14 Wednesday June 8 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 3192
© 2010 KENKEN PUZZLE & TM NEXTOY. DIST. BY UFS, INC. WWW.KENKEN.COM
Fill 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 5601 Futoshiki No 4233
Easy game?How hard is poker? This is an int-
eresting question to which there is
no simple answer. Sometimes it
seems very easy. Other times not.
You are playing a cash game in
a casino at modest stakes. There
is drinking going on, people are
having fun and the table is play-
ing really loose. Assuming you
have a decent grasp of no-limit
hold ’em, this game should be very
profitable. Happily the strategy
needed to beat it is not complex
and doesn’t require mastery of
intricate concepts. It is this: you
wait patiently until you get a good
hand, then bet like crazy. That’s it.
That’s all you have to do. What
could possibly go wrong?
You implement your strategy.
At first it works. You get some
good hands, bet hard and win a
couple of decent pots. You feel
good. Your stack is 40 per cent
bigger than when you sat down.
Easy money. How hard is this?
Then you run dry, getting dealt
endless garbage hands. You fold
patiently and become a bystander.
You watch huge pots develop and
people win them with ridiculous
hands they should never be play-
ing. It’s all okay – you had early
successes and you’re still slightly
up. But it is frustrating. These
people are committing piles of
chips and don’t know what they
are doing. You want to be in
there, getting some of the action.
You haven’t played a meaning-
ful hand for three hours whenyou get dealt AƄ-6Ƅ. Someone
opens before you and there are
several players still to play behind
you. You have a weak suited ace,
which is sometimes playable but
only if you see the flop cheaply.
With several players to come this
is unlikely. You know this, stick to
your strategy and fold. Four play-
ers see the flop, which is three
spades. Aaaargghhh! You would
have had an ace-flush – the best
possible hand. Even worse, there
is a bet and a raise building a very
big pot. Now you want to scream.
Eventually a player with 9Ƅ-5Ƅ,
which should never have been
played, wins a massive pot. Your
AƄ-6Ƅ would have picked up their
stack as well as a ton of other chips.
A few minutes later in a similar
scenario you get A♦-8♦. The pre-
vious runout is bugging you, so
you call and see a flop of A-K-4.
Someone bets, everyone else folds
but you have top pair and call.
The turn is a beautiful 8: A-K-4-8.
Now you have a strong two pair
and you are excited. Again you
call Villain’s (sizeable) bet. The
river brings A-K-4-8-7 and you
call Villain’s further big bet. They
show up with A-K, a better two
pair than yours. Rather like Bruce
Willis in The Sixth Sense, you have
been dead the whole time – you
just didn’t know it. Even worse,
you lost a ton of chips with a
hand you should never have
played. Exactly what everyone
else at the table is doing.
Poker – easy game? Yeah, you
bet.© 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 TracksNo 1651
Lexica No 6385 No 6386
STEMPTUWENELIRAYUNEDNAFLSIDGGORETHMHOPLEHECodeword No 4609
Winning Move
Poker Byron Jacobs
#((((((((#
#B#B#B4B'
?B2B#B2B#'
@#0#01.#B'
IB#i#B#B#'
H#BÆB#]#Ã'
=]#B#BÈBÆ'
G#]#B#B#B'
FB#B#rÚB#'
#DCB:;A<E#
Black to play.
This position is from Gregersen-
Rosen, Reykjavik Open 2022.There are certain combinations
of pieces that work together very
well. One of these is rook and
knight, as the movements of
these two pieces complement
each other beautifully. This is
best demonstrated, as here, when
they are attacking an enemy
king. The white king is in danger
on the exposed h4-square. How
did Black conclude?For more puzzles, including an extra
Codeword, Train Tracks and Futoshiki
go to page 10