Blackjack

**Blackjack** (ブラックジャック) is a game in the Kakegurui Twin series played by Tsuzura against Shougou as an attempt to get back the 9 million yen that Nadeshiko lost against Shougou and Mikoto.

## Rules

The goal of Blackjack is to get a hand value that is closer to 21 than the other player’s, without going over 21. The game begins with a dealing round, a betting round, then a showdown. During the dealing round, the dealer gives each player two cards. If a player *hits*, they get another card which is dealt to them facedown. If a player *stands*, they won’t get any more cards. When both players *stood*, the betting round begins.

Participants can bet, raise, call, or fold. If neither side folds, a showdown determines the winner: the player closer to 21 without getting over 21. Jacks, Queens, and Kings all count as 10. Aces count as 1 or 11 depending on which is better for the player. Hands that go over 21 can’t win the game. The strongest possible hand is a natural blackjack which comprises an ace and a 10. One chip has a value of 100,000 yen.

## Game

Kaede, Yua, Shougou, and Literary Club members show up for the match. Tsuzura plays Blackjack with Shougou. Yukimi picks a deck of cards and Kaede is the dealer. Each player receives their cards. Tsuzura got a three and a nine. If she gets a ten or a face card, she busts. Any other card will improve her chances of winning. She hits and obtains a two. Shougou stands. Tsuzura hits again. She gets a five and now has 19.

Tsuzura then stands. The betting round begins. Tsuzura bets two chips. Shougou surprises his opponent by raising to ten chips. Tsuzura calls. She wins the showdown with 19 against 16. Shougou says that he assumed Tsuzura would fold. The second round begins. Tsuzura received an ace and an eight. She thus has a hand worth 19 and decides to stand. Shougou hits once and then stands. He starts the betting with two chips. Tsuzura shocks the spectators and her opponents by raising the bet to twenty chips. This is a 2-million-yen bet.

Shougou admits that Tsuzura exceeds his expectations. He then gives her a lesson on how to apply pressure. Shougou goes all in. The middle schoolers want to put 8 million yen at stake in this single round. Tsuzura thinks that the three outcomes possible are that it’s a bluff to make her fold, his hand is around 17 to 20 and he’s betting off of that, or he has a blackjack. She folds. Shougou receives 20 chips.

Shougou doesn’t reveal that he had 4, 7, and a jack, which is a Blackjack. He tells himself that Tsuzura was doomed from the start. Tsuzura starts the bet with one chip in the next turn. Shougou immediately goes all in. Tsuzura’s hand comprises a 10, 3, and 9, so she folds. Shougou goes all in in the next two turns. Tsuzura gets a Blackjack in the following turn. Shougou quickly folds, giving his opponent one chip. Mary can’t believe the boy is folding only when Tsuzura has a good hand.

Yukimi realizes that the situation is terrible when Shougou is leading the game 165 chips to 15. Both sides go all in in the following round. Tsuzura is out of chips, as she loses the showdown 14 to 21. Mikoto congratulates Shougou.

## Rematch Request

The Literary Club can afford the 9 million Tsuzura owes. Yukimi tells Tsuzura that losing in gambling happens. Mary thinks there is a chance for Tsuzura to come back. She doesn’t know how to inform her about it without the middle schoolers noticing. As the middle school students are about to exit, Mary asks them to stake 18 million yen.

She wants them to play a single round. Shougou doubts that the risk is worth taking. Mary convinces them to play again by staking the Literary Club on the game. If Tsuzura loses the single round, the Literary Club goes to Shougou and Mikoto. They agree to play again.

## Rematch, Cheating Allegations & Aftermath

Shougou wagers 18 million while Tsuzura wages the Literary Club. This round will be the only one even if the game ends in a tie. Shougou thinks Tsuzura is crazy for accepting this bet. In Blackjack, a side shouldn’t have results as overwhelming as Shougou had. He’s cheating.

Shougou is sure that Tsuzura has an eight and an ace. He thinks the last three cards in the deck are seven, ten, and king. Since Tsuzura has a hand worth of 19, Shougou is convinced that she’ll stand. Tsuzura hits, shocking Shougou and Mikoto. Mikoto slams the table and asks Tsuzura why she hit while having a 19. Mary smirks and points out that Mikoto just revealed they were cheating.

Shougou asks when Mary figured it out, which confirms that they cheated. Mary figured it out recently because there was a logical sequence of cards being dealt. She’s convinced the deck has been pre-shuffled in a specific order. Mary explains that it was shuffled into a Si Stebbins stack. This permitted Shougou to know exactly every hand’s value and the next card in the deck. Yukimi asks about the dealer just shuffling the deck. Since the middle school students asked Kaede to cut with one hand, the sequence wasn’t altered.

Kaede hadn’t been involved in this. Mikoto and Shougou didn’t have the opportunity to touch the deck and the Literary Club high school students had nothing to gain by cooperating against Tsuzura. Mary comes to the conclusion that Yua cheated and collaborated with Mikoto and Shougou.

Mary accuses Yua of cheating. Yua denies that she did and points out that the deck was selected by Yukimi. Mary explains that Yua had rearranged the order of all the decks on their shelves. That’s the reason she joined their club. Mikoto and Shougou waited for Yua to have everything set before coming.

From the start, the three middle schoolers were working together. If Tsuzura didn’t hit, Shougou would have either been stuck with 14 by standing or would have busted by having a hand value of 24 by hitting. Mikoto is stunned. Mikoto understands the skills of the person that defeated Aoi.

Yua suggests they flip Tsuzura’s last card over. Yua asks however that the Literary Club doesn’t take back the 9 million yen they’ve won from Nadeshiko. Mikoto and Shougou had beaten Nadeshiko without cheating. Yua cries and reminds Mary that her schoolmates used to be housepets.

Yua helped them, and they’ve got their freedom back. She doesn’t think they’ll be able to come back again from housepet status. Having money is how they can avoid becoming housepets again. Yua adds that Mikoto and Shougou are her only friends and implores Mary to let them keep 9 million. Mary explains that gambling is about taking risks. Yua wipes her tears. She says that she can now humiliate Mary without hesitation. Yua presses Tsuzura to flip her last card. It should be a seven of hearts, however, it’s a ten of spades. Yua tells Kaede that Shougou will hit.

Mary is anxious, as she’s certain Yua didn’t make a mistake shuffling the cards. Yua asks Mary where she thinks the seven went if Tsuzura received a ten. Mary’s anxiety rises as Shougou should have a J, 4, and 7, forming a 21. Both players stand. Shougou defeats Tsuzura in the showdown 21 to 19.

Yukimi is in complete disbelief, as the 7 and 10 have somehow switched places. The middle schoolers could have earned enough profit before anyone noticed them cheating. If they got found out, they’d just drop out of the game. The game wouldn’t be deemed invalid because the deck was in a specific order.

She explains that Tsuzura having an 8 and an ace and Shougou having a 4 and a J was a combo in which Tsuzura would stand if she wasn’t aware of the cheat but would hit if she was aware of it. Since Yua switched the 7 and 10’s places, Tsuzura hitting gave her a hand worth 19 and resulted in Shougou getting a 21. If Yua didn’t switch up these cards, Tsuzura hitting would have given her 16 against Shougou having 14 or busting.

Mary is shocked, as there was no need for this. The middle school students would still be 9 million yen up if they refused their challenge. Mary thinks Yua only made that switch, so she had an opportunity to make more money. She successfully read Mary. Kaede declares Shougou the gamble’s winner. Yua says she’ll be managing the Literary Club from now on. She’s now its president. Yukimi angrily asks Yua why she targeted them. Yua responds that it’s because they destroyed her brother. Yua is Aoi’s little sister.