Ace Up His Sleeve
In the third episode of Insider, Yo-Han is given an introduction to Texas Hold’Em. His genius mate on the other side of the cell begins reciting all the different combination of cards, prompting Yo-Han to begin imagining stacks of cards in front of him and working out the percentages.
There are also chalk scribbles up the wall, but this all happens to be his imagination.
When Yo-Han is released, he heads back to Song Doo-Chul, dropping to his knees and promising to make it all the way up to the top ranks – and paying him back too. Doo-Chul agrees and as a result, Yo-Han begins playing much more conservatively, thinking over what each of his competitors are doing and trying to work out if they’re bluffing or not… and Yo-Han wins!
Doo-Chul’s cronies beat down Woo-Sang and the others to make sure they don’t come after Yo-Han again.
Yo-Han’s ankle is busted pretty badly by Gil-San.
Sun-O is a bit taken aback by the sudden appearance of Yo-Han, but she seems to be more than happy to have him around. Yo-Han seems to be quite friendly with the guards as well, and it seems that he’s been given some special privileges because of it. Sun-O is curious to see what all this means, and decides to ask Yo-Han about it.
Yo-Han is on his knees, asking Sun-O to invite him into the top league. Sun-O instead uses a wrench to break the cast on Yo-Han’s leg. After seeing the injury himself, Sun-o decides to play a little game. With a card stuck to their forehead, whoever can guess the right card will win. The loser? They’re going to have a greeting with electricity.
Although Yo-Han guesses the right card, he’s also called out for lying about why he’s there – which was not part of the rules. A skirmish breaks out between the pair but Yo-Han plays possum, biding the right time before eventually striking Sun-O and electrocuting him.
Yo-Han is granted access to a special guest who has asked for him personally – Oh Su-Yeon. She promises to be whatever he wants her to be. The meeting is brief, as he’s given a business card and is eventually introduced to Warden Ha Sang-Soo.
The warden wants to know who his visitor was from the Department of Justice. Yo-Han tries to play the nice-guy act, leading the warden to believe she’s an acquaintance from outside. ..
Yo-Han turns the tables and asks about moving up the leagues. The Warden confirms the only way to get out and move up is to beat Sun-o. But he’s the master of gambling… unless he can get Tae-Gwang involved of course.
Yo-Han manages to get himself a call, and when he asks for money and the details for the inmate in solitary confinement next to him, it’s not Tae-Gwang though. It’s actually one of Sun-o’s disciples!
Yo-Han tries to convince the Professor to organize a meeting with Tae-Gwang outside the infirmary, but he refuses at first. ..
When Doo-Chul looks close to hurting Yo-Han’s ankle again, the Professor intervenes and takes him away.
Yo-Han is looking for a way to move up the ranks in Sun-O’s prison without her blessing. If he can convince someone incredibly powerful (like the security manager) to invest in him, that would get on the warden’s good side. ..
The Security Manager is a hard negotiator, that means he won’t budge on his 60% cut offer. This could lead to problems in the future.
Sun-o, a new player, unexpectedly intervenes in the game and becomes the dealer. This throws Yo-Han, a seasoned player, into a precarious position. The other players at the table are waiting to strike out against him. ..
Yo-Han is aware of what’s going on and it appears that the table is conspiring against him. Part of this scam comes from different tells, whether it be hand symbols or the color of chips. This seems to be what’s going on here, although Yo-Han is confused over whether Sun-O’s hand symbols are a sign of him helping or hindering him. ..
He decides it may be the former and decides to take a leap of faith. Going all-in against a rival competitor called Monk, the final card is turned and… it has no side. It appears to be an ace. Yo-Han has been scammed and unfortunately, the chips are not in his favour after going all-in. Uh oh.
The Episode Review
In this episode, there wasn’t a whole lot of progress made, and the Poker game isn’t great either (especially if you know how to play Poker at a top level!). But damn is it nerve-wracking! That card fame at the end of the episode had me on the edge of my seat and I’d imagine that’s probably the same for others watching too.
JTBC is looking to be onto another winner with this new show, Eve, which I imagine will be the more mainstream appealing choice. ..
Yo-Han’s getting into the League 2 this early in the show is a bit of a surprise, and that’s slightly concerning. We’re likely going to see Yo-Han in prison or taking down the group from the inside.
This drama is shaping up to be very intriguing, with the ending hinting that a world of pain is about to come Yo-Han’s way after losing his hand.
