NOVEL WEB Chapter 477: Winning Money by Playing Cards
"All in with 500 US Dollars! Link, do you dare to follow?"
In a Beverly Hills coffee shop, Leonardo placed down five hundred US Dollars, with one hand over his hole cards, smiling at Link.
"Just the two of us left?"
"Haha, yes, everyone else has folded. Now it's just the two of us. Do you dare to follow?"
Leonardo laughed.
"I thought we agreed to just play for fun, what's this all-in about?"
Link said helplessly.
"You've got exactly 500 there, it's not like you can't afford to follow."
Leonardo lit a cigarette and said with a smile.
"Leon, go easy, it's Link's first time playing. Don't bet too much all at once."
Tobey Maguire laughed.
"Looks like Leon's goal today is to win all the change in Link's pockets."
Woody Harrelson laughed.
Leonardo looked at Link with a half-smile, "Link, if your hole cards aren't good, you can also choose to fold."
Link glanced at him, picked up 500 US Dollars to follow, then threw out his three hole cards: the Jack of Spades, the 10 of Spades, and the 8 of Spades, adding to the community cards, the Queen of Spades, and the 9 of Spades to make a straight flush that's only secondary to 9, 10, J, Q, K and 10, J, Q, K, A.
"A straight flush?!"
"That big?"
Leonardo's eyes widened suddenly, the others also looked at his cards in surprise.
"Leon, show your cards."
Link tapped the table.
"You won."
Leonardo wordlessly tossed his cards into the deck, and before he could shuffle, Paul Walker grabbed them and flipped them over to reveal a Queen, Jack, and 2, with the highest being a pair of Queens and a pair of Jacks.
"Just two pairs?"
"Your cards aren't even as big as mine, and you dared to bluff?"
"Are you bullying Link because it's his first time playing poker?"
The people at the table started teasing Leonardo.
Leonardo scowled at Link, "With such a strong hand, why did you hesitate when betting? You're the real bluffer here."
"I saw your confidence and thought you were holding a royal flush, so I had to be cautious. So, all the money on the table belongs to me now, right? Haha, I won't be shy then."
Link grabbed the pot with more than two thousand US Dollars in it. Although it wasn't a big win, seeing Leonardo's glum face felt great.
After finishing one round, they started the next.
"Link, your Palm Beach Films did well this year."
While checking his cards, Leonardo glanced at Link and said.
"Not bad!"
Link saw his hole cards were the 3 of Spades and the 7 of Diamonds and decided not to continue, promptly folding.
"Three hit movies in a row, that's not just 'not bad', that's amazing. Any tips on how Palm Beach Films invests in movies?"
Leonardo continued the bet and followed.
"It's simple, find a few reliable producers, hand over the company to them, and then just wait to count the money."
Link opened a bottle of water and took a few sips, having gotten thirsty after the workout.
"Stop joking, doesn't every movie company have a few reliable producers? The big six studios have even more, but none are as impressive as Palm Beach Films with a return on box office revenue more than tenfold."
Leonardo said, grinding his back teeth.
Leonardo mentioned this because he too owns a film production company, Appian Way, established in '04, which had produced films like "The Assassination of Nixon," "Public Enemies," "Shutter Island," and "The Aviator," most of which incurred losses with only a few making a profit, albeit small.
This made Leonardo as envious as others of Link's Palm Beach Films, with three consecutive hit movies generating net profits of two to three hundred million US Dollars, a truly enviable feat.
"It's because I have a sharper eye for people."
Link shrugged his shoulders and laughed.
Leonardo snorted unhappily, "Link, now that you're a big star and a millionaire, have you thought about getting involved in charity work?"
"Isn't that what my Link Global Charity Fund is for? By the way, you all are wealthy, consider donating to my charity in the future. Since last year, the Link Charity Fund has helped over two hundred athletes troubled by injuries."
Link said.
Everyone nodded and agreed.
"Link, I'm not talking about your foundation, I'm talking about the environment. Don't you feel that our living environment is worsening—global climate deterioration, acid rain, ozone depletion, loss of biodiversity, ocean pollution, deforestation, and so on? If things keep going like this, the earth will eventually be doomed. Even if it doesn't affect us now, our descendants will face these problems. Don't you want to do something for your future generations before then?"
Leonardo said passionately.
Link nodded and then gave him a look, "Future generations? Leonardo, do you have kids already?"
"Uh, no [verbatim speech used from the source]. I meant you, but you have a pair of adorable twins. Don't you want them to live on a pollution-free earth in the future?"
Leonardo said.
Link chuckled lightly and picked up the cards from the table to check.
"Leonardo, have you forgotten? I'm an investor and global spokesperson for Tesla, the first publicly-listed clean energy car company in the world. In a way, I am investing more money in environmental issues than anyone else. Leonardo, if you have some money, I recommend you also buy some Tesla stocks."
Leonardo blinked, wanting to say that Link's investment in Tesla was for profit, but Link was right. His investment in Tesla cars would be greatly beneficial for changing the earth's environment, potentially contributing more than his own investments in environmental projects.
"Alright, I'll consider your suggestion."
Leonardo said unenthusiastically.
Originally, he wanted to advocate for environmentalism and persuade Link, a wealthy businessman, to invest some money. But after a long talk, once Link mentioned his investment in clean energy vehicles, Leonardo was left speechless.
"Leonardo, I think your way of doing environmentalism is futile. No matter how loudly you shout, others won't see or feel it. If I were you, I'd go to the Middle East, buy a dozen oil fields, set them on fire to pollute the air, and then dump nuclear waste into the ocean to pollute the seas."
"What are you talking about? I am an environmentalist, not a terrorist."
Leonardo retorted.
"In advertising persuasion techniques, there's emotional engagement, rational appeal, and fear appeal. I think the latter is more effective. Like now, no matter how terrible you describe the earth's environment, even if 2012 was really the end of the world, it's nothing compared to a comet appearing in the sky, bringing about an even greater shock."
Link explained.
"Link is absolutely right."
Tobey Maguire nodded in agreement.
The others also thought Link made sense, and some seriously and others jokingly told Leonardo to try burning a few oil fields.
Leonardo considered it for a moment, feeling it might indeed be more effective, but then he quickly shook his head, feeling that he should never talk about environmentalism in front of Link again, as it would end up taking him down a wrong path.
"Alright, enough about that. Let's continue the game, Link, are you in for this round?"
Leonardo looked at his hand, smiling at Link.
Link glanced at his sports watch, "I have to pick up Eva from work. This is my last hand, so I'm going all in. If I win, I'll treat everyone to coffee."
Link put the remaining 1200 US Dollars into the pot.
"I fold!"
Tobey Maguire mucked his hand.
"I fold too. Link plays very cautiously; he only stays to the last round when he's holding strong cards,"
Woody Harrelson also threw down his hand.
Only Link and Leonardo were left at the table.
Leonardo glanced at Link, then at his own hand, hesitated for a few seconds, grit his teeth, and chose to fold.
"Everyone folded? Then I won't be shy."
Link laughed heartily, scooping up everyone's bets from the pot, including his, totaling over two thousand US Dollars.
"Link, what was your hand?"
Leonardo asked.
"You didn't bet to see the hand, so there's no need to know. Everyone, I have to go now, we'll meet again next time."
Link smiled lightly, called a waiter to pay the bill for everyone, and then left the cafe.
Leonardo riffled through the deck, finding Link's discarded three cards—a spade 10, a diamond 7, and a diamond 3. The five community cards on the table were a heart A, a diamond K, a heart J, a heart 8, and a club 2.
So Link's highest hand was a high card Ace, the weakest in Texas Hold'em.
Fuck! Leonardo slammed the table, furious, as he had held a full house with three Aces and a pair of Jacks but was bluffed into folding by Link's high card.
—
Link drove to the entrance of Lionsgate Films, and after waiting two minutes, saw Eva emerge from the building, dressed in loose-fitting, yet still sexy apparel. Link got out of the car, opened the door for her, and invited her in.
"Is that bouquet for me?"
Eva asked, seeing the flowers on the seat and smiling.
"Of course, who else?"
Link kissed her, then told her about just finishing training, being pulled into a game of Texas Hold'em by Leonardo, and accidentally making over two thousand US Dollars.
Eva listened and chuckled lightly, asking if they should go out for dinner since he won some money.
Link thought it was a great idea. He called Catherine, and they picked up Anne and Selena on the way to the pier for a seafood feast.