D'Arby the Gambler

Polnareff and Avdol ask people if they can tell where this building is, and show them a photograph of the place Dio is meant to be at. But nobody can help them. Avdol says that Cairo alone has a population of 9 million, and he has no idea on how many similar buildings there are out here. Polnareff thinks they have no chance of finding it with just this picture. Polnareff then notices Iggy.

He offers him a stick of coffee-flavored chewing gum. Iggy takes it, but also bites Polnareff's hand, causing him to throw the box of gum up. Iggy jumps up and gets the box, whilst Polnareff kicks sand at him and thinks he ought to be more tame by now!

At a cafe, Joseph has made a phone call. He tells the others he's found out that the situation has gotten critical, as Holy fell into a coma last night. They still don't have a clue as to Dio's whereabouts. Polnareff asks what's going on with the Speedwagon Foundation's investigation, but Joseph says they've not got any information either. His own psychography has also failed since he photographed the mansion, and he thinks some kind of psychic barrier may be in place. He asks the bartender if he knows where this building is, and shows him a picture.

The bartender asks him if he could order something first, so Joseph orders 4 iced teas. Avdol starts asking around the cafe, but nobody knows about the building, and neither does the bartender.

The group drink their iced teas, and then start to leave. But someone then shouts out that he knows where that building is.

Joseph thinks they're lucky, and asks the man, D'Arby, to tell them where it is. But D'Arby asks if Joseph thinks he'll just give this information away for free. Joseph says he'll pay him ten pounds.

D'Arby laughs, and says he loves to gamble. He says he's a sucker for a cheap thrill, he can't seem to stay away from it. For the most part, he makes his living through gambling. He asks Joseph if he likes to gamble. Joseph says he doesn't understand where this conversation is going. D'Arby tells him that if he doesn't like gambling, he should just say so. Otherwise, would he like to make a bet with him? If he loses the bet, he'll tell him where that building is for free.

Joseph says he's good at winning bets, but they really don't have time for poker games. He offers D'Arby more money, but D'Arby says a bet can be made on anything. He tells them to look at that cat on the wall over there, and then he throws two pieces of beef jerky out.

He says they should make a bet right now over which piece the cat will go for first. Polnareff tells him to just take the 30 pounds and tell them what he knows, but Joseph tells him that's not the way to ask for a favor. Polnareff instead decides to take D'Arby up on the bet, and says the cat will take the right piece. D'Arby says good, and thinks this is getting fun. He says he'll bet on the left piece.

Avdol and Jotaro think D'Arby is suspicious. Avdol tells Jotaro that if D'Arby makes any strange moves, he should attack him immediately. Polnareff asks what'll happen if he loses, how much will he have to pay up? D'Arby says he has no need for money... his soul will do instead. Polnareff thinks this guy is messing them around. They then see the cat head towards the beef jerky.

Polnareff thinks the cat is going to the right piece, as the one on the right look bigger. But the cat suddenly jumps over and grabs the left piece first, then gets the right piece.

D'Arby says they all saw that -the car went for the one on the left, then the one on the right, which means he's won the bet. Joseph wonders what they can do, as this is going to make it more difficult to ask the location of that building. D'Arby tells Polnareff he'd like him to pay up now. He wants his soul, as he's a Stand user who can take souls. Gambling makes the soul extraction easier, and his Stand's ability is to take a soul when it is at its most vulnerable.

D'Arby's Stand, Osiris, appears and takes Polnareff's soul. He tells them not to attack now, as if he dies, Polnareff's soul dies with him. Polnareff's body falls to the floor, and Avdol says he has no pulse -he's dead!

D'Arby introduces himself, and says his name is Daniel J. D'Arby. And this cat belongs to him. He has Osiris transform Polnareff's soul into a poker chip, and says that with this, he has eliminated one of Lord Dio's enemies early on.

Avdol grabs D'Arby and tells him he cheated, as the cat belonged to him. D'Arby tells him that if you can't see through a trick, then it's your loss. In his opinion, gambling is just like any relationship, and he thinks of it as a relationship of deceit. The one who cries first is the loser. He tells Avdol to go ahead and kill him, if he's ok with letting Polnareff's soul die. Avdol tells him not to think he can get away with this. D'Arby gives him a date: September 22nd, 1984, 11:15pm. He asks him if he remembers what he was doing on that date. Avdol lets go of him, so he sits down and says he can remember what he was doing.

He was in America, in California, gambling with a man called Stephen Moor. He'd said the exact same thing Avdol had just said. He pulls out a book full of poker chips, which are named, and says Stephen is now one of these, as is his father, and his wife. If they want Polnareff's soul back, they have no choice but to continue this bet with him. Jotaro thinks this guy is trying to take them down one by one.

D'Arby tells them to run on home if they want, or they should have a drink and think it over. Maybe they'd like some chocolate? Joseph clears the table, and then puts a glass on it. He starts filling the glass up.

He asks Barby if he knows what surface tension is. D'Arby says his name is D'Arby, and says that it is the tension on the surface of that liquor swelling to a point where it almost looks like it would spill, but doesn't. Joseph says there is one rule: they will take turns dropping a coin into this glass. Whoever makes the liquor spill loses.

He says he'll bet his soul, and D'Arby says that's good. Avdol tells Joseph not to do this, as D'Arby is a cheater. Joseph says he won't let him cheat, as he chose this method.

He tells Jotaro to keep an eye on D'Arby. D'Arby asks if he can inspect the coins and glass before they start, and Joseph lets him. But he wants to know something: what proof does he have that Polnareff's soul will be returned?

D'Arby says if he loses, the soul will be returned, as that is his Stand's ability. As for proof, they have his pride as a gambler. Joseph asks what makes him think he's stupid enough to trust him. D'Arby says that people take risks, and pay for their actions. When he steals the souls of others, he's risking his own life too. That's why he won't lie about what he's going to pay.

Joseph tells D'Arby to go first. D'Arby asks if he can drop any number of coins in at once, and Joseph tells him to go ahead -as long as he drops them all in at once. D'Arby drops fives coins in at the same time.

Joseph tells him he has some nerves to drop five coins in at the same time. He decides he'll just drop one coin in, and does so. But as he does, he squeezes on a small sponge, discreetly adding more liquor to the glass. Jotaro sees this and thinks about how Joseph is cheating, despite telling him earlier to watch out for any cheating.

Joseph drops the coin in without spilling and of the liquor. He thinks there's no way any more coins can be put in it, and D'Arby was the one who who said a cheat isn't a cheat unless they're caught! He says this is bad for his heart, as he thought it would spill over. He tells Orby that it's his turn now, but D'Arby grabs his wrist and tells him his name is D'Arby... not Orby, and not Barby!

Joseph says he's sorry, but thinks he was worried D'Arby had caught him cheating. Jotaro thinks Joseph is upsetting D'Arby on purpose by getting his name wrong... it seems his grandfather is a natural-born gambler. D'Arby gets up and says the shadow is getting in his way. He decides to drop the next coin in at a different angle.

He says that Joseph must be thinking that the surface tension has reached its limit. But he'll show him that he's wrong. He drops another coin in, but the liquor doesn't spill over. Joseph says this is impossible, it has to spill!

D'Arby asks him what he means, as he just dropped that coin in before his eyes. Jotaro says that D'Arby didn't make any strange moves in order to cheat, as he was watching him with Star Platinum. D'Arby just dropped that coin in without cheating, he's sure of it. Joseph thinks that he had this planned perfectly, so it would spill over after one more coin had been added.

D'Arby tells Mr. Joestar to hurry up, or does he intend to wait until the liquor evaporates? Joseph attempts to put another coin in, but as he does, Osiris appears. He drops the coin in and the liquor spills.

Osiris takes Joseph's soul, and D'Arby says that Joseph admitted defeat in his mind, which is why his soul was expelled. He then says he's won the bet, and has his Stand transform Joseph into another chip.

He wants to continue with the gambling, unless they want to run away and leave Polnareff and Joseph behind. Avdol gets angry and pins D'Arby to the floor, but Jotaro tells him to stop. D'Arby tells Avdol he still doesn't understand, as if he kills him, Joseph and Polnareff's souls will also perish. The bartender tells them if they want to make trouble, take it outside. Jotaro tells him to shut up and mind his own business.

Jotaro checks the glass, and notices something on the bottom of it. D'Arby tells him he's noticed it too late, and Avdol asks what's wrong. Jotaro says there is a piece of melted chocolate on the bottom of the glass. D'Arby must have put it there before the game started, when he was inspecting the glass and coins. D'Arby says again: a cheat isn't a cheat unless they're caught.

Avdol asks what the chocolate has to do with anything. Jotaro says it is melted now, but a while ago, it was still solid. It was there to tilt the glass very slightly, and when it melted, the glass leveled out. This allowed enough room for one more coin to be dropped in. Avdol asks how D'Arby was able to make the chocolate melt so conveniently on his turn, and Jotaro says it was heat from the sun. Earlier, D'Arby was using his own shadow to protect the glass from direct sunlight. He then moved from his seat, which caused the chocolate to melt. Jotaro tells D'Arby that they'll settle this with poker, and D'Arby thinks that's interesting -poker is his best game.

Avdol warns Jotaro about what he's doing, as D'Arby is a cut above even Joseph. Jotaro says he knows, and whilst D'Arby doesn't use force, he's the most dangerous Stand user they've ever come across. But he can't back out of this, and tells D'Arby there is something he'd like to try before the game starts. He tells D'Arby to shuffle the cards. D'Arby does so, so Jotaro tells him to pick any card, just make it so only he can see it. D'Arby picks the 6 of hearts, but Jotaro is able to tell him what card it is. Jotaro then tells him what the next few cards are on the top of the deck, which he gets correct for every card.

Jotaro says he can say what order all of the cards are in, as the eyes of Star Platinum captured every moment of D'Arby shuffling the cards. D'Arby says that's not a bad parlor trick, but all he has to do is be careful not to let him see the cards. Jotaro tells him he doesn't get it -what he's saying is that it's not going to be as easy for him to cheat from now on. He just wanted to let him know that.

D'Arby says that's good, and presents Jotaro with a sealed deck. Jotaro opens it, and sees that it's a standard deck of cards. D'Arby wants to begin the game, and lifts up the 10 of hearts. Jotaro lifts up the 7 of clubs.

D'Arby says that makes him the dealer, and he starts shuffling. Jotaro cuts the deck, so D'Arby starts dealing. But after throwing out a few cards, Star Platinum suddenly breaks D'Arby's finger! Jotaro says he said before: he's not overlooking any more cheating. Avdol asks when the cheating took place, as he didn't see D'Arby do anything suspicious. Jotaro says to look carefully at the cards D'Arby is holding.

The second card from the top which is sticking out is the card D'Arby just tried to deal to him. He pretended to deal the cards from the top, but actually tried to give him the second card. Jotaro checks the cards, and sees that D'Arby was trying to give himself a three of a kind in tens. D'Arby thinks this was too brutal, how could he break his finger?!

Jotaro tells him that he showed mercy, as he could nave severed his finger instead. D'Arby says good, as cheating is about taking advantage of a psychological blind spot. Simply having good vision can't catch the act of cheating. He really didn't think Jotaro would be able to see through his "second deal", so he'll take this lesson to heart, and won't underestimate anyone ever again. He tends to his broken finger, but tells Jotaro he's not here to fight for Lord Dio, he's here to fight because he's a born gambler! He'll challenge him with all of his strength and soul. He throws the Joseph and Polnareff chips up into the air, and Osiris cuts them up into more chips.

He's says he's split each soul into six chips. Poker is a game in which you can fold if you're losing against your opponent, so in other words it's a form of gambling which allows you to quit. Because you pay for each turn, two chips aren't enough to play a game. Only one soul is returned after you win six chips. He wants to offer Jotaro some chips if he's going to bet, but he needs to hear him say the words. Jotaro says he will bet with his soul, but thinks D'Arby won't be able to shuffle any cards with his hand anymore. He thinks they should have an unrelated person be their dealer, and sees a kid playing soccer nearby. He tells Avdol to ask the kid to deal.

D'Arby moves over some chips, and says these snow white chips represent Jotaro's soul. When he takes six of them, Jotaro will lose his soul. The kid comes over and starts dealing, and D'Arby says the ante will be one Polnareff. The game begins.

D'Arby asks for two more cards, whilst Jotaro asks for three. They throw more chips in, and D'Arby thinks Jotaro seems to have gotten a good hand. He decides to raise one Polnareff for the time being. Jotaro does the same. D'Arby decides to call, and tells Jotaro to show him his hand.

Jotaro reveals his cards: two pairs of eights and nines. D'Arby reveals his hand, and say he has two pairs, but his are jacks and queens. He takes three of Jotaro's chips back with his own.

Jotaro says it's the next game, and throws in another chip. D'Arby hopes this won't be Jotaro's last game. He looks at his hand, and asks for another card. He then looks at Jotaro, who hasn't looked at his cards yet. He tells him to look at his cards, but Jotaro says he'll keep these cards.

D'Arby asks if he just heard that wrong -did Jotaro just say he was keeping them? Jotaro says that is what he said -he'll keep them, and will bet with them. D'Arby says he knows that, but what he's asking is why isn't he even looking at his cards?!

Jotaro says he will keep them. D'Arby tells him to stop messing around, and answer him -how can he play the game without even looking at his cards?! Avdol tells the kid not to worry about any of this, and just keep dealing as he usually would.

Jotaro asks Avdol for a favor. Avdol says he doesn't mind, but he's wondering why Jotaro isn't looking at his cards. D'Arby says not to ignore him, as he wants an answer.

Jotaro says that in addition to his remaining chips, he'll also raise Avdol's soul. Avdol calls D'Arby a cool-headed man, and the actions he takes are extremely well calculated. He may not use force, but he truly is a man of strength. Avdol admits that his own personality isn't suited for gambling, as he's the type to lose his temper too easily. If he played against him, he'd certainly lose. But he believes in Jotaro, and whilst he doesn't understand what Jotaro is doing right now, he still trusts him, and will bet his soul. D'Arby thinks the two of them have lost their senses from all the tension, and then yells at the kid to hurry up and deal.

D'Arby receives another card, which is the king of spades. The kid thinks he's done as D'Arby ordered -he has dealt Jotaro ragged cards which wouldn't make a good hand. D'Arby thinks Jotaro may have thought he chose an innocent child, but everyone here, and even the cafe itself, belong to him! No matter who is chosen to deal, the result shall be the same. He thinks Jotaro is just bluffing by not looking at his cards.

D'Arby sees Jotaro's bet, and then says he's raising six Polnareffs, along with six Josephs. In total, that's fifteen chips. Avdol says Jotaro is already out of chips to raise, but D'Arby says he has more. All Jotaro needs to do is write a promissory note, as with that, his Stand can take action. Avdol asks him who he is talking about. D'Arby says that Kakyoin is hospitalized in Aswan, but they still have his soul.

D'Arby thinks this will freak out Jotaro. He wants to turn Jotaro's poker face into one of extreme fear, but Jotaro then says he'll raise Kakyoin's soul. D'Arby then briefly sees Star Platinum, and also sees that Jotaro has a cigarette.

D'Arby asks what just happened, but Jotaro claims to not know what he's talking about. D'Arby wonders when Jotaro got that cigarette, as he thought he just saw Star Platinum light it up. He then starts worrying that Star Platinum was able to switch the cards without him noticing. He thinks that can't be, as he was watching the cards very carefully. He thinks the reason he didn't see the cigarette is because he was concentrating on the cards. Jotaro writes out the note regarding Kakyoin's soul.

D'Arby looks at his own hand, and sees that he has a four of a kind kings. He thinks that a better hand than this would have to be a 4 of a kind aces, a straight flush or a joker five of a kind. He is certain Jotaro's cards are ragged, and in order for him to make a good hand, he would have had to switch all five cards. No matter how quick Star Platinum is, surely the Stand couldn't switch all five cards without him noticing it at all... it's impossible! He thinks it's time for a showdown, but he then notices something else: Jotaro suddenly has a drink.

D'Arby wonders where the juice came from, but then says he'll reveal his cards. But Jotaro says he's not finished with his raise, and he wants to raise his mother's soul. He says he came to Egypt to save her, so she wouldn't object even if he bet her soul.

But he wants D'Arby to bet something which equals his mother's soul. He thinks that D'Arby must reveal the secret of Dio's Stand! D'Arby falls over backwards upon hearing this, and Avdol realizes that D'Arby must know Dio's secret. But if D'Arby was to talk, he'd lose his life. He wonders if Jotaro really does have a winning hand.

Jotaro tells D'Arby he needs to either call or fold. D'Arby eventually stands back up, and returns to the table. He thinks he's going to say it, as he's the greatest gambler. He accepts Jotaro's challenge, and he'll make this bet.

He tries to speak, but passes out whilst standing up. He falls over seconds later.

Polnareff and Joseph's souls are released, and return to their bodies. Jotaro thinks D'Arby passed out due to too much tension, and in his mind, he folded the game. The souls have been released due to him admitting his defeat. Everyone looks at D'Arby's hand, and see that is was a four of a kind kings.

Avdol and the kid look at Jotaro's hand, and the kid says it's as he thought -the cards were all ragged! Avdol drops them to the floor, revealing how terrible they were. Jotaro says that even with Star Platinum's speed, there was no way he could cheat without getting caught by a man like D'Arby. So his plan to get him scared and make him fold instead was a success. But if he'd known that his cards were ragged, it would have freaked him out. Avdol just can't believe he took such chances on ragged cards!

Jotaro asks the kid what he meant when he just said "I thought so" -did he know what cards he'd dealt out? The kid immediately runs away screaming. Meanwhile, D'Arby seems to have lost his mind. His book of chips opens up, and the souls are released. He tells everyone that they should play games, but no matter what, he's the best! Avdol asks where the mansion is, and D'Arby tells him it's in Old Cairo, where the whorehouse used to be.

Avdol asks about Dio's Stand, but D'Arby just screams. Avdol says that with the way D'Arby is now, they won't be able to get the secret of Dio's Stand out of him. As Polnareff and Joseph get up, Jotaro still thinks D'Arby was a formidable enemy, as he tried to defeat all four of them by himself. At least they've been able to find the location of the mansion, and at any rate, they've got no more time to waste.