House Operator

The first three deals were in the nature of warmups, and Rafferty emerged from them twenty or thirty credits to the good. He felt the cards moving the right way; luck was with him tonight. He wondered if he could come away with a million. The Casino had no limit.

Fourth hand he decided to experiment with some offensive tactics. Steel dealt; Rafferty scooped up his cards and looked them over. Jack, Four, Eight, Seven, King. Spade, club, spade, heart, diamond. Coolly he fanned the cards out and pushed a hundred credits toward the middle of the table. Steel saw him.