Discard Strategies

There you are at bat, holding a 4, J, Q and hoping you'll see something worth swinging at.  If the Pitcher lays a Jack, you're all over it like the weeds on Buffalo Lake.  But what if it's a ... nine?  Or a ... two?  Which is the right card to strike in this or any other scenario?

It's a taboo subject, we know, because it seems like a discussion of how to strike out.  In reality though, it's a discussion of how not to strike out, and we think there can be some strategy to it.

Drop Dupes First

Since the suits have no meaning in Kardball (as in Blackjack, or ... Cribbage), holding more than one of any given card value is of no advantage to a batter.  If you were dealt a double of anything, one of those twins must be the first to go face down if you have to strike.

Off With Their Heads

If we assume that you want to maximize your chances for hitting (you do, don't you?), then the simple, beautiful arithmetic of the matter dictates that lower numbered cards, specifically Ace through six, can hit a wider variety of pitches. On that basis, your default strategy is to discard your highest cards next, e.g. the ones with the creepy faces on them.

Anti-Strategy

Avid readers of the Kardball Klatsch already know that the obvious move isn't always the right move. Experienced pitchers expect you to dump those high cards first, and hold onto something low.  As a result, they may throw a Jack or a King on the third pitch, defying you to swing your hole Ace.  Had you anticipated this, you could have saved that Jack and possibly hit one out of the park (er, off the table?)

So, to sum this up in a way that even we can understand, a solid discard strategy looks like this.

• Discard duplicate cards first, if you have any
• Dump your highest card(s) next
• Hold back an Ace or deuce, but don't think too hard before discarding
• If you don't have an Ace or deuce, hold back a high prime and wear a stupid expression on your face

That wasn't difficult, was it?