Tips thegang

The following tips aren’t set-in-stone rules, but are meant to give you an idea of how communication works in this game. As a group, figure out for yourselves how you’d like to communicate best without discussing your hand.

Do not be afraid to take chips away from other players. This is exactly how you communicate the quality of your own hand and help others to categorize you. The more the chips move, the more communication takes place.

Always evaluate the current state, not how good it might still become.
1st Phase: Having a pair from the start: definitely take the highest number, otherwise evaluate the rank of your High Card.
From 2nd Phase: If something was revealed in this phase that increases your rating, take a higher (or at least equally high) chip than in the previous round. This allows fellow players to draw conclusions about your specific card values.
Conversely: If nothing fitting your hand was revealed, take a chip that is 1 lower. If then no one wants to indicate a hit with a higher chip, you can return to the evaluation of the previous round.

Introduction

This is a concise pre‑flop strategy guide for The Gang focused on **rank‑only** pre‑flop chip selection. It defines a simple, repeatable convention for mapping numbered chips to rank percentiles, explains why the convention helps, clarifies how Ace‑high hands should be placed so both charts work smoothly, and provides two separate, actionable mapping options you can adopt at the table.

Core conventions to adopt

• Establish a ranking convention. Map each chip number to a clear percentile bucket so everyone interprets chip choices the same way.
• Conservative default. On the pre‑flop stage, default to slightly conservative picks and only escalate when community cards materially change the actual hand strength.
• Controlled chip theft. Taking another player’s chip is the only legal private signal—use it to correct obvious misrankings, not to bluff.
• Do not consider suits at this stage. Pre‑flop picks are based on ranks only; suitedness and flush/straight potential are ignored for the initial ranking.
• Timing as a soft signal. Picking a chip quickly signals a stronger rank; taking time to pick a chip, or picking then returning a chip, signals a weaker rank.
• Ranking is only about the cards you hold. Base your pre‑flop chip choice exclusively on the two ranks in your hand.

Why a percentile convention helps

• Reduces ambiguity. Percentiles let players interpret rankings consistently.
• Makes steals informative. A chip take becomes a clear corrective statement about percentile.
• Improves planning.
  • Schedule Specialists and Challenges deliberately because you know which percentile buckets are likely to win or lose across rounds.
  • Budget risk by tracking how many top‑bucket rank outcomes remain and deciding when to spend a Specialist or accept a Challenge.
  • Assign informal roles based on predictable chip distributions.
  • Make corrective plays efficient: a chip take can reallocate risk and reduce disputes.

Pre‑flop decision rules (rank‑only)

• Pairs are one group. Treat any pocket pair as a single pre‑flop signal category for the initial chip pick.
• Do not consider suits at this stage.
• Ranking is only about the cards you hold.
• Timing as a soft signal. Picking quickly = stronger; taking time = weaker.
• No talk; use takes to correct.
• Conservative default for speculative hands.

Two possible rank grouping charts for five players

When suits are ignored, every two‑card hand reduces to one of **91 distinct rank outcomes**: 13 pairs + 78 two‑rank combos. The charts below group those 91 outcomes into five buckets each.

Group Count (of 91) Percentage A) Pairs 13 14.29% B) A/K high 23 25.27% C) Q/J high 19 20.88% D) 10/9/8 high 21 23.08% E) 7 high or lower 15 16.48%

Group Count (of 91) Percentage A) Pairs or A high 25 27.47% B) K/Q high 21 23.08% C) J/10 high 17 18.68% D) 9/8/7 high 18 19.78% E) 6 high or lower 10 10.99%

Ace‑high placement mapping

Aspect	Chart 1 guidance	Chart 2 guidance
Where A‑high sits	A‑high is part of Group B (A/K high)	A‑high is part of Group A (Pairs or A high)
How to treat strong A‑highs	AK and AQ normally claim the second chip or top of Group B; promote only when no pairs are present	AK and AQ sit comfortably in the top bucket with pairs
How to treat weak A‑highs	A2–A5 sit at the lower end of Group B	A2–A5 are in the top bucket by Chart 2; adopt Chart 1 if you dislike promoting weak A‑highs
Practical rule of thumb	Use Chart 1 to prioritize pairs	Use Chart 2 to reward A‑high alongside pairs

Practical mapping and two separate options

Option 1: Use Chart 1

• Philosophy: keep pairs distinct.
• Bucket guidance (5‑player): Top = pairs; Second = A/K high; Middle = Q/J high; Lower = 10/9/8 and 7‑low.
• When to steal: correct clear misorders.

Option 2: Use Chart 2

• Philosophy: pairs + A‑high top bucket.
• Bucket guidance (5‑player): Top = pairs or A‑high; Second = K/Q high; Middle = J/10 high; Lower = 9/8/7 and 6‑low.
• When to steal: correct clear misorders.

Table setup checklist

• Agree which chart you’re using and display it.
• Tweak boundaries if misorders are frequent.
• Set steal etiquette: corrective vs punitive.

Closing guidance

• Pick one option and be consistent.
• Start conservative; shift to aggressive only after the group reliably interprets percentiles.
• Use chip takes to correct, not confuse.

Pre‑flop Cheat Sheet

This cheat sheet maps common two‑rank examples to recommended pre‑flop chips for a 5‑player baseline, with quick adjustment rules for 4 and 6 player games. Use this at the table as a compact reference. All picks are rank‑only (no suits).

How to read this sheet

• Chip scale (5‑player baseline): 5 = top, 1 = bottom.
• Adjust for player count: For 4 players, move each recommended chip up one step (e.g., 4 → 5). For 6 players, move each recommended chip down one step (e.g., 3 → 2).
• Pairs: All pocket pairs map to the pair bucket pre‑flop.
• Timing cues: Quick pick = stronger; taking time or returning a chip = weaker. Use timing as secondary confirmation only.
• Use chip takes to correct misorders rather than arguing.

Example hand	Chart 1 bucket (pairs separate)	Chart 1 chip (5‑player)	Chart 2 bucket (pairs + A‑high)	Chart 2 chip (5‑player)	Quick note / guidance
AA, KK, QQ	Pairs	5	Pairs or A high	5	All pairs start in the pair bucket; treat uniformly pre‑flop.
AK (unsuited)	A/K high	4	Pairs or A high	5	Strong A‑high; Chart 1 maps to chip 4, Chart 2 places in top bucket.
AQ	A/K high	4	Pairs or A high	5	Strong A‑high; treat like AK for baseline mapping.
AJ, AT	A/K high	3	Pairs or A high	5	Lower A‑highs; Chart 1 places lower than AK/AQ.
A9–A5	A/K high	3	Pairs or A high	5	Weak A‑highs; Chart 1 keeps them in second/third chip range.
KQ, KJ, KT	A/K high	3	K/Q high	4	Strong K‑high hands; Chart 2 groups them with K/Q.
QJ, QT	Q/J high	3	K/Q high	4	Q‑J range; Chart 2 groups with K/Q for a tighter mid bucket.
JT, T9	Q/J high	2	J/10 high	3	Connectors and high singletons; mid/low mid buckets.
T8, 98, 87	10/9/8 high	2	9/8/7 high	2	Lower connectors and middling singletons; default to lower chips.
76, 65, 54, 43, 32	7 high or lower	1	6 high or lower	1	Bottom ranks; speculative only pre‑flop.
66–22 (any small pair)	Pairs	5	Pairs or A high	5	All pairs are placed in the pair bucket pre‑flop; table may promote specific pairs by agreement.