Tips tichu

Source Of This Information

This page was written and edited by a player who has

- achieved expert rating in BGA tichu (500+ ELO) several times

- achieved ELO world leader status in Tichu for BGA more than once

- literally played close to a total of 2,000+ Tichu games on BGA and other websites.

Before You Read This

Some people believe you should figure out the strategy or tips of this game or any game for yourself rather than learning strategy from another source.

In that case, you might not want to continue reading everything in this guide.

I believe in a mixture of both where you refine strategies/tips that you know of, while being flexible and open-minded.

Growth Mindset And Mental Flexibility

The biggest weakness of an experienced player in this game is mental inflexibility.

Over time, they develop an approach to playing and they never deviate from that approach.

Then, they wonder why their ratings are not getting better.

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.”

Be fully willing to admit and have your mistakes pointed out by other players (especially those with high ratings you respect!)

Then, correct those mistakes in future play.

Getting better sometimes requires you move out of your comfort zone, experiment, and be willing to try new things in how you play…with this or any other game.

Challenge The Way You’ve Done Everything

“The most insidious mistakes are the ones we don’t realize we’re making. After long hours with a game (like Tichu), you become set in your ways. You’re unable to see flaws in the way you pass cards or play your cards.

The solution is to engage with other Tichu players, ask them for feedback on how you pass cards and play the cards in your hand. Have them look at replays of your games whether you’ve won or lost.

Watch stronger players and replays of their games and have them watch games of yours. Pay extra attention to players who play differently than you and who at the same time seem to be enjoying more success in this game than you are. Dissenting opinions are valuable. Welcome them and consider trying out the new ideas those dissenting opinions are based on.” -

(Paraphrasing Reid Duke’s thoughts on strategy for MTG. They apply to aspects of Tichu also).

Post Game Analysis

When you finish a game of Tichu, reflect on it. Ask

• Why the winning team won
• What mistakes were made by the losing team
• What the losing team could do differently in future games that would maximize their chances of winning
• What effect (positive/negative) card exchange had on the game
• What effect (positive/negative) play of the hand had on the game
• What effect luck had on the game

Don't assume that you're not making mistakes just because you're winning. The winning team in a game of Tichu might still have made mistakes. If that winning team is blind to those mistakes (because they won), they will most likely continue to make those same mistakes in future games, leading to defeat. Spot all mistakes, learn from them, and do better next time. Don’t be complacent, letting victory lead to overconfidence, and continue working at getting better whether you’ve won or lost.

Mindset Concerning Luck

“If you neglect the rule of luck in an outcome – be it positive or negative – then it will become impossible to differentiate the result from the process.Therefore, it’s a key part of any self-improvement process (of Tichu) to correctly identify when you actually did get lucky or unlucky.

The reality is that, a lot of the time, we make the right decision and it doesn’t work out, but it doesn’t mean it was the wrong decision to begin with, and we need to acknowledge that, because we need to make sure we make the same decision next time. A person who ignores the role of luck is a person who cannot differentiate between the times they did something right and the times they got lucky, or the times they did something wrong and the times they got unlucky, so they’re much more likely to repeat what worked rather than what was right.”

Spot and be aware of the moments in a game where you or opponents

• did something right but bad luck seems to have changed the outcome

• made a mistake but good luck seems to have changed the outcome

“At times, your losses will be due to bad luck. However, be careful not to hide behind that excuse. Look to it only after you've left no stone unturned with regard to the aspects of the game that you did have control over.” - (Quoting Reid Duke’s thoughts on strategy for MTG. They apply to Tichu as well).

Existing Page on Tichu Strategy

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

From boardgamegeek: When it comes to strategy/tips: “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.”

Passing cards

• Talk to your partner about how they pass cards to you and opponents. Then, adjust the way you pass cards according to the information they give you. During the game, consider the way they pass cards and use that as another source of information on how you will play.
• One possible approach: Even right, odd left, third worst single,1st/2nd best single card to your partner (A or higher to partner depending on your hand).
• 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/Phoenix to your partner if you are unlikely to make a Tichu bet. Realize that in some cases, doing this will help your partner make/stop a Tichu call. In other cases, passing your only DR/PH (if it’s the only high card in your hand), means you can’t take any tricks with points….or get rid of all your cards…in this case, you’ve effectively killed the strength of your hand by giving away your only DR/PH/A to partner.
• 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.
• When passing cards, 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.
• If your team is way behind in score, and your partner has called Grand, consider giving your second highest card while keeping your Ace/Dragon/Phoenix. The goal is for your team to score 400 points and giving your highest card might work against that goal.
• From boardgamegeek: “A common passing dilemma is whether to make the risky pass (for the straight) or the conservative pass (for the pairs and triplets). In general, straights are preferable to pairs, because 33 is usually as much a loser as 3, whereas 23456 can convert 5 losers into a null. The main consideration is how much benefit you derive from taking the risk, and how much risk you are taking (double-ended draws like holding 3456 are naturally much more likely than gutshot draws, where you need one specific card). For example, in the following hand: Dog 334566 89TTKKA I would pass 3 6 A. Getting that 2 or 7 will instantly convert quite a few losers into nulls, and you might be able to threaten a quick exit if you can get in with your KK. If you don't get it, your hand is not that much worse off than before, and in any event certainly not a Tichu-threatening or Tichu-denying hand. But with this hand: 234455 789QQKKA I would pass 3/2/A. Your 4455 is probably a loser but one that can be covered by QQKK: if you can get a lead, QQKK goes from a null to a loser-covering winner. (If you are playing against opponents that you know often pass low cards, I would pass 7 8 A instead.) Passing 5 4 A is tempting, but turns a somewhat-decent defensive hand into utter junk if you don't get that 6.”
• Sometimes, you might want to pass a lower single to a partner and higher cards to opponents, i.e. 7 7 to opponents and 2 to partner. If you have only one 2 in your hand, passing that 2 might create a bomb in your partner’s hand.
• Do not force the issue. Consider the strength of your hand as a whole. You having A + PH in your hand does not necessarily mean you absolutely give low card to partner. In certain instances and if in doubt, it is better to give PH to your partner than to keep (Phoenix) PH and A while giving partner low card. A hand with A + PH might not work itself out into a Tichu hand. Same case with AA + PH hands and Dragon + AA hands. The cards you receive are subject to chance and it does not always sort itself out perfectly to fit into a Tichu hand.

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 or have given the Phoenix to your partner for example.
• Also for use of the 1; you may like to ask for the card you gave the player next to you.
• If you have a full house of Queens, you might use the 1 in certain cases to wish for a K. This makes it less likely in the future that your Queen full house will be overtaken by a K full house. A similar principle applies to straights. With a straight of 678910, you might consider wishing for a J to make it slightly more difficult for your straight to be overtaken.
• 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.
• Another approach is to ask for a card not in your hand to break up a possible straight or set whether or not a person has called tichu.
• If your hand is weak and you think your opponent’s hand is weak as well, playing a straight with a 1 and wishing high could end up stopping the opponents from making a Tichu call or succeeding on a Tichu call.

General play

• Remember what cards have already been played; especially the aces, dragon, and phoenix. The more cards you can remember, the more accurate assessment you have of how strong your opponents cards are….unless they have bombs.
• If given the choice between ending with low single or ending with dogs, end with dogs. Example: You have 2, Dogs, and Dragon in your hand. Play 2 first, Dragon second, dogs last. Do not play dogs first, Dragon next, and 2 last. If you are bombed, you are not going out if your last card is a 2.
• If dogs is out of play, and you must choose between ending with 22 or 2, end with 2 as you exit the hand. End with combinations or a solo card which is favorable for your partner to play on based on what you think opponents might have. (If you think they have dragon, perhaps you’ll end with 22 instead of 2 in a different hand)

All special cards: Dragon, Phoenix, Dog and 1

• Keep them all within team.
• When your cards are weak (all cards less than A) and you have dogs, the temptation is to give it away to opponents. Keep in mind, that in some cases, this decision makes the opponents stronger instead of weaker. Thus, the rationale for why some players give dogs to partner when their hand is weak.
• Giving dogs to opponents has issues. Following problems that might occur if you give away dogs to the other team: (1) They could use it against you to score double victory (2) They use it to increase the chances of success on a Tichu call they made. A tichu bet that otherwise would have failed without the dogs succeeds instead. (3) They make your Tichu call fail after they bomb you and dog to their partner….or they make your Tichu call not even happen as they have 1 and dog and play dog to give lead to opponent. (4) During your Tichu call or grand Tichu call, you face the tricky scenario of one opponent having dogs and a lot of cards left in hand - the other opponent having just one card. You can’t give the person with dogs the lead. With the lead, they will use the dogs, causing your Tichu call to fail. (5) A team with dogs and decent enough cards overall is well coordinated and works more effectively in dealing with the opposition versus the team with weaker cards and no dogs.
• If possible, most of the time, keep dogs within your team because: “You can't know whom you should give dogs before trading except a grand call at a score like 820; so you always risk making the wrong decision without any information given…” - Q
• Giving dogs away to the right opponent offers benefits in some cases: (1)It might reduce the chances of double victory in some cases (especially when a person has dogs and they are playing cards against 2 opponents) (2) It really weakens a person’s hand if they have no way to get a lead. They might be stuck with dogs for the entire round (3) Can stop a potential Tichu call or cause a Tichu call made to fail in some cases. (4) Giving dogs to opposition means you did not give a card that creates a bomb.

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.

Track 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 A Bomb

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 approximately 1 - 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.

Convention For Passing

One possible convention for passing or a passing variation is to:

(1) Pass A/DR/PH if you have more than one of the following in your hand: AAAADRPH

(2) Keep A/DR/PH if you only have one of the following in your hand: AAAADRPH

If partner has called grand, give highest card breaking the convention rules above. If your team is close to victory at 890 or 900 points, break convention rules above to make a Tichu call.

It is preferable that you tell your partner that you are using the convention above and they use it also. Both you and your partner will gain a little more information about what could be in both your hands and opponents hands’.

Counterpoints From Other Players

“For a hand with Dragon and Phoenix (but no A), aim to keep both with plans to call Tichu. In most cases, if you split it, your partner also can’t do much. And the team may not end up getting the 100 from the Tichu call. Don’t split Dragon + Phoenix unlesss you’re completely sure you can’t call Tichu. It’s ok to split Dragon + Phoenix (giving one to your partner) when your hand is very strong and you can still call Tichu.”

“When deciding whether or not to keep DP or giving one of the two away, ask yourself:

- if you can call Tichu

- how reliant are you on Ph being used in a combo? Can you break it out eventually to play as a single on top of assuming partner doesnt give you A?

- how strong your combos that requires the use of Phoenix are

There's no hard and fast rule to this. This is a hand that requires a lot of decision making”  

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.”

“Consider giving dogs to opponent partner when opponent called GT if intention is to prevent double victory. Weaken your opponent partner’s hand in the process so that you and your partner can leave 2nd and third.

(Sometimes, giving dogs to the GT caller can prevent the Grand Tichu from becoming successful, especially if you have cards which will allow you to make and succeed a small Tichu call. Or, if you have bombs in your hand. This could be one case where giving dogs to the GT caller seems feasible).

Mistakes Made During Play To Watch Out For

- Mistakes in play due to memory. (Playing a card assuming it will win a trick but forgetting a higher card is in play. Or, forgetting higher cards are out of play and not playing a card thinking it will lose a trick when it will actually win.

- Playing dogs too early during a Tichu call and not being able to save your partner with the dogs later on. Playing dogs too early when playing it later would have led to double victory.

- Waiting too long before playing dogs, which means you’re stuck with it for the rest of the hand and cannot exit. Or, your partner can no longer exit the hand because they could not get the lead.

- Playing high cards too early or too late in the hand; both could lead to situations where opponents exit first before your team before you would have

- Not being flexible when playing your hand; unwillingness to break pairs or straights and play them as singles; in some cases, this is a more efficient way to play your hand than to insist on playing your aces and high cards while preserving your sets, pairs, triples, straights, full houses, etc…

Unconventional Strategy

Usually, you want to be efficient in how you play cards to win tricks. (Playing cards one or two steps higher than previous cards.

However, if playing to counteract the possibility of bombs you might not want the opposition to get rid of all their low cards. If they do, they can often just play their bomb and then exit with their last set of cards. To counteract this, do not pass and give the opposing team members a chance to play their low cards, waiting until the cards are higher before playing your Ace(s). Instead, play the cards that give you a lead right away, whether it’s A/Dragon never giving the opposition any chance to play any low cards if possible.

If the other side is about to win with 995 points and your team has 400 points and you’ve called Grand Tichu, it does not matter if you succeed your Grand Tichu call. What matters more is that your partner also exits after you to make sure your team scores 400 points. In this scenario, you might have to give your partner Dragon/Phoenix, if your partner is also going to normally give you their highest card.

If your team is behind in points and is about to lose by over 400 points, it is understood that one of you needs to make the Grand Tichu call. Some suggest it should be the person with the weaker set of 8 cards not the one with the strongest set. The reason for this is that the person with the stronger set of cards can support the person with the weaker set of cards in succeeding their grand Tichu call. Also, a person is more likely to succeed their Grand Tichu call because it is a 2 vs. 2 situation. The person who is in a 1 vs 2 situation needs stronger cards to exit because they are playing against 2 people alone. The person in a 2 vs 2 situation has the support of their partner to exit and does not need as strong of a hand.

Traditionally, you play cards 1,2, or several small steps above the previous card to maintain power balance. You don’t play big cards on top of small cards with a huge gap (A on 2, Dragon on 2, K on 3, etc….) There are times to break this rule.

Do not follow this style of play if doing so could cause the other side to achieve double victory.

If Dragon is gone and one player from opposite team is out of cards, the last card they play might be a single 2 or single Phoenix.

There could be times when you’ll have to IMMEDIATELY play A on top of the solo Phoenix or solo 2, especially if you think it’s possible the remaining opponent on the other team still has an A and can take the lead.

If you don’t do this, the player on the other team might play their A on the single 2 or solo Phoenix immediately, take the lead and proceed to get rid of all cards in their hand with combinations you can’t beat.

And, do not let concern about taking negative points in a trick (-25 from Phoenix) cause you to give up the lead to the other side, which then leads to double victory.

See Beyond The Obvious

Constantly ask yourself, “what cards would my opponents/partner have in order to play this way?” Then, as play continues/ends, check to see whether you came to the right conclusion. With experience and continued practice, you’ll be able to know what cards your opponents/partners have without actually seeing their hand.

Being able to accurately read the hand of both your opponents and partner is what separates a strong player from an expert.

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.