Posted by Channy on 12/21/2008, 5:16 pm, in reply to "Heart to Heart"
64.12.116.197
Well written and agree with a lot of it. There are a couple of problems though: 1. the majority of people in Tops don't read the message board and 2. the majority of people in TOPS don't play low man and don't want to learn.
--Previous Message--
: HEARTS TIPS
:
:
:
: Before I say anything about passes I want to
: start by saying nothing you ever read in any
: book or hear from anyone(including me) is
: written in stone. I see a lot of good
: players that learn some good tips and
: strategy rules that then stick to these
: rules so rigidly that they stick themselves
: into a level of play that is good, but never
: great. Heart scenarios can vary widely. It
: is good to keep some general things in mind
: as a rule but bad to follow them in EVERY
: situation. Play Hearts using odds, the
: scores of your opponents, and positions at
: table but play creatively. Never play one
: hundred percent by the book or you become
: predictable. That said, here are some tips
: in passing.
:
: When you pass your cards think about a
: simple fact. In order to effectively nail
: the low man it is crucial that the player on
: his right takes charge of the hand and keeps
: up the pressure by always leading into him.
: If low man is on your left you must
: immediately take this responsibility and act
: accordingly in both pass and play. As many
: players know, if you want an easy win, put
: the worst player (a ducker) on your right
: side. Low man is miserable when player on
: his right keeps leading into him. Low man is
: laughing when player on his left gets stuck
: leading. It is his dream come true and makes
: it that much more easy to escape the hand
: and stay low.
:
: When I sit at a table I judge who is the
: best player and I try hard to sit on his
: right. By taking that position I think I can
: reduce his chances of winning game. It makes
: for fun games also to put players that you
: think are as good as you are across from
: you. But if you think there is a genius at
: the table, sit on his right. By doing so you
: will give yourself the most challenge and
: improve your game.
:
: The 2 of clubs is a very important card. It
: should never find itself in the hand of the
: man on low mans right. If low man is on your
: left and you are dealt the 2 of clubs you
: should always pass it and keep your highest
: club because it is vital that you take the
: first lead and you won't do that keeping the
: 2. If you are passing to the Man who is
: sitting on low man's right, never pass him
: the 2 of clubs. It can be a fatal mistake.
: Instead pass him your highest club so he can
: get the lead.
:
: Passing low man the ace of clubs when you
: are on his right side is not a good idea
: because of the bluff factor. If low man is a
: good player and he is stuck in the lead
: after taking the first trick his card lead
: will rarely reveal his cards. In fact it
: will be designed to fool other players.
: Passing the ace of clubs just lets low man
: play his bluff and confuse table. But if man
: on low man's right has that ace of clubs he
: can take charge right away and it will be
: much harder for the low man to fool anyone.
:
: If you are passing to low man on the right
: and have high clubs then pass them as you
: don't want to get stuck in the lead with low
: on your right (a worse situation then the
: bluff factor)
:
: When you are passing you must think about
: the position you hold at the table in
: relation to the low man. If you are on his
: right it is very important that you don't
: have the queen of spades because the odds
: are you will not be able to deliver it from
: that position even if you have a lot of
: spades. It is very important that the Queen
: finds itself behind the low man with a good
: player on low's right leading the right
: cards into him. If this man on low's right
: doesn't have the cards to get low then of
: course another player will pick up the ball
: but when you pass you can increase odds of a
: successful attack from low man's right.
:
: Let's look at the across pass for example.
: If you are passing across and low man is on
: your right and you have the queen keep her
: even if she is not well guarded (assuming
: that the person across from you is a good
: player) Keep the queen and void a suit that
: you can pass both high and low cards in.
: Don't worry too much about passing a heart
: to cover if you are passing low card
: set-ups.
:
: If low man is on your right and you don't
: have the queen assume you are going to be
: passed it as you are in the ideal position
: to have the lady. So again, pass low and
: high of same suit to try to void.
:
: If low man is on your left with pass across
: then it becomes interesting. If you have the
: queen pass a mid heart the queen and a
: backer. If you do not have the queen pass
: two spades and a mid heart. Do not pass any
: clubs or dimes. I love
: these kinds of passes because they are so
: effective. By not passing clubs or dimes you
: are helping the person who you are passing
: the queen to, or who you hope has the queen
: keep the passed voids. If the person across
: with the queen is voiding his dimes for
: example, the last thing he wants to see from
: you is a dime. As hearts can't be played
: until a break is made, not passing clubs or
: dimes is playing the best odds to get the
: low man.
:
: If you are passing to low man on your left
: and have the queen of course pass it to him
: bare. If you have say Q A or Q K spades it
: hurts to pass both but it is what you need
: to do. If you are dealt king or ace of
: spades with a few other spades it makes a
: great pass to pass the trouble spade, get
: the first lead in clubs and push the lady
: out.
:
: If you pass to the right and have Q A or Q K
: spades of course you can keep the ace or
: king safely in your hand and pass the bare
: lady. If you are low man the fun really
: begins and the pressure is on. As low man
: you will be dealt three kinds of hands.
:
: The first kind is the golden hand where you
: can pass cover to prevent a moon and escape
: one hundred percent of the time. Smile
: through it and get that beer on a brb.
:
: The second kind is a miserable hand. As soon
: as you see this hand you know there is no
: moon and no chance to escape (By the way I
: will only go for a moon if it has a huge
: change of success. With good players at the
: table it doesn't make sense to try to moon
: on anything but a dealer's moon). What do
: you do? Simple--reduce! Reducing is passing
: and playing the hand to take the queen of
: spades but take minimal points in hearts.
: That usually means passing your highest
: three hearts and taking lead to lead your
: high cards inviting someone to drop the
: queen. Sometimes, with poor players thinking
: you're mooning you can even escape this way.
: But don't count on it. Good players will
: know exactly what you are doing but you will
: still come away from the hand with only
: 13-15 points if you plan it right.
:
: Now comes the third hand, the most common of
: the three. The troubled mid-iffy hand. A
: dangerous but not impossible hand that can
: be escaped from with the right pass, the
: right play, and of course a little luck (the
: right distribution). It is important to
: remember to not get caught up in passing a
: heart to cover if doing so is going to hurt
: you. For example if you are dealt the 9 and
: jack of hearts only. Some players will pass
: the 9 thinking they have to pass cover. Pass
: both hearts instead. If you keep the jack
: and get another high heart passed, even if
: you escape getting the queen you will still
: eat 8 points on those hearts. Look at your
: trouble suit and pass it away.
:
: Passing three middle cards of a trouble suit
: when you are low man is often a very
: effective cover.You're the target and there
: are no rules. The other three players
: working together are like Dr.Who robots
: shouting terminate terminate. Pass away your
: trouble and concentrate on both fooling your
: opponents and preventing a moon.
:
: Be bold. If you are the low man and the man
: to your right is leading and putting the
: pressure on, do not duck unless you have all
: safe cards to duck with. Take the lead away
: from him early in the hand and lead to
: confuse other players. For example if you
: have k 8 spades only, lead the 8.Leading
: another suit will just be a call for your
: opponents to lead spades. If you have lots
: of spades and you don't have the queen of
: spade, and you get the lead early don't
: start off by leading a spade right away.
: Lead a mid dime or club to confuse. The
: object of low man is to befuddle the other
: players into making the crucial mistakes
: that will help you to escape the trouble
: hand. Conversely, the object of the highman
: is to be read, to make sure the other high
: players can see what you are doing and what
: you are planning to do.
:
:
:
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