The Grand Pazaak Tournament - IC Thread

[Nor'baal]

The Rules​

• Each match will be done via the Pazaak Generator
• A game will be played within 48 hours of the pairings being announced. It is up to the pairing to arrange a time. Should the pairing not play, and an attempt to arrange a time has been made, the person who missed the time will be forfeited.
• Once a match has been played out, each player will make one post detailing their match, from their characters point of view.
• These posts are to be at least three paragraphs.
• The winning player must make it clear they have won in an OOC note at the end of their post.
• The next round will then be paired within 48 hours, and then shall start.
• The tournament will be PvP and death disabled, no violent actions will be taken against another Player.
• Each player will 'pay' 1000 credits to enter. They will be playing for 1,000,000 credits, at the end of the final round. This means you cannot 'buy out' rather you aim for the million, or nothing.

Round One Pairings

Pairing One
@Loco vs @Nor'baal

Pairing Two
@Jinan B vs @Proleptic

Pairing Three
@Lady Sendrenis Autumn vs @Loco

Pairing Four
@Fyreleader vs @Raydo​

An almost heady amount of smoke filled the room, creeping up to the glistening lights that adorned the roof of he wide hall, filled to the brim with Gamblers, Socialites and Drinkers galore. At the center of the room a single Pazaak Table, larger and more impressive than the others, lies - and it is here that the Tournament is to be played. A droid with about eight arms, the dealer, gestures you over....

 

[Lady Sendrenis Autumn]

The humanoid lady with the long white dress sat first. The two men escorting her both waited in a corner of the room, never leaving her sight from her and her surroundings. Despite the organizers knowing her true identity, she would simply remain "White" for the tournament's duration, spectators or players. Since aliases were allowed, she didn't lost a lot of time finding this simple, although fitting, one. Apparently, the lady had a thing for cards and gambling. She wasn't really addicted or anything, but clearly an enthusiat. She never dared to participate in any competition before, but she dared a lot recently. When your life is constantly threatened, you don't see things the same way anymore.
She grabbed some cards in order to compose the sidedeck. She had a very precise idea on how to build hers ; as every player did. One could see her sight lowers to the table despite her half masked face. For only her mouth, cheeks and chin remained visible.

"Sir." The hapan nodded with small smile, as her first opponent sat next to her.
​

Quickly, the game began. The best out of three matches, the rule stated. Each match requiring three winning rounds to score.
The first one were very disappointing. The cards kept putting her ahead - which was a bad thing in pazaak - and she reached high values before her opponent did, having her to 'stay' close to twenty without reaching it twice, and giving all the room for the man to adapt and use his hand to reach just one point above her in value and win the round. He didn't had to even play a card the second round to create a tie despite her needing to. She luckily would won the third one but her luck betrayed her quickly enough and the cards just wouldn't allow any decent play. At some point, she was even using a few of the precious four cards of her hand just to buy time but even that desperate mesure did not help her She lost the first match.
Under pressure, she still kept a straight face when her sight rose to the man.

"Well played." She humbly stated. And turned around to order a drink.
​

The second match was one of the closest she ever played. She quickly losts the first two rounds and there was nothing she could have done to prevent it. Then a tie. And then, she somehow managed to win one on a lucky draw and, a few moments after that... even two. The tension was apparent as she slid a couple of fingers over her lips. Two against two. She drew a card : twenty. No need to use her hand. She glanced over to see her opponent's board. Twenty eight. That was way too much... She just had won the second match. Taking a sip with a large smile, facing the man again.

"It appears we have to play the third one." She taunted him in a friendly yet playful way. Giggling in relief.
​

This one went way more smoothly. The cards drawn would perfectly match in order to allow her to reach the holy twenty value. The first round won itself in her favor. Good. The second started to spread some doubts in her mind as she was now only two points away from defeat. But also was the man. She gathered herself and focused on the game. Although it was true that luck was doing the most part of the game, there was still a little bit of skill and strategy involved and she had to do things right to make it happen. Or did she ? For the negative cards she had in hand served her not. The ones she drew perfectly matched to reach twenty again. Twice.
She sighed. The sweet, warm taste of victory. How delightful. Let's see how far she could go and how many times she could enjoy this lovely feeling.

Spoiler

OOC : Sendrenis won.

​

 

[Loco]

Pairing Three:
@Lady Sendrenis Autumn vs @Loco​

Seriously? Seventeen? This wasn't how he'd imagined things going at all. He'd come into the casino with visions of a clean sweep, leaning back easily in his chair, stone faced and smoking a cigarra with his shades on. Now here he was, tied one to one for matches with the White Lady, two sets into the tiebreaker, and the dealers throws him a seven-kriffing-teen. Rau eyed his hand, trying hard to let on how nervous he was starting to get- amazing he thought, how calm he was in so much more dangerous situations, but here he was sitting at a pazaak table sweating like a Sith chick in a Jedi Temple. Two cards left, -3 and -4. Not great odds, but not impossible. He had to match her twenty to keep the match going, or this set would be his last in the tournament.

"Hit me luv." Rau winked confidently at the attractive blue Twi'lek girl dealing his table. She didn't need to know he could barely breath right now. A hush fell over the Casino as delicate painted nail drew another card off the deck and slowly, dramatically, flipped it over in front of him. A five.

"Twenty Two."

The spectators "oooohed" and "aaahed" as Rau busted his target. All eyes and other assorted sensory organs focused in on the Centran Mercenary trying to discern a reaction that could affect their bets. There was probably more riding on this game for the other gamblers present than there was for either of the card sharks seated at the table. The room was quickly filled with muffled voices and the shuffling of credits as man and beast and all those in between tried to squeeze in their last wagers. Rau let them have their moment as he shifted his gaze to his opponent. Who would have expected that such a striking woman could maintain such a straight face in a situation like this? It was like playing with a Mon-Cal- big, unblinking eyes zeroed in on him, not helping his nerves at all. Now matter how straight he kept his face he felt those big eyes behind the cute little masquerade mask piercing straight into his soul. Rau licked his lips and slowly slid a hand card onto the table. Maintaining eye contact with his partner, he flipped it over- -4.

"Eighteen"

This was it. Play of the game. It was close. Too close. Rau wondered what was going on behind those big, unblinking eyes. He flagged down a server droid, his eyes still not wavering from hers, and plucked a Correlian whiskey from the astromechs little tray. His chances here were tiny- he needed a 2 or another 5 in order to tie things up again. The hardened killers hand shook subtly as he brought the glass to his lips.

"Hit."

The Twi'lek girl grinned at him- appreciating the daring, he hoped. Or maybe she was just softening what was sure to be a blow. The card slid across the table in what seemed like agonizing slow motion. The room was dead silent. The two players held eachothers gaze intently. Rau was sweating profusely. The dealer flipped the card...

Spoiler: OOC

Rau goes home empty handed, but might still have a shot with the Twi'Lek girl later.

 

[Jedan Ridan]

Jedan practically swanned into the room, confidence after all was at least 10% of the game at hand - or at least so he had told himself several times before he had walked in. Taking his seat at the table, he nodded to his rival, a Rodian that he understood went by the name 'Squeebo'. Tapping his hand, he signaled for his deck to be handed to him. Four cards, mostly reds - hardly ideal, leaving him little room to adapt and to respond to the moves of his rival. The first few hands passed in a blurr, soon drawing to a standstill. 2:2, the final hand of the first set was to be drawn.

He smiled cockily, trying to keep up appearances, yet to no avail. He flunked on the last hand, he could have sworn he heard someone in the audience laugh. Frak you, he cursed, inwardly insulting the audience member as the next set began. Much better this time, a good balance of blues and reds, easier to adapt to the deck. Naturally, just when lady luck graced him, he was forced to bleed his deck to stay in the game, and by the last hand he was totally out of cards.

"Don't let me down now girl." he muttered to himself, asking Lady Luck to smile in his favor on this final hand. She did, someone in the audience groaned - clearly they had money on the Rodian. "The Final Set. Gentlemen, your call." announced the dealer, instructing the participants to collect their side deck again, and get ready for the final set. Come on!, he growled to himself, ready and pumped for the final hand.

Now this is Pazaak! he laughed to himself as with only one card remaining, and on the final hand, he stared down his rival. A bead of sweat rolled down his head, he couldn't lose now. Gently, and with almost deliberate pause, the dealer showed the final card. Yes! he shouted to himself, desperately avoiding showing his glee on his face as his sheer dumb luck pure skill had won the day. Rising from his seat, he nodded to the Rodian. "Good Game." he said to the man as a member of the audience burst into tears, their life savings having been squandered for naught.

Spoiler: OOC

Jedan Wins!

 

[Loco]

If Squeebo could sweat, he would have been sweating. Instead he was oozing pungent body oil at a rate likely to turn the humans and other creatures in the crowd with developed olfactory senses into a puking mess if this tournament were to go on very much longer. It was getting musky in here. Squeebo suckled his snout, tasting the fear from the man sitting across from him. Mr. Good Hair, he would call this one. Mr Good Hair was looking him dead in his giant, buggy black eyes, desperately searching for something to help him anticipate his opponent. But Squeebo wouldn't be letting anything on. Squeebo didn't have anything to let on.

He'd skated through the first two matches entirely on luck. Normally a skilled card player, the Rodian was suffering the wrath of the card gods, who packed had his hands with useless high Reds and even higher Blues that he hardly ever got the chance to play. If he'd been thinking right this morning, he would have ritually sacrificed a Ghizka pup before he came into the casino, but it was too late now. Now the cards were on the table, and it was his turn to lose another round. It was all coming down to one final set.

Squeebo's antenna twitched. Mr Good Hair had a single bead of sweat rolling down his giant forehead. The dealer, crinkling his nose, slowly moved back and forth. Hit. <Hit>. Hit. <Hit>. Hit. The veteran gamblers hardly glanced at their hands- their focus was entirely on each other. Man vs Lizard. Mr Good Hair pulled a 20 and stayed his hand. Squeebo had an 18 and a high Red in his hand. Bantha-Poodoo. It was all or nothing now.

<Hit>

The Dealer tossed down another card... 28!?!?! Squeebo didn't have a Red card that high! Antenna twitching wildly in rage, he briefly considered trying to cheat his way out of this, but deep down he knew there wasn't any such thing as a -8 card. Enraged at his inability to cheat his way out of this situation, and with the crowd going wild behind him, Squeebo did the next best thing he could think of, and accused Mr. Good Hair of cheating himself.

<ECHUTA CHEESKA PEEDUNKY! MI KILLEE UBA UBA CHUBA DOOMPA, DOPA-MASKEY KUNG! UBA CHEESPA BO KOOPA!!>

Spoiler: OOC

Squeebo gets escorted out of the building. Squeebo will have his revenge.

 

[Raydo]

Pairing Four: Raydo - 2 / Fyreleader -1

You couldn't tell he was a Jedi by his appearance. He had forgone the traditional robes and lightsaber he was accustomed to and donned the attire of an anonymous smuggler. He had been in the area for some time investigating a rising group of slavers. To get closer to the group, he had entered a fairly high stakes Pazaak tournament. He had played his fair share during his time on Chandrila, but not at this level. He had paid his 1,000 credit buy in and sat down at the table with a whiskey.

He nodded to his opponent as the first hand was dealt. The man seemed familiar to Aldrus, but he couldn't place his finger on it. As the match began he dismissed the thought. The matches were best of three and Aldrus quickly pulled out ahead in the first game and found himself 2 hands to his opponents one hand. As the cards began to add up on the first fourth hand of the match, Aldrus found himself at 19, as the next card was flipped over he found himself at 22. Sitting back in his seat he threw down a card that brought him back down to 20. The match was his. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed the game as the familiar adrenaline rush filled his body as the second match began.

He had mostly gotten lucky the first the first match, which seemed to end during the second match. Aldrus threw his hand cards down, as the first and second hands were draws. His opponent hadn't used a single one of his cards and soon was able to leverage that to crush Aldrus, quickly taking the second match. This is when Aldrus began experiencing the other feelings associated with card games, dread. Had he just wasted 1,000 credits only to get knocked out before learning anything? His opponent was not who he was here to investigate. If he lost the next hand, he was done.

Aldrus sat back in his chair a bit, finishing off his drink and ordering another whiskey. "And bring one for my new friend here." he said warmly tilting his head to the man sitting across from him. As the young women laid the drinks down on the table, the third match was beginning. The match was quick. A combination of the right cards from his side deck and luck of the draw scored Aldrus another 3-1 victory and the game.

As the crowd that had gathered around the table began to disperse, the feeling that he recognized the man from somewhere returned. As he stood up, he once again nodded to the man and ordered another round of whiskey for himself and the man if he wished.​

 

[Fyremage]

Although his job demanded a level of propriety and discretion, Gregory could hardly remember the last time he had fun on his own. Sure, he enjoyed the pastime of hunting, but it had been far too long since he had partaken of his other hobby: pazaak.

And so he ventured to a small, discrete locale wherein the buy-in was modest, and where hopefully he could go unrecognized. He took great pains to accomplish this. He was bedecked in a dark colored jacket that covered the length of his form, with a brimmed hat that adorned his head. For all intents and purposes, he looked like a common spacer, and thanks to the dim lighting of this... establishment, his face was well obscured under the thin layer of stubble lining his features. The manner in which he carried himself, however, would likely betray him. And it was then that he noted the look of familiarity on his opponent's face. 'Oh well.' Thought the Chancellor to himself: 'What's done is done.'

And so the game was to be played. He had purchased a new deck prior to his arrival. The deck was nothing fancy, a few simple plus and minus cards. He would have used his old deck passed down by his father, but he had neither the time nor the forethought to do so. And so far, the hands played as well as one could imagine whilst using such a basic deck. The first hand went quickly, with the second hand only being one by pure aggressiveness and a smattering of luck. The third hand was quick, and completely anti climactic. It was then that he peered up and accepted the glass of whiskey from his opponent, but only after sprinkling a fine powder into the drink so as to detect any types of poisons or drugs.

To his pleasure, the powder remained uncolored, which meant the drink was not tampered with, and he accepted it gratefully. "Well played, my friend."

@Raydo

 

[Jinan B]

Pairing Two
Cameron FosterJinan B vs Proleptic​

Why was he here?

Such was the question that Braedon found himself asking himself, and not for the first time either, as he sat down to play the first game of this Pazaak tournament. Why was it that he had distracted himself from his aims in order to compete in some Smuggler's game? Why was it that he had potentially thrown away 1000 credits that he could use to get himself to the Core Worlds where he needed to be?

In the end, he supposed, he just had to get away from his problems. He had gotten used to being on the run, hiding from the Sith for his desertion, hiding from the Republic for his corruption. He was used to it, he supposed, even hiding his face under his old cloak as he waited for his opponent. Now, however, he was supposed to be coming out of his hiding. He was supposed to meet up with some of the people who he had taken such great pains to avoid for the last 10 years. Perhaps he just wasn't ready to stop hiding yet.

Besides, he would hardly suffer with 1000000 credits in his favor.

Either way, it seemed as if his first opponent was not making an appearance. When the announcers voice rang out for the eighth time, Braedon was practically assured that he would not be playing anyone until the next round commenced. He supposed it was better that way, even if he was rather keen in actually getting the chance to play some Pazaak with another organic being for a change. On the bright side, a victory by forfeit made the odds of him winning this competition ever so slightly more likely.

Finally the announcer made the tenth call, and Braedon moved away from the Pazaak table. He called for a drink, something that he could enjoy, but without the risk of affecting his combat ability should the worst come to pass.

He would just have to wait for the next round in order to finally have a proper game.

Spoiler

"Eh. I'll just bow out. You can write yourself in as winning. I'll delete my IC post and you can play with someone else next round. I'm not that invested anyways"
-Proleptic

Braedon wins through forfeit, unfortunately :(

 

[Jinan B]

Jinan B Vs @Lady Sendrenis Autumn​

So it all came down to just a single match. Figures.

The Thrysian had really looked like he was down on his luck in the first match, losing out quickly and despite taking what he had thought to only be the most calculated of risks. The second match had started just as badly, with his opponent pulling out a 20 without even having to put down a card straight off the bat. Luckily enough, he had managed to pull himself back into the fight, and so now the game stood 1 all. Whoever won the first match would be going to the final.

It started well enough all things considered, but before long the final match descended into nothing better than the first match itself. Even after winning the first set, he had to pull himself together, dropping cards like it was the last set of the game. Before he knew it, he was 2-1 down, with no card in hand.

Come on... Come on! Sweat dripped down Braedon's brow as he looked at the unfolding set, hoping against hope that he would strike out lucky and pull off the upset of the millennium.

Then his opponent got dealt a card free 20

Damn! The man's only chance now was for him to be dealt a straight 20 himself, and another couple good hands while his opponent struck out herself. His odds were beyond terrible.

The dealer flipped over the next card, putting him at a risky 16. This was it, there was no hope of pulling off a 9 card victory, he would have to be dealt a 4 if he even wanted to stay in the game. The dealer seemed to almost sense his fear, taking the card and moving it, ever so slowly, towards the table. With just the same amount of deliberate slowness, the dealer turned over the card.

It was a 10.

Spoiler

Braedon walks home empty handed.

 

[Lady Sendrenis Autumn]

Victory again. She certainly did not expect to go that far.
She had been here for hours now. Winning one match after another. Sometimes swiftly, sometimes painfully, she made her way to the final. The last match she played seemed like she could not have really lost regardless of her choices. As if the cards were simply obeying her will, she would not have gotten better results by cheating even if she tried.

She leaned back in her seat, taking a sip of about her third drink now, avoiding alcohols to keep a clear mind for she was still on a dangerous place, if not planet. How easy it was to forget about the corruption and the violence all around when you play pazaak... She gazed at the man walking away with a shy smile full of compassion. It didn't really seem fair for the game to be so one sided, but luck is a skill they say... and luck can be cruel.

People around were staring at her more and more now, betting. She felt nervous about it but on the other hand, her tiredness was easily offset by the adrenaline and the excitment. She didn't really realised it just yet, but she was very close to earning about a million credits. How ironic was it that she probably was the least needing person in the room. 'Oligarchy wins again.' She thought. Although it was not entirely true just yet.

Spoiler

Win