YAHTZEE strategy

Quote: Wizard

I just reread Advantage Yahtzee. It is better than I remembered.

Here is just one bit of advice. Let's say it's late in the game and you have to zero in a category due to a lousy hand. Here is the order you should do it in, from first to last.

1. Yahtzee
2. Four of a kind
3. Full house
4. Large straight
5. Three of a kind
6. Small straight

This was helpful. I previously would have zeroed in a large straight before a full house, but otherwise I think I had the order correct.

Ten years ago or whenever Advantage Yahtzee came out I was hoping to get a chance to discuss it with Olaf. I was in a few meetings with him when he was at Mikohn but the opportunity to discuss Yahtzee never came up.

Quote: Wizard

Don't you hate it when people quit on you?!! In my first six turns I had two Yahtzees and a large straight. Then my opponent quit. No closure to the game. No opportunity to beat my high score of 498. I think whoever runs this game should give you the opportunity to finish it out alone.

Not really. Why finish that game out? The closure is that he forfeited the game, so it's a W in your stats. In his position, I'd also have forfeited.

It'd be like a chess game where the opponent refuses to resign despite a nearly hopeless lack of material and no chance of a time limit victory...just keeps playing for the sake of making it take as long as possible to achieve an inevitable result.

I used to play on the same site you have been using every now and then; I would just forfeit when I felt my probability of winning had dropped below 50%.

Quote: terapined

We should arrange a time ahead of time to all get on at once and play each other

Hard pass. Call it, "Variance," or call it, "Luck," but I don't like games that are dependent upon it. (Unless there's a way to make money, of course)

Is there ever a reason to pursue 1s? A late game yahtzee prayer perhaps but, if it was your first turn and you rolled a 1-1-1-3-5, what would you do? How about a 1-1-1-1-6?

If you decide to go for the yahtzee and get it, great. If you don't get it, however, what's the plan? The 1s would kill any 3 of a kind, 4 of a kind or chance score. You could score it in aces but that's your non-chance dumping ground and it seems a waste to actually use it to score mere 1s. (Whoo Hoo! Four points!)

Quote: Gialmere

Is there ever a reason to pursue 1s? A late game yahtzee prayer perhaps but, if it was your first turn and you rolled a 1-1-1-3-5, what would you do? How about a 1-1-1-1-6?

I hate holding two or three ones. I might hold four for the Yahtzee and maybe even three after the first roll, depending on the whole card. Another reason to hold ones is it's late in the game and you're close to par in the upper section and risk losing the bonus if you don't get enough ones.

Early in the game if I had a roll like 1-1-1-3-6, I'd probably hold the 6 only.

Quote: Wizard

I hate holding two or three ones. I might hold four for the Yahtzee and maybe even three after the first roll, depending on the whole card. Another reason to hold ones is it's late in the game and you're close to par in the upper section and risk losing the bonus if you don't get enough ones.

Early in the game if I had a roll like 1-1-1-3-6, I'd probably hold the 6 only.

I agree with all of this. Late in the game, you would want to hold the ones only if a failure to get three ones results in the need to get (at least) four of something else. Or, perhaps you're short on threes but have an extra two, then four ones would give you the chance to rectify that.

It just depends on your card, but almost certainly never in the early game.

Quote: Wizard

I hate holding two or three ones. I might hold four for the Yahtzee and maybe even three after the first roll, depending on the whole card. Another reason to hold ones is it's late in the game and you're close to par in the upper section and risk losing the bonus if you don't get enough ones.

Early in the game if I had a roll like 1-1-1-3-6, I'd probably hold the 6 only.

I dunno, could turn in to a full house or early Yots. In any case, I've missed upper bonus by one often enough to know it's not the 3 or 4 points, it's the 35. But yeah, 1-1-1-1-X is the worst good score.

Quote: Wizard

I should join one of these board game membership sites where members are held accountable for bad etiquette. Can anyone recommend one that emphasizes the classic games?

Board Game Arena. But all I play there is Yahtzee, and Hearts. I want to play backgammon, I was really good 40 some years ago but I hardly ever play any more. Hearts, all I ever do is try to shoot every hand. If there is any chance, I'll try. Closest I've gotten to winning in 4 shoots is 3. Depends on the opponents of course, not everyone is going to let you run a singleton heart jack.