Choosing the Next Card in COOL104: Three Example Hands
Keep a suit alive, switch suits on a matching rank, and check your next move before chasing a poker hand. Three COOL104 hands show the thinking.
Example 1: chain two cards of the same suit
Table ♥7, hand ♥2, ♣7, ♠9, ♥Q, ♦9. You can play ♥2, ♣7 or ♥Q. Play ♥2 and the ♥Q already in your hand is playable next. Even without knowing the replacement card, those two moves are guaranteed.
Play ♣7 first and the four cards left in this hand include no clubs and no 7s, so your next move depends entirely on the draw. Going ♥2 then ♥Q secures the following move. That does not make it the best line every time.
Example 2: switch suits on a matching rank
Table ♠9, hand ♥9, ♥3, ♣5, ♦J, ♠2. You can play ♥9 or ♠2. Playing ♥9 changes the suit to hearts, which lets you play ♥3 next. A card with the same rank is your bridge to another suit.
Look not only at how many cards you can play next, but at what remains after the switch. Once you see the replacement card, you can reconsider on every turn.
Example 3: break a hand to keep a move
Table ♣5, hand ♣8, ♥8, ♦8, ♠K, ♥A. The only legal card right now is ♣8. Holding on to three 8s stalls the run. Play ♣8, then ♥8, then ♦8 and the chain keeps going.
Poker hands are judged on the five cards in your hand after the refill. Protecting the hand you have now does not lock in the next bonus. Secure a legal move first, then think about which hands are still possible.