14 Wednesday May 25 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 3182
© 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.
KenKenMedium No 5589 Futoshiki No 4223
Home gamesAsk professional players where they
make their money and many will
give an answer along the follow-
ing lines. The real money is made
in home games. You go to the
casino only to make connections.
A home game is any kind of
social game. For many players
home games are where they play
most of their poker. The same
crowd meet up, maybe on a weekly
basis, to play poker at someone’s
house and the emphasis is to have
fun. They don’t like to play online
as they believe (with some justifi-
cation) that even low-level games
are heavily populated by pros.
Furthermore they want their poker
experience to be a social one and
sitting on your own in front of a
PC for hours is not exactly a
socially rewarding activity.
Playing in a casino is preferable
but can get expensive. The casino
“rakes” the games, meaning they
take about 5 per cent of each pot.
If you are in a casino playing
poker you can easily work out
that sitting in your chair in a mid-
stakes game for a few hours has
cost perhaps a couple of hundred
dollars. And that’s not accounting
for travel, drinks, food etc.
A good number of pros, espe-
cially the extroverts with strong
social media presence, can make a
living from home games. They
make it their business to find out
where the best home games are,
schmooze with the right people
and get invited. Many home-gameplayers love to have a well-known
pro sitting in their games.
Not all pros have the right
mindset to make the most of
home-game invitations that come
their way. Clearly the bottom line
for a pro is to make money from
playing. However, if that is their
primary focus in home games the
invitations will swiftly dry up.
Social players want to enjoy them-
selves and won’t take kindly to a
sullen, uncommunicative hard-
core pro who is squeezing every
last penny of profit out of them.
The game is likely to be extre-
mely “soft”, meaning the players
will not be highly skilled and the
pro can expect it to be very prof-
itable. The best way for the pro to
play is to join in the fun. Social
players generally play far too
many hands. The pro should
adjust and also play more hands
than they normally would. They
should also (within reason) err
towards making modest-sized bets
rather than big, intimidating ones.
Home games often feature a
“straddle”. This is a pre-flop bet
that raises the stakes. The strad-
dle is often voluntary as it is un-
profitable for the player making
the bet. However, if players are
generally straddling, the pro
should play ball and join in too.
For the pro, all these adjust-
ments will impact a little on their
bottom line. But it’s better to take
perhaps 80 per cent of their po-
tential profit, become popular and
get invited back than to take 100
per cent and never get asked again.© PUZZLER MEDIASlide the letters either horizontally or vertically back into the grid to produce a
completed crossword. Letters are allowed to slide over other lettersEvery 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, rightCluelines 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 6What 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 1639
Lexica No 6365 No 6366
CINOSNRGPEHIEURUHCOENPHHTSHRARYLECEALELAKGCodewordNo 4597
Winning Move
Poker Byron Jacobs
#((((((((#
#Ú#Ú#g#.'
?RÈÚ#4#,#'
@#Ú#Ú#Ú#R'
IÚ#Ú#Ú#Ú#'
H#Ú#Ú#$1Ú'
=Ú#ÚÇÚÆÚ#'
GÆi#Ú#ÚÄi'
FÚ#Ú#Ú#Ú#'
#DCB:;A<E#
White to play.
This position is from Andreikin-
Michel Coto, Titled Tuesday
chess.com 2022.White has a winning advantage
and Black has been forced into
trying a desperate counterattack
against the white king. White
certainly has to be careful as, for
example, the obvious 1 Rxg7 runs
into 1 ... Qxh2+ 2 Kf1 Qf2 mate.
1 fxg4 should be enough to win
but White found something
much better. Can you see it?For more puzzles, including an extra
Codeword, Train Tracks and Futoshiki
go to page 10