This is a translation of projectMDHM‘s “petite amie magique ~Madoka and Homura’s Exam Week~”.
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【Homura】 「Ahem, the game that we’ll be playing…… is poker!」
Poker…! The famous card game!
【Homura】 「This time, let’s play…. 『Texas hold ’em』.」
【Homura】 「Would you like to go over the rules?」
Yes please!
【Madoka】 「What kind of game is it?」
【Homura】 「All right…. Let me explain.」
Homura-chan begins describing the game.
Texas hold ’em…. Also known as 『Texas poker』…! It’s currently the most popular form of poker across the world!
What separates this from other poker games is that players can use a combination of the 5 community cards that are dealt on the table and the 2 cards that are dealt to them.
A review of what a playing set (hand) is in poker: The weakest card is the number 2 and the strongest card is Ace. In the case of the same rank, the winner is determined by the strength of the card. Suits (marks) are not ranked.
The order of ranking from the weakest are as follows:
No pair: There is no set. If all players have no pairs, the player with the best (strongest) card wins.
One pair: A pair of the same kind. If all players have one pair, the player with the strongest pair wins.
Two pair: Two pairs of the same kind. The player with the strongest out of all pairs wins.
Three of a kind: Three cards of the same kind.
Straight: A consecutive set of cards, regardless of the suit. If all players have a straight, the player with the strongest card in a straight wins. Ace can count as less than 2 or greater than king.
Flush: Any 5 cards of the same suit.
Full house: A combination of a three of a kind and one pair. If all players have a full house, the player with the strongest three of a kind wins.
Four of a kind: Four cards of the same kind.
Straight flush: A straight and a flush at the same time. A straight from 10 to Ace is called a royal flush.
The flow of a 『Texas hold ’em』 game: (Please note that this is an explanation for two players. It is slightly different from regular rules because typically there is a larger number of players.)
First, the dealer places a SB (small blind), and the player who isn’t the dealer places a BB (big blind).
This is a forced bet (betting of chips) that one places every match without doing anything. The role of the dealer changes each match.
The pot is the total amount of chips bet during a match. The winner of a match gets all of the chips in the pot. In the case of a draw, the chips are divided evenly.
For this game, SB is set to 5 chips, and BB is set to 10 chips.
Next, after players are dealt 2 cards, the 1st round of betting begins.
The first bet (SB) is placed by the dealer. If the opponent bets the same amount of chips, it is called a 『call』, if they bet a higher amount it is called a 『raise』, and if they forfeit the match it is called a 『fold』.
If the player folds, the opponent wins by default and all of the chips that were bet goes to them.
If the dealer also calls or raises, then the other player can as well.
This continues until both players bet the same amount of chips, and then 3 of the 5 community cards are flipped over (flop).
Community cards can be used by both players. The player should try to anticipate the opponent’s hand based on their bet and the available cards.
Then the 2nd round of betting begins. It starts with the player who placed the BB making a 『call (check)』, 『raise』, or a 『fold』, and this continues until both bet the same amount of chips.
(Checking does not increase the amount of chips bet, and passes the turn to your opponent.)
When both players have bet the same amount of chips, the 4th community card is flipped over.
Then there’s the 3rd round of betting. It is similar to the previous rounds.
After the 5th card is revealed is the final round of betting. Then, both players show their hand.
In this case, Madoka has one pair of 10s, while Homura has a pair of 10s and 6s, making Homura the winner.
This concludes the basic flow of the game.
No need to.
【Homura】 「Okay, we will be playing 10 matches…. We’ll both start with 100 chips. SB is 5 chips, and BB is 10 chips…」
【Homura】 「After 10 matches, we will see who has more chips… what do you think?」
【Madoka】 「What if one of us reaches 0 chips before then?」
【Homura】 「They will lose automatically.」
【Madoka】 「Got it!」
After a game of rock-paper-scissors, we decide that Homura-chan will start off as the dealer.
She takes out a deck of cards from her shield, and skillfully shuffles it.
【Homura】 「Please cut the deck.」
I cut the deck roughly in half as she requested.
【Homura】 「Oh right, I’ll leave my soul gem in your care. This way, I can’t use magic to cheat.」
【Madoka】 「I know you wouldn’t do something like that.」
【Homura】 「This is a high-stakes game. We need to take such precautions. Even without magic, I don’t plan on losing.」
Her declaration proves that her confidence is not simply for show.
That’s right…. I’ll be facing against Homura-chan, the cool beauty with an unbreakable poker face…!
And since we’re playing poker, she would have the advantage at this game!
… However, anyone with a poker face would think that they have the upper hand!
We’ve gone through ups and downs together, so I know all of the subtle hints of her feelings…. I don’t miss any changes in her expression, no matter how small…!
This game… will be a cinch!!
◆Game 1◆
Homura-chan is the dealer.
My hand is… 10 of clubs, and 8 of diamonds. Hmm, it’s not bad, but not too good.
Since it’s only the first game, maybe I should wait it out?
Just then, she folded after placing the SB of 5 chips.
【Madoka】 「!?」
Oh right…. I just remembered. Homura-chan is what you’d call a 『tight』 player…. In other words, she’s cautious.
I’ve heard that poker games have a very mathematical aspect.
As long as there’s no trickery, the cards have a set chance of appearing, so you can tell whether betting is risky or not…. An experienced person would be able to calculate it.
But that strategy only works long-term.
If there’s only 10 matches, you can take some risks, and with luck you’ll keep the momentum to victory!
Aletheia 