Here are just some of the very basic tactics of the game which I have garnered from my years of experience! You will probably see that they are all very common sense and easy to remember, so game play is often fast and furious, with lots of unexpected twists! Fun! Fun! Fun!
(1) Hand Arrangement - Form combinations wherever possible so that you can clear more cards and prevent others from doing so. Avoid concentrating on one type of hand(like pairs only) to increase chances of play, unless you have sufficient high combinations to ensure total control. Link up single cards into straights and low stranglers into flushes. Remember, low combinations or cards have virtually no chance of coming out into play unless you have control. So check if you have sufficient potential winners to bring these out. Hold back on these high plays until you feel that they can definitely win control. Observe the previous plays and the number of cards left in the other players' hands to help you decide. Even straights can win control when no one else has five-card hands.
(2) Hand Evaluation - The most important thing to do actually is to assess whether you have a possible winning hand. If you have an average hand, it would be better to clear your cards whenever possible, rather than to go for the win by waiting for the high cards to exhaust out. The game is not won on one deal, but yet can often be lost on one deal. The penalty multiplies when you have more cards left, and it's difficult to catch up once you score high on one deal. Furthermore, the big scorer has to lose his highest card to the winner in the next deal, which is a big disadvantage and makes it hard to get out of the vicious cycle. Generally, it's good to win a deal, but more important not to be the big loser. You can always hope for a better hand next deal.
(3) Game Play - As in Hearts, it is possible to sabotage the current leader, by 'covering' his cards whenever possible and denying him control. However, it is generally more advisable to stick to a game plan, to avoid other players from sneaking in during the in-fighting. Generally, when in doubt, don't beat the play of the player directly preceding you. You will probably get a chance to put down something low if he does win control and start the next lead.
(4) Gangs - Gangs are quite rare and average slightly less than one per deal. Observe your own hand for missing numbers or single cards to evaluate possibilities of gangs in other players' hands. Gangs should be kept as a last resort against another player's unbeatable play put down just prior to a win. This requires judgement since the other player might have up to five cards left in his hand. Alternatively, gangs can be used as this unbeatable play. More cautious players might instead keep a gang as his last 4 cards for an assured win, since you can put down the gang regardless of the number of cards in the current play!
(5) Card Swap - The two cards swapped by the winner and loser reveals a lot about the current deal, especially to the other two players. The high card is usually the President, VP, 10 or 9; any lower and the deal is really unbalanced. The location of the President and VPs are important for deciding single card play, especially when one or more hands are reduced to a few cards. Number cards reveal the possibility of gangs. Also remember that the losing player would not have any card higher than the one he swapped off. The winner would probably be chucking off a single or low card. However, this has the danger of increasing the chances of the loser having a gang(albeit a low one)! Avoid chucking a single 1 especially, since there are 7 of them altogether.
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