Synopsis: Andou takes a card from Furuhata and loses pushing him, Furuhata and Kaiji into a corner. But Kaiji has a plan.

Furuhata tells Kaiji that he is starting to have hope. Kaiji, however, thinks that nothing has changed. He notices Furuhata’s cards. It looks fewer than it was before. Furuhata tells Kaiji that Andou wanted to hold on to one so he gave it to him. Kaiji is shocked. Andou currently has two stars and no cards. With one card, the situation could change for him. Kaiji tells Furuhata that they have to find him.

They manage to find Furuhata but he is about to go on a match. Kaiji calls out to him but a guard tells him not to interrupt. Andou’s opponent shows a scissor. Kaiji thinks it would be a draw but the card that Furuhata gave Andou was their sole paper card. Andou loses and is stripped of a star.

Kaiji is angry. Andou apologizes. He says he was just trying to gain a star for the group. Furuhata says he’s lying. He thinks Andou will backstab the group. He suggests to Kaiji that they kick Andou out. They don’t need a traitor. Andou continues to apologize. He tells Kaiji it was never his intention to betray them. Kaiji tells him that they shouldn’t be taken for fools. When he called out to Andou, he hasn’t declared “Check” yet but still he went on. Andou could have stopped but he didn’t.

Kaiji, however, assures Andou he won’t kick him out of the group. Furuhata is puzzled at this. Kaiji tells him that if they kick Andou out, no matter what the reason is, it would only hurt them later on. Soon, Furuhata might think he’d kick anyone out if needed. Kaiji says he can’t kick Andou out, even if he wanted too. Andou thanks Kaiji and promises he’ll cooperate. Kaiji, crying, grabs his collar and tells him it’s not cooperating. He pushes Andou to the floor.

With only four scissors left, they have an unbalanced deck. Furuhata blames Andou for it. Andou comments that the bad balance isn’t his fault. He says it’s Furuhata’s, for ending up with those cards. Furuhata becomes mad. Kaiji tells them to shut up. An idea slowly burns in his mind. He tells the others that they might win.

He tells Furuhata and Andou that he will try to buy more stars. He instructs them to find someone with nine cards. They must check that person’s two matches. He must use a rock and a scissor in no particular order.

Kaiji understands that his strategy isn’t guaranteed to work 100%. Furthermore, the strategy requires two stars but Kaiji only has one. Finding another star was difficult as people were unwilling to sell their extra stars. Some would agree but the price is high. If Kaiji waited for another hour, more would have spare stars and he might be able to buy some. There was, however, no time to wait.

Furuhata goes to Kaiji. He tells him that they found someone who just used his eighth card. He asks if Kaiji was able to buy a star. Kaiji answers he wasn’t. Furuhata begins to worry. Kaiji worries too. If they wait until they have an extra star, they might not find someone who fits the criteria later. He tells Furuhata to show him that guy.

They found him sitting at a sofa, counting his cards. Kaiji asks Andou if the guy avoided playing against those with a lot of stars. Andou confirms it. Furuhata asks Kaiji how he knew. Kaiji replies that he saw the guy play against someone with only one star before. Normally, nobody would want to play against someone with a single star. Defeating them would feel like pushing them into their graves. Kaiji explains that the guy’s strategy is to prey on the weak. He says he will pretend that he’s really depressed and for sure the guy will play against him.

Furuhata asks if it would be alright. Kaiji tells him that the guy would be their perfect opponent. Furuhata and Andou do not understand. Kaiji explains further that the guy, without a doubt, goes by balance. He goes to challenge the guy.

Andou asks Furuhata what Kaiji meant. Furuhata replies it must have something to do with the cards. The card one deals next is the only thing one can have control over. Andou asks why Furuhata ended up with three scissors and a paper. Furuhata tells him that when he played, he just dealt them randomly. Andou reacts. He says people would usually try to balance their cards thus avoiding a situation like the one they’re in, with only scissors. If someone knew that one’s deck is unbalanced, he would be in trouble.

Furuhata then tells Andou he thinks he understands Kaiji’s strategy. Since the guy he will be challenging goes by balance, out of his seven remaining cards, he would have at least two of each kind. The seventh card would be the problem. Furuhata thinks for a moment then realizes it would be paper. Since the guy started out with nine cards, he had three of each kind. After he dealt a rock and a scissor, he would have one extra paper left.

Fortunately for their group, the guy agrees to Kaiji’s challenge. He reveals his card, a paper. Kaiji’s card, obviously, was a scissor. Furuhata and Andou rejoice as the guy hands a star then leaves. Kaiji calls him. He challenges the guy to another round. Furuhata tells Kaiji to think about it first. Kaiji tells him they need to get more stars. Furuhata objects. He tells Kaiji that they don’t know what card the guy will use next. Kaiji, however, has a plan.

The guy agrees to a second round. The cards are dealt. Furuhata thinks that Kaiji is right, if they wait more, they might not be able to get nine stars in time. The cards are then opened. The guy’s was a rock. Kaiji ends up with a single star again. Kaiji, Furuhata and Andou are about to leave but the guy calls Kaiji. He challenges him to yet another round. Furuhata and Andou persuade him against it. They guy says that if Kaiji doesn’t take his challenge, he would be a loser. Kaiji thinks about it. Of course it was just an act but Furuhata and Andou are unaware of it.

Kaiji accepts the challenge. Furuhata thinks that the guy might use paper twice in a row. He’d think that Kaiji goes by balance. Since Kaiji dealt two scissors, he might assume Kaiji’s remaining cards to be rock, or paper, which would be safe. Furuhata tells Andou that Kaiji will win. The other guy would never suspect that Kaiji’s cards are all scissors.

The cards are dealt. The guy, as they expected, shows a paper. Kaiji reveals his card. The guy is bewildred. He challenges Kaiji again. He accepts. The guy maintains that four scissors in a row would be impossible. But alas for him, it is.

Kaiji tells the guy that once someone believes that his theory is true, they would no longer doubt it. Especially if he used that theory to win many times.

Anyway, this was an interesting episode. Gambling is a game that is governed by probability. Kaiji played on that. But gambling is also affected by luck. Kaiji sure was lucky that the guy he played against fit the mold and didn’t go against it. If that person thought outside that box, Kaiji would have been in trouble.

So now Kaiji has three stars and no cards. What? Is that right? Kaiji did start out with five cards. Andou took the paper and Kaiji played four times. He’d have no card left. I don’t know if I missed something but either way, what will Kaiji do?