Golf Card Game Strategy
Six-Card Golf looks like luck, but the players who count values, watch the discard pile and time the end of the hole win far more than their share. Here is how.
1. Knock out the high cards first
An unknown card is worth about five and a half points on average. A face-up jack, queen, nine or ten is a known ten-ish points sitting in your grid, so those are the cards to replace first. Any drawn card of five or less is an improvement on a shown ten; a king (0) or a two (−2) is an improvement on almost anything. Swap into a face-down slot only when the drawn card is clearly better than average — a four or lower — because you are trading a mystery card that might already be a king for a known value.
2. Hunt column pairs
A pair in a column turns two cards into zero, and it is the only way to neutralise a face card you cannot get rid of. Once you show a queen, every queen that appears on the discard pile is worth taking: swapping it into the slot beneath your queen removes twenty points at a stroke. The same goes for any shown card, but the higher the card, the bigger the prize. Flip your two opening cards in different columns so more of your grid is in play for pairing.
3. Use the discard pile — and watch what you feed it
The discard pile is the one card you can see before you commit. Take it when it makes a pair, when it is a king or a two, or when it is low enough to replace a known high card. Otherwise draw from the stock, which gives you the option of throwing a bad card away. Remember that whatever you swap out becomes your opponent's next option: if they are showing an eight, do not throw them the eight that completes their column unless the swap is worth it to you. The Hard computer opponent plays exactly this way against you.
4. Flip with a purpose
Discarding a stock card forces you to flip, and every flip brings the end of the hole closer. Early in a hole that is fine — you need information to plan pairs. Late in a hole, think before you discard: if you are behind, keeping a card face down keeps the hole alive and gives you more turns to catch up. When you must flip, prefer a slot whose column partner is already known, so you learn the exact value of that column.
5. Close the hole when you are ahead
Turning your last card face up gives your opponent just one more turn. If your visible cards total clearly less than theirs — and they still have two or three unknowns that will probably average five each — go out as fast as you can, even by swapping a mediocre card into your last hidden slot. Conversely, if your grid is the ugly one, do not close: swap into face-up slots and keep a card hidden until the picture improves.
6. Think in nine holes
Golf is a nine-hole game, so one bad hole is not the end. A hole where your opponent closes early with you holding two unknowns is usually a small loss; a reckless attempt to pair queens that leaves you with 30 is a big one. Play for consistent low holes, take the guaranteed kings and twos, and let the opponent take the gambles.
Practice makes perfect
The Hard computer opponent avoids feeding your pairs and races to close the hole when it is ahead — a good sparring partner for timing your own finish.
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