In under a minute, the first cards had been dealt. Without having needed to be told, Troy only took a glance at them, before letting them stay on the table. They had not been strong in their start, having only possessed a jack of hearts and seven of diamonds. No initial pairs to talk about, nor were they of the same group. Their chances of winning had only been lessened by these cards. Yet so would most cards do. In actuality, they had been well off, once one took into account the potential other mixes of cards.

"Not looking too poor over here", Soren murmured, taking a sharp look at his cards. "How does it look on your end, Troy? Got any sound cards?"

"What?" Troy answered automatically with no composure to his voice. If the last game of poker had been any hint, the game was commonly played with no conversation. Poker faces were, as the name bent towards, designed for poker. The fewer expressions the better. Outright declaring how one’s cards were resembling was not a preferable method of gambling.

Yet… Adam was not sure what to make of the man’s statement. No signs of lying were open. The hands were as calm as ever when placing the cards back down on the table. His eyes were easy-going, never straining too hard in focus. They fluttered around the room, surveying it for details. Not out of desperation but simply because it was a way to pass the time. Not much mind had been reserved to the cards themselves. Their values had been noted in his memory, and that was all that had been done.

According to the analysis, Soren fully believed his own words. He really did see his cards as better than average. Knowing such a thing, Adam had no reason to play his cards. Folding now, and hoping for something better in the next round, would be the logical thing to do. Which was precisely why the AI refused to do so. Randomization was needed. Patterns had no place in deceit.

"Your cards. The little squares of paper. Were they any good?" Soren asked again. Amusement was clear on his face.

'Confirm that your cards are of adequate quality. This man wants to remain in a casual contest. It would not do for us to deny him such.`, Adam sent. It was certainly better to control what Troy would be saying, instead of relying on him not to falter.

"They aren't too bad if I'm being honest. Could always be better, but I'm seeing no reason to complain," Troy said, following the instructed message to a degree.

"The grass is always greener on the other side," Soren quoted. The thing one had was always to inferior to, what it was possible to get. A fitting analogy, to their current situation. The AI certainly would have minded working with better cards. It would have allowed him to more calmly gamble the higher amounts of credits.

Speaking of credits. As the first cards had been dealt, the piles of credits had appeared. They were round in shape, letting themselves be stacked upon each other effortlessly. They were different in style, from the standard casino chip. These had an identical value, the colouring scheme being the same on each chip. A more primitive system. But, the goal here was not to cheat people into gambling more than intended. This was a testing of character.

"Are we even allowed to talk, though?" Troy asked back. "Like, isn't it custom to not talk during these things?"

Soren shrugged, a smile growing slightly on his lips.

"Not talking is more of a guideline than a rule. Follow it when you want to. Nobody can kick you out for talking. Certainly not after the last attempt. Got me a lot of shiny coins for following through with that one!" Soren said. At the last bit, he was about to hurl his fit to the table but halted mere centimetres from it. A glance and imperceptible nod were given to the unseen dealer before he went back into the normal sitting position.

"Shall we move this game along?" Soren asked.

"Let's"

With the initial betting round having already transpired, in which only ten credits were deposited each, the time for the first card to be unveiled had come. The gloved hands pulled the top-most card from the stack, putting it in the middle of the table afterwards. With a flick of the finger, it was turned upwards, revealing the value.

A six of spades.

The first to bet was Adam. Not the greatest position to have, in the current situation. And with there being a designated dealer, the position wasn't likely to change. Would it be acknowledged, if a switch of seats were requested? A thing to remember if things went to more extreme situations.

'Keep it to ten`, Adam sent to Troy. Keeping it low would be good for now. If needed, they always had the tactic of over-raising. Few sane people had the audacity to double the bet while having bad cards. The AI was gambling on Soren having the same idea.

The message conveyed was short. Much shorter than what Adam would have preferred to use. 'Keep it to ten` left much up to interpretation. If this was the first time they had played poker together, the AI would not have trusted Troy to interpret the message correctly. It was only through repeated exposure to the system, that he put trust into the man. Messing up now was not too likely.

"Call", Troy said. Ten credits were thrown into the pool, as the trigger switched over to the hands of Soren. The man himself was not slow on the upkeep. Little to no hesitation had been shown before a similar amount was thrown in.

"Call" was accompanied by it. Adam had hoped the man would raise. No further investigation had shown anything of note. Soren had not given the current revealed card any glance, giving into the theory of it not helping him. Which of course took out the chance of him having any sixes. Or he could have a six and was keeping it hidden by hiding behind a wall of nonchalance.

Yet… anything obvious felt by the man would be seen. While the man was anything but emotionless, his face hiding it all behind a facade of chaos. Everything could be interpreted from his expression. Was he happy due to the cards? Was his glance downwards due to the cigarette pack sticking out of the pocket of his jacket or was it due to a hidden stress factor? What was actually going on inside the man’s head? With time, Adam knew he would get to the bottom of it. The entire test was centred around that fact. Some clue had been set up, which would reveal it all to him. He just had to find it.

Due to the lack of more participants, it was time for the second card to be revealed. The AI nearly regretted not asking for more people. More time to focus was always a boon to be had. Even with more people, one could always single individuals out. Mind games always worked best tailored.

The dealer likely said something, with how Soren looked over at the presumed location of the head. Adam twisted the idea of physically interacting with the dealer around in his mind. It would allow a better idea of the many factors in the card selection. The personality was always a variable when it came to the actions of entities. It changed their view, their reactions changing with it. If one knew enough about a person, it was near-certain that a general idea of reactions could be guessed. This was the first step, in manipulating a person’s actions. If the reaction to a scenario was known, one just needed to change the situation, to fit the needed action. Child’s play in theory but hard to facilitate in practice. More data was needed about the person if Adam was to have any chance of succeeding. Simple hand gestures were not enough, given any amount of time. Full-body showcasing would decrease the time needed immensely.

In what scenario could Troy accidentally touch the dealer? Being quite a distance away, nearly three seats in broad terms, falling to the side would not cover the needed length. A sudden cramp had the potential of causing a sudden jump, giving him ample time to get within reach. Yet in such a scenario, the game would more likely be stopped in favour of giving medical aid. There had to be something, which would trigger proximity. Adam was sure of it. Adaptional technology was already in existence, and he knew that it was used. Situations could be created with the idea of it even being mentioned.

What if… Troy accused the casino of cheating. The shuffling of cards, giving one party better cards than the other. It would be nearly impossible to prove but would take time. The time which could be used to… Adam was overthinking it all. Already, too much time had passed outside, and the card had revealed itself.

An eight of clubs. Soren’s grin widened if only a flash. An obvious sign of enjoyment, nearly hitting levels of obvious fabrication.

The AI had wasted time on obscure ideas. Focus had not been distributed correctly, with most of the thought-process focussed on finding hypothetical situations. Only a few had stood fast in the observations. If not for them, Adam would likely not have noticed the continuation of the game.

With pure statistics, they were down to forty per cent chance of winning. Still, with how early they were into it, the cards had the potential to twist the odds.

"It's looking better and better from here," Soren said. The smile was nearly goofy, with the older gentleman looking the happiest he had been in the short while they had met. "Why don't you do both of us a favour, and drop a few extra credits into that pool of ours?"

Troy did not obey. Not that he would have called either way. The bearer of the earpiece was waiting for the word of Adam, who would be dishing out the commands. The AI had no intention of counting the game currently. A more important factor had shown itself. One which needed immediate reply.

'Question his words. Revealing the values of one’s own cards is not within what an experienced player would do.`, Adam sent.

"Are you sure that you've tried this before?" Troy asked right back, putting the older man’s integrity into question. "Saying how you're doing with your current, private hand is not within standard techniques."

"That did not answer my question, but I didn't expect you to answer it anyway, so I'm fine with it. To be polite, though, I will answer yours." Soren began it up with. Troy was clearly ready to interrupt him, after the first sentence, but was stopped by the continued stream of words. "If you think standard techniques will work against me, kid, you best fold now and cut your losses. I work in the abstract, and it works with me in kind. Take my words as truth. I have good cards. It will require more than good playing if you want to beat me right now. I hope for the best, from your side."

Again. There it showed itself yet again. Adam saw nothing implying that the man was lying. No hesitation, no stupor, no signs of lying. Eye contact was constant, without it being put into self-consciousness. The right hand had been slowly nudging itself against Soren’s jacket. It would not be long before the pocket was reached. Adam wondered if he would smoke during the game. The AI certainly wouldn't mind it. More actions would certainly lead to more reactions. But, how many would be false positives? In the very least, he would have more to go on, than what he currently had. It could not get worse.

'Let us humour him. Do as he said. Raise the bet by… ten. Twenty in total.`, Adam sent. Arrogance was transmuted into the message. Troy had not been as peaceful, after Soren’s statement. Hesitation was not within the prefered emotions. Distractions would prove worthwhile, in this instance. If the AI had to make himself the distraction, then so be it.

The words seemed to have put Troy back into the game. He sat a little straighter, his breaths exhaling more air than what was being taken in. His head was tilted slightly forward, yet his gaze formed a full horizontal line. Eye contact was constant, neither feeling discomfort from keeping it up.

"I’m raising the bar then," Troy said, throwing in twenty credits. Collectively, the pool now sat at sixty credits.

Soren had the eyes of wonderment. However, his lower face showed just how much enjoyment he felt towards it. And it wasn't in favour of the two.

"There might just be hope in you yet, Troy. Can't trust those who follow the formula. Those people take the easy way in life. It's the hardest track, which we must walk if we want to learn!" Soren exclaimed. He threw in no meagre sum himself. But, from the quick count performed, as they flew towards the pool, Adam saw the same twenty credits. He had called. No raising had been done from his side. Curious.

"The standard techniques are there for a reason, Soren. It's created by the best, to be followed by the worst so they could rise as well. There has to be some reason, for their continued existence, right?" Troy said not so solemnly. It was clearly mean sarcastically, but little pressure had been put on the tone. Not the best pull off, that could have been performed.

"Wise words. Not some I agree with, but wise words nonetheless. The best did not create it, for the others to rise to their levels. That's needless competition. Each has their own way of playing the game. Expecting other techniques to work with your own style will only hamper you in the long run. No man can change enough, for red to look purple to him. It is a fact of life that few will ever learn. Creating your own style, your own technique is one of the few ways, that the true heights can be reached. Success? Can be done with nearly everything. Understanding? That is for oneself to create. Others can not to it for you," Soren answered.

"... We’re still talking about poker, right?"

"Among other things."

The next card would be flipped any second now. Adam hoped for the best.