Topic 12: Applying the Card Words - Tutorial 20
You now have the knowledge to picture any playing card instantly, and to memorise sequences of playing cards quickly and efficiently. The exact way in which you apply these skills to playing card games will depend on which games you play. The systems you have learned are flexible - you can adapt or expand them to help you improve your chances at any card game you choose.
This tutorial aims to demonstrate a few ways in which the systems can be applied to various card games. Once you understand the basic idea, you can creatively apply the systems in your own way to your own favourite card game or games.
Although the Link system when applied to memorising the complete sequence of a deck of cards is a truly impressive stunt, the Link idea is not actually the most useful when applied to games such as bridge, solo, gin rummy or canasta.
In all these games, you need to know which cards have been played so far during any hand - the order in which they were played is usually not so important. The easiest method of accomplishing this is to use the mutilation idea.
To memorise all the cards played, you simply picture the Card Word for each card as it is played, and mutilate that picture in some way. If the 3H is played, picture a burning home. When the 5S is played, see a ripped sail; the 2H, picture a headless hen; the 7D picture a burning deck, and so on. Simply mutilate the picture that represents the card in your mind, in some quick way.
As you get more practice, this will become easier and easier to do. For one thing, you will get to know the Card Words better and better. Also, once you see a mutilation of any Card Word, you will use that same picture all the time.
Try the idea now, with a deck of cards. Take out, say, ten cards, without looking at them, and put them to one side. Now, turn over the remaining 42 cards one at a time, and as you look at each card, mutilate the Card Word for that card in your mind. The way in which you mutilate the picture is entirely up to you, but remember that whatever comes to mind first is the best picture to use.
When you have turned over the 42 cards, and created 42 mutilated Card Word pictures in your mind, you will easily remember which ten cards were taken out of the deck. You simply go over the 52 Card Words in your mind - any picture which has not been mutilated will stand out like a sore thumb !
Practice this stunt a few times on your own, then try it with a friend calling out the cards to you as he turns them over. This is a truly impressive stunt when done quickly. Incidentally, it does not matter how many cards are removed from the pack - in fact, the more cards removed the easier, because there are fewer to mutilate. For bridge players, thirteen cards is a good demonstration. Have someone deal four hands of thirteen cards, and call out three of the hands, a card at a time. You then tell him exactly what is in the fourth hand!
To gain speed, you will need to work at making the Card Words second nature. The better you know them, the quicker you will be able to perform the missing card stunt. When you are running through the list of Card Words in your mind to determine which ones have been mutilated, is a good idea to always use the same order for the suits - say Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades. This will save you the time and possible confusion of going over the same list twice.
The mutilation system works well for any discard game. Bridge players in particular use the system to great effect. Some memorise only the trump cards which have been played, so they mutilate only the trump cards. More experienced players will often memorise all the cards played, so they mutilate each one as it is played.
In gin rummy, it is important to know whether it is safe to play any particular card. So, as you play, mutilate each card discarded by yourself and your opponent. When you want to know if it is safe to discard a particular card, you just need to think of three or four Card Words. If you are thinking of discarding the 7D, think of the Card Words for the 6D and 8D. If they haven't been mutilated then your opponent may be waiting for the 7D to complete a diamond run. When your opponent takes a card, associate the Card Word to his face. If he takes the 2H, see a hen sitting on his head. Later, you will remember all the cards your opponent has picked up!
In Pontoon or Blackjack, knowing what cards have been played is a great help in knowing when to double your bet, and when to stop, or twist.
Although poker is not a discard game, a memory of what has been played is certainly very useful. All good poker players have an idea of poker odds, and the odds do change according to cards played. So in a stud poker game it would be bad play to keep betting because you are waiting for an ace when you know that two aces have already been dealt to other players.
The above ideas are just some of the ways in which you can apply the Card Words to various card games. The most important thing to remember is that applying the systems is a creative activity We have given you the basic systems - the way in which you apply them to the card games you play is now up to you. Good Luck!