Psellos
Life So Short, the Craft So Long to Learn

Schnapsen Log Archives

Columns for September, 2021

As Luck Would Have It

Martin Tompa
September 9, 2021

It’s been a long while since I’ve written. This post will be different from usual: it is a collection of anecdotes from the Schnapsen table.

I am constantly floored by the extremes that luck often takes in Schnapsen. I feel as though very low probability events happen much more frequently than they should, even though I am aware that this is just a psychological aberration rather than a mathematical one. I know that you have witnessed such things yourself at the Schnapsen table. How often have you felt that you have gone several games without seeing a trump in your hand or without holding a marriage?

Against no opponent are these extremes of luck as noticeable as against the notorious Doktor Schnaps. In fact, early on in my rivalry with Doktor Schnaps I was so sure that I wasn’t being dealt my fair share of trumps that I started maintaining a spreadsheet of my deals in which I keep track of statistics such as how many…

About the Author

Martin Tompa

Martin Tompa (tompa@psellos.com)

I am a Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, where I teach discrete mathematics, probability and statistics, design and analysis of algorithms, and other related courses. I have always loved playing games. Games are great tools for learning to think logically and are a wonderful component of happy family or social life.

Read about Winning Schnapsen, the very first and definitive book on the winning strategy for this fascinating game.

Subscribe

Getting Started

Links for Schnapsen and Sixty-Six

Links in German

Links in Hungarian

Recent Columns

September
Sidestep a Few Landmines, Sep 2
June
Two Last-Trick Problems, Jun 27
May
More Extremes of Luck, May 21
April
Grasping at Straws, Apr 4
March
A New Scheme for Remembering Cards, Mar 23
September
As Luck Would Have It, Sep 9

Archives

2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012