14 Wednesday April 13 2022 | the times
MindGames
Fill the grid
using the
numbers 1 to 9
only. The
numbers in each
horizontal or
vertical run of
white squares
add up to the
total in the
triangle to its left
or above it. The
same number
may occur more
than once in a
row or column,
but not within
the same run of
white squares.© PUZZLER MEDIAKakuro No 3152
© 2010 KENKEN PUZZLE & TM NEXTOY. DIST. BY UFS, INC. WWW.KENKEN.COMFill the blank squares so that every row and column contains
each of the numbers 1 to 5 once only. The symbols between
the squares indicate whether a number is larger (>) or smaller
(<) than the number next to it.All the digits 1 to 6 must appear in every row and column. In
each thick-line “block”, the target number in the top left-hand
corner is calculated from the digits in all the cells in the block,
using the operation indicated by the symbol.
KenKen Medium No 5553 Futoshiki No 4193
24 24 23 11 6 18 4 6 7
16 1122 10
15
23 16 4
23
16
1710
17 34
7 20
27 16
18 192423
2313
23
16 16
12 723
8
21 2029 16(^)
Sunk costs
If you are learning the game,
what is the best way to improve at
poker? How can you get the most
bang for your buck, so to speak?
Naturally there are many app-
roaches but I would suggest one
of the most efficient is to get hold
of a hand range chart and learn it.
A hand range chart (there are
dozens available online but they
will all give you more or less the
same information) consists of com-
prehensive instructions as to how
to play correctly pre-flop.
A poker hand is split into pre-
flop and post-flop play. The pre-
flop stage is when the players
receive their two cards before any
communal cards (the "board") are
dealt. Most players have poor
hands and fold. Generally two or
three will remain when all the
betting is completed. The flop is
then dealt (the turn and river will
follow) and post-flop play begins.
Pre-flop play is a bit like open-
ing theory in chess or the bidding
in bridge. It sets the scene for
what follows and, over time, best
play in the most common path-
ways has been worked out.
There are usually nine players
around the table in poker and a
hand range chart will tell you
what to do with any hand, in any
position, based on the action (if
any) before you. For example if
you are in early position (one of
the first three to play) it will tell
you that, holding a pair, you can
open if it is sevens or higher but
should fold if it is sixes or lower.
Similarly with an A-x holding you
can open if "x" is a jack or better
but should fold if it is ten or lower.
It also tells you how to respond if
someone else has opened the
betting, instructing whether you
should fold, call or raise.
Why is this so important? The
pre-flop play lays the foundations
for the post-flop play. If you get
the pre-flop play correct you will
find yourself playing the right
range of hands in post-flop scena-
rios. This will make decisions
easier and you will be far less
likely to make horrible mistakes.
One of the biggest leaks
(poker-speak for exploitable weak-
nesses) that players learning the
game have is that they play far
too many hands pre-flop. This
means that if they connect in a
moderate way with the flop (eg
making a middling pair), they
often get tethered to their hand,
find it hard to let go and end up
paying off a much stronger hand.
They become victims of the sunk
cost fallacy, the psychological
term that expresses unwillingness
to admit you were wrong and
abandon an unprofitable invest-
ment rather than continuing to
support it. In layman's terms, this
is throwing good money after bad.
Playing the correct hands pre-
flop does not automatically pre-
vent you from making mistakes
post-flop. However, it does make
this less likely and, when you do
go wrong, your errors will be less
expensive.
© PUZZLER MEDIA
Slide the letters either horizontally or vertically back into the grid to produce a
completed crossword. Letters are allowed to slide over other letters
Every letter in this crossword-style grid has been substituted for a number from 1
to 26. Each letter of the alphabet appears in the grid at least once. Use the letters
already provided to work out the identity of further letters. Enter letters in the main
grid and the smaller reference grid until all 26 letters of the alphabet have been
accounted for. Proper nouns are excluded. Yesterday’s solution, right
Cluelines Stuck on Codeword? To receive 4 random clues call 0901 293 6262 or
text TIMECODE to 64343. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network
access charge. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network charge. For the full solution
call 0905 757 0142. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s network
access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5.30pm).
Winners will receive a Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus
Solve the puzzle and text in the numbers in the three
shaded boxes. Text TIMES followed by a space, then
your three numbers, eg, TIMES 123, plus your name,
address and postcode to 84901 (UK only), by midnight.
Or enter by phone. Call 09012 925274 (ROI 1516 303 501)
by midnight. Leave your three answer numbers (in any
order) and your contact details.
Calls cost £1 (ROI €1.50) plus your telephone company’s
network access charge. Texts cost £1 plus your standard
network charge. Winners will be picked at random from
all correct answers received. One draw per week. Lines
close at midnight tonight. If you call or text after this
time you will not be entered but will still be charged.
SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5.30pm).
Fill the grid so
that every
column, every
row and every
3x2 box contains
the digits 1 to 6
What are your favourite puzzles in MindGames?
Email: [email protected]
Lay tracks to enable the train to travel from village A to village
B. The numbers indicate how many sections of rail go in each
row and column. There are only straight rails and curved rails.
The track cannot cross itself.
Win a Dictionary & Thesaurus
Train Tracks No 1605
Lexica No 6305 No 6306
R
C
E
O
N
L
L
A
E R
X
F O
B E
F I
L G
E
E V
L
OO
S
R
U
G
A
H
U
E C
C
H
S R
R O
R Y
Codeword No 4561
Winning Move
Poker Byron Jacobs
áWDWDW4kD]
àDpDWDWgW]
ßpDW0WDqD]
ÞDPDP0WDp]
ÝWDWDPDpD]
ÜDWDWDW)n]
ÛPDWGQDK)]
ÚDW$WHWDW]
WÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈW
Black to play.
This position is from Sznapik-
Sax, European Team
Championship, Bath 1973.
Gyula Sax (1951-2014) was a
powerful Hungarian grandmaster
who twice participated in the
Candidates event and, at his best,
was ranked 12th in the world.
Here he has built a strong attack
on the kingside and can win the
white queen with 1 ... Rf2+.
However, he found something far
stronger. Can you see it?
For more puzzles, including an extra
Codeword, Train Tracks and Futoshiki
go to page 10