Tips tichu

Use the strategy guide from here

https://scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/Games/Tichu/tichu_strategy.html

Passing cards

• Even right, odd left, third best single card to your partner.
• Or: See the tips below and pass either the third worst card or the best card to your partner. And pass even to behind and odd to before (since the order of play can be either clockwise or counter-clockwise)

• Pass the Dragon to your partner if you are unlikely to make a Tichu bet.
• If your partner has called Grand Tichu and you are about to jump ahead in score or about to win, pass to avoid giving bombs to the opponents. This could mean splitting pairs and giving 2’s to each of your opponents. Or, giving a 5 and 6 to your opponents if your hand has 5566. Pay attention to the colors of the cards and pass colors which you know are less likely to form a straight flush bomb in the hands of opponents.
• In general, avoid passing part of a pair or triple to your partner even if he/she has called Grand Tichu. If your hand is JQQKK and K is your highest card, pass J. If your hand is 6991010JJQQQKKK, pass them J/Q/K, if they’ve called Grand Tichu.
• Do you think your opponents will pass you low cards? If you do, you can save a single 2 and/or 3 in your hand, giving them slightly higher cards, hoping they’ll give you another 2 or 3. Or, gamble with the way you pass your cards, hoping they’ll give you the 2 or 3 needed to make your straight, create a combination, and/or form a bomb.

Using the 1

• When using the 1 you can choose not to ask for a card using the empty set symbol Ø. This may be a good idea when you play a straight for example.
• Also for use of the 1; you may like to ask for the card you gave the player next to you.
• Consider not asking for the card you gave to the player next to you. Instead wish for a number you do not see in your hand to pull out a possible bomb or break up a possible combination.
• If the player behind you has called a Grand Tichu you may like to ask for an Ace.
• If behind in points you can ask for a 6 or a 10 to create more chaos.

General play

• Remember what cards have already been played; especially the aces, dragon, and phoenix.

All special cards: Dragon, Phoenix, Dog and 1

• Keep them all within team.

Play Order Of Aces

• If you have more than 1 Ace (and your partner has given you an Ace during the card exchange phase), play your partner’s Ace last
• If you’ve given your partner an Ace, remember it’s color and observe whether your partner plays it first (meaning that’s the only Ace in their hand), or whether they play a different color ace from the one you gave them (meaning they have more than 1 Ace in their hand). You can often use this information to guide your play.

Tracking Points

Track the points each team has earned as the round is played. With clever play, you can sometimes score more than the other team even though they have called and fulfilled their small Tichu.

If the other team has called tichu, tracking points allows you to play in such a way as to minimize the points the opposing team gains from their Tichu call.

When To Play Bombs

In general, play bombs late in the hand when one member of the opposing team has made a Tichu call; especially if your goal is to stop the Tichu caller.

If you play bombs too early, the Tichu caller will often have another card or combination needed (A/PH/DR) to regain the lead. Play the bomb at the moment when you think the Tichu caller has played their last premium card (A/DR/PH) or combination before going out.

Before that last premium card or combination, they might have 1 card left or 5 cards left. It depends on their hand.

When To Call Grand Tichu

If the score is tied or close, call Grand Tichu with AAA, DR + A, PH + A in your first 8 cards.

If behind in score by 200-300 points, consider calling Grand Tichu with hands containing AA, solo PH and/or solo DR.

If behind in score by 400 or more points, consider calling Grand Tichu with just solo Ace in your first 8 cards.

Be more aggressive and expand the list of hands you will call with Grand Tichu when your team is behind in score. Be more conservative and play it safe, and call Grand Tichu less often when your team is ahead in score.

Memory And Attention To Detail

Remember what cards have been played, the points gained by each team as the round progresses, and the color ace given to you or that you gave.

Sometimes, your team will score more points if you go out 4th in the round instead of going out 3rd. You’ll only realize this if you track points earned by each team during the round as it plays out.

Passing Cards To Partner During The Card Exchange Phase (When you have A/DR/PH)

In general, if you have only 1 Phoenix/Dragon in your hand, and no aces, and you don’t think you can call small Tichu with the cards you see, give the Dragon/Phoenix to your partner instead.

In general, if you have 1 Phoenix and 1 Ace in your hand, consider keeping both of these cards and giving a lower card to your partner, so you can call small Tichu.

If you have Phoenix + Dragon in your hand, but no Ace, consider giving either Phoenix or Dragon to your partner (during the early stage or mid stage of the game) Sometimes, trying to keep both the Phoenix and Dragon in your hand, with no Ace, while calling small Tichu will create a situation where your team scores 95 and the other team score 105.

During the late stage of the game, when your team is close to 900 points, you can afford to give much lower cards to your partner (plus keep Phoenix and Dragon) for that 1 small Tichu call. You will just need 1 small Tichu call to win the game if close to 1000 points.

Defensive Play And Bringing Down The Chances Of Double Victory (Quoted From Boardgamegeek)

“Remember that just because you can beat an opponent's play, doesn't mean you should. It's often better to save your high cards for later.

You have to decide on your objective each hand. If your opponent's hands are strong, and yours are weak, it's often better not to try to stop the Tichu, but concentrate on stopping your opponent from going out 1-2.

Let's suppose you have one A, and no Dragon and Phoenix. You (correctly) pass your A to partner, and he passes one back. So the opponents might possibly have Dragon-Phoenix-A-A between them. Now assume one opponent calls Tichu.

If you try to stop the Tichu, by playing your A on your opponent's K, it's just going to get beaten by the Dragon or Phoenix, and then your hand will be even weaker when trying to stop the Tichu Caller’s partner. Instead, let the Tichu caller go out. Play low cards if you get the chance, but save your high cards, especially your Aces, even if it means letting the Tichu caller win a trick with a J! Eventually he will play his Dragon and Phoenix and go out. Now you and your partner each have an A that's a winner, and your chance of stopping the 1-2 has gone way up.”

When the opposing team calls Grand Tichu: “The worst possible outcome is their team getting +400. Passing the dog to GT caller increases the chances of that disaster in some cases. If the goal is to set the GT caller, making him/her fail the GT call, (which may sound obvious, but sometimes I look at my hands and am happy if we merely avoid getting 1-2'd), then either you or your partner will have to do it.

If you think you have a good chance, the dog at your partner will help you more. Especially since the GT caller may assume his partner has the dog.

If you gave your partner a power card (A/DR/PH), then keeping the dog for yourself might be best.

And if you have a terrible hand, and don't think you can even dog to your P if you kept the dog, then maybe passing to GT's partner (or to your partner) is best, just to try to avoid the 1-2 (also dependent on current score).

Almost all Tichu best practices are contextual. But the first step is almost always to consider the realistic goal for the hand based on what you know and go from there.”

Making The Most Of The Cards You Have

The main focus of every hand is to get the most points possible from the cards your team has. That means playing for double victory/one-two when possible every round.

If the other team has called Small Tichu or Grand Tichu, your goal is to either make that Tichu call fail (depending on the cards you have in hand), or minimize the points they gain from succeeding their Tichu call while maximizing the points you earn through effective defensive play and careful tracking of point cards.

General guidelines which increase the chances of double victory/1-2 for a team (these are not always meant to be followed; these are not hard and fast rules that apply to every situation):

Giving A/DR/PH to your partner when you have more than 1 A/DR/PH in your hand.

Giving A or higher to your partner after calling Grand Tichu, if your hand has at least AADRPH.

Giving A or higher to your partner while still having plans to call small Tichu with your hand.

Closing out or ending your hand with low singleton, PH/Dogs after a successful Tichu call or as you get rid of all cards in hand

Keeping A in your hand and giving a slightly lower card to your partner if you do not have 2 or more of AAAADRPH in hand

Using Dogs effectively. Generally for 1-2 or double victory conditions, dogs is best played late in the hand or as the very last card as you exit and rid yourself of all cards.