Spit strategy

Look at both piles at once

The most common mistake is staring at one middle pile. Every card you play changes that pile, and so does every card your opponent plays, so the next move is often on the other one. Keep both tops in view and scan your layout against both.

Remember the wrap: a king goes on an ace and an ace on a two. Players new to the game miss those plays more than any others.

Play from the deep piles first

When two of your cards fit, play the one sitting on the most face-down cards. Uncovering a new card gives you another chance to play, and the round is won by emptying your piles, not by any one of them.

A pile of one that you empty early gives you a gap, and a gap is useful: it is where you move a card to uncover what is underneath.

Use the gaps

When nothing fits, look for a gap and move a card into it. The card you uncover may play straight away, and often starts a run: a jack under a queen, then the queen onto the jack.

Moving a card from a pile of one only moves the gap, which is why the table does not offer it.

Chain the run

If you have a 7, 8 and 9 showing, play them in order onto the same pile: 7 onto a 6, then 8, then 9. Your opponent has to find a card that fits a pile that keeps moving.

Watch your opponent's face-up cards too. If they show a 10 and the pile is on a 9, they are about to play it, and the pile you were counting on will not be there.

Take the small pile

When you win a round, you choose a middle pile and the other player takes the other. Take the smaller one: the game is won by having fewer cards, and every card you take is one more you will have to play.

A player with fewer cards also lays out fewer piles, so a lead tends to grow. The comeback comes from winning rounds quickly, not from waiting.