Game on (10 June 2020)

Continuing from last week

We have two guaranteed turnovers and there are no tricks to improve that. At least we get some in-suit builds. We also have the ability to connect the K-Q-J-0 of clubs (an action we considered last week, but rejected)

<be,bc,eb,hc,ij,bi,be,fb>  Js

<je,fj> Ac

<fc,ib,ij,ih> 6d

<ig> 0s

<e2=h1, ih> 4s

<gh,gh> 7s

Our position has improved considerably. We have turned over 6 more cards and we still have two empty column and two turnovers.

You may be wondering why I shifted the King of Diamonds onto an empty column. This is an example of long-term planning: We have to shift the king sooner or later and it’s easy to do so when there are plenty of empty columns to go around. Note also the column contained an off-suit K-Q combination so if we only had one empty column then it would be difficult to shift it later. For the same reason I chose not to shift the K-Q of clubs in column ‘b’. I am essentially trying to guard against the dreaded “one-hole-no-card” scenario in the future.

I also took care to swap columns ‘e’ and ‘h’. This is because an in-suit Q-J of Hearts will be easier to shift if a King later appears at the right moment.

The question of when to dump a King onto an empty column is difficult to answer (let alone explain to someone like Captain oBVIOUS). Until you gain more experience (or epiphanies!) a good general guideline is the following:

• If you find yourself unable to turn over a new card despite having one or more empty columns then chances are you are not taking maximum advantage from a position of strength.

Yes, there will be occasions when you have a rough start and have to fight tooth and nail just for an empty column. Then you find there is no real opportunity to avoid one-hole-no-card. But that means you never had a position of strength to begin with.

The above guideline does not refer to Kings specifically. Consider dumping a King onto an empty column when:

• You are afraid of one-hole-no-card, or
• You still have reasonable chances of recovering an empty column (a different empty column unless you can complete a full suit!)

Anyways back to the game. What would be your next action? (Hint: tidy up in-suit builds using reversible moves first!)