The Schnapsen Log
A Bird in Hand
Martin Tompa
Warmed by the blazing fire in the Café Abeles, you shuffle and deal out the next hand. The first few tricks go uneventfully, with no marriages and no trump exchange. At the beginning of trick 5 you reach this position:
Unseen cards:
♠ Q
♥ T
♣ K
♦ ATKYour cards:
♠ T
♥ J
♣ QJ
♦ JTrump: ♥A
Stock: 1 face-down card
Game points: Peter 5, You 3
Trick points: Peter 27, You 21
On lead: Peter
Peter gets a knowing look in his eyes and plunks ♦A down on the table. You inspect the meager collection of small cards in your hand and face an unhappy choice: do you want Peter’s ace in your tricks or do you want to pick up the ace of trumps for your hand? Make your choice. Once you have a good plan, you are welcome to read my analysis.
© 2013 Martin Tompa. All rights reserved.
