The Virtues of Training

Gyakuten gyanbura (逆転ギャンブラー) is the 153rd chapter of the manga it is also the fourth and final chapter of the Gambler King Arc.

Synopsis
Ranma's agreement with Ukyo is that if he loses her restaurant he must become her chef. Ukyo has visions of she and Ranma living alone and their love blossoming. The Gambling King and Ranma are equally pathetic card players, but the King turns to cheating to try and finish Ranma off.

Plot Overview
With everything set, Ranma and the Gambling King reiterate their wagers moments before the decisive game of begins. Meanwhile, outside the training hall come casino, Ukyo reveals to Akane that should Ranma lose he has agreed to become her cook.

Ukyo then proceeds to imagine Ranma finally writing his feelings for her in sauce which will cement their lives as a couple. With Ukyo otherwise occupied, Akane hears the commotion coming from inside the casino and heads back in to see how the match between Ranma and the King is going. Akane then watches as Ranma and the King use the same technique of pushing the slightly higher than the other cards to increase the chance of it being picker. Once this has gone on for a while, Soun dramatically declares that the pair are evenly matched, although the children can see the truth that Ranma and the King are both equally stupid.

Just then Ranma notices that the card he's about to pick from the King's hand is slightly tattered around the edges. This causes Ranma to deduce that this card must be the Joker, damaged from being swapped back-and-forth for hours. Having through the King's tactics, Ranma grabs the Two of instead, however, this doesn't the prevent the Joker from somehow appearing in hand regardless.

As Ranma is confused at the Joker's appearance, Akane declares that the King cheated by swiftly slipping the Joker into Ranma's hand as he busily picked a card. Despite this obvious attempt at cheating, Ranma tells Akane to calm down as he turns to the King so that he (the King) may chose a card himself. The King commends Ranma, but warns that he won't go down easily. He then continues by using a mirror to spy on Ranma's hand, only for Akane to destroy the mirror, followed by pressing a button to cause his chair to less-than-discretly spin behind Ranma in order to get a clear view of his hand.

Once Akane kicks the King for his stupidity, the King decides to launch a shower of Jokers at Ranma, but Ranma grabs all the cards before placing underneath his bandages and eating them. As she looks on, Ukyo comments how out of control the match is getting, although Akane adds that this is when Ranma's at his best.

Suddenly a rather saddened looking Ranma solemnly tells the King that he only wanted to play one fair game against him so that he could prove his ability to beat him. Ranma then declares how he trained for weeks, only for his opponent to resort to cheap tricks.

Hearing of Ranma's plight, the King apologises profusely for his conduct. He then decides to set up a simple game, which leaves Ranma to choose between two cards. The King finished by explaining to Ranma that if picks the he'll win, but should he pick the Joker then the King will win instead.

After removing his no longer necessary bandages, Ranma moves in to choose his card. At that moment, however, Akane notices the King smiling which she immediately realises must mean that he switched the cards so that both are Jokers! Akane tries to warn Ranma, but it's too late as he's made his choice. However Ranma's card turns out to be the ace, much to everyone's shock.

That evening, having been evicted himself, the Gambling King thinks to himself about how he was sure he placed down two Jokers at which point he finally figures out what must've happened.

Back at the Tendo Dojo, Ukyo questions Ranma if it was just dumb luck which allowed him to win. Ranma, however, retorts that it was pure skill as he unwraps his remaining bandages, causing all the cards he had hidden their to fall out, as Nabiki mentions that she guesses Ranma's training was good for something. Unfortunately for Ranma her gambling troubles aren't over yet as she soon finds herself working off the IOUs to Ukyo that she gained through their training.

Cast in Order of Appearance

 * Genma Saotome (panda)
 * Ranma Saotome (male)
 * Gambling King
 * Akane Tendo
 * Ukyo Kuonji
 * Soun Tendo
 * Nabiki Tendo
 * Kasumi Tendo
 * Ranma Saotome (female)

Quotes

 * (fantasy Ranma) "Oh, Ucchan!"
 * (fantasy Ukyo) "Oh, Ranma!"
 * (Ukyo) "It's meant to be!"
 * (Akane) "Um... hello...?"
 * "And so, the gambling horror comes to an end..."
 * (Ukyo) "Keep working till all the IOUs are gone."
 * (Ranma) "Yes'm."
 * "...Or, so they thought."

Trivia

 * When Ranma and the Gambling King are declared equally stupid, two Buddhist appear behind them.
 * Specifically, the gods are "Agyō" and "Ungyō", behind Ranma and the King respectively.