mila said as she pulled out her phone. "Here you go," she said after typing something on her phone. "N8. We all play on this site. It's beginner-friendly and has a bunch of resources for people starting out." 

She turned the screen toward Lance, showing a clean, professional-looking interface with promotions for tournaments and a banner that read "Asia's Largest Online Poker Site."

Lance hesitated. The idea intrigued him, but a pang of caution tugged at his chest. Money was tight—too tight to risk on a game. 

He thought about the piles of unpaid bills at home, as well as all the medical bills that he had to clear. 

Sensing his reluctance, Mila leaned closer. "They've got free-to-play tables. No risk, just practice."

Kenji grinned. "And if you like it, we could pool some cash for small-stakes games. Who knows? Maybe you'll be the next poker prodigy."

"Prodigy?" Lance said, raising an eyebrow. He liked the idea. 

"You've got the brain for it," Amara pointed out. "And if you combine that with some psychology…" She glanced at Mila. "You could go far. Think about it. Instead of spending so many hours working on those side jobs, you could earn money right at home. Aren't you always thinking about your mother? This way, you get to spend more time with her… And someone else."

Lance and Kenji didn't notice the scowl that Mila gave Amara.

The seed was planted. 

That night, Lance sat at his desk, playing with the deck of old UNO cards in his hand, shuffling them with one hand. Many things raced through his mind, but after a while, without even looking at it, he flicked a card from one hand to another. 

"+4 Wild," he murmured before glancing at the card he caught and smiled.