Crazy Eights Strategy: How to Win More Hands

Crazy Eights looks like pure luck, and on any one hand luck matters a great deal. Yet over a game to 100 points, the same players tend to come out ahead. They are not counting every card. They simply make a few small choices well: which card to play when two fit, when to spend an eight, and which suit to name. Here is what to look for. If you are new to the game, read the rules first.

1. Treat Your Eights Like Gold

An eight is your get-out-of-trouble card. It fits on anything, so as long as you hold one, you never have to draw. That makes it tempting to throw it down the first time you are a little stuck. Resist. If you have any other card that fits, play that instead and keep the eight for a turn when nothing else works, or for the moment you need to change the suit on someone who is about to go out.

There is a catch: an eight counts 50 points against you if someone else goes out first. So once the hand is getting short, say when any player is down to two or three cards, the eight stops being a treasure and starts being a risk. Look for a chance to use it.

2. Name the Right Suit

When you play an eight, the suit you name is the most important decision in the game. Ask yourself two questions:

When the two answers agree, it is an easy choice. When they disagree, think about who is closer to going out. If the next player has one or two cards left, stopping them matters more than your own convenience.

3. Watch Who Draws

Every time a player draws, they are telling you something: they had no card of the suit being followed, no card of that number, and no eight. Make a mental note. "Computer 2 couldn't follow clubs." Later, when you have the chance to turn the play to clubs, whether with an eight or with a matching number, take it.

This information fades. A player who has drawn several cards since then may well have picked up a club. But for a turn or two afterward, it is the best clue you have. The Hard computer players on this site use exactly this idea, and the Why? button will tell you when they do.

House rule warning: if your table plays that you may draw even when you could play, a draw no longer proves anything. Someone may be holding back a card on purpose.

4. Change the Suit Without Spending an Eight

Matching the number is a free suit change. Suppose the top card is the 9 of diamonds, and you hold the 4 of diamonds and the 9 of spades, plus three other spades. Playing the 4 keeps diamonds going, and you have no more diamonds. Playing the 9 of spades turns the game to spades, a suit you can keep following for several turns. The 9 is the better play, and you still have your eight in reserve.

5. Get Rid of Expensive Cards Early

When two cards fit equally well, play the one worth more points. Kings, Queens and Jacks cost 10 points each if you are caught holding them, while a 2 costs only 2. Early in the hand the difference does not matter much, because nobody is close to going out. But it is free to play the King now and keep the 2, and those points add up over a game.

6. Keep Track of Hand Sizes

The card count of every player is always on screen, and a Last card! label appears when someone is down to one. Glance at it before every play.

7. Count the Suits

The discard pile is face up, and every card in it is a card nobody else can hold. If ten spades have already been played, the three that are left are scattered among the other hands and the stock. A suit that is nearly used up is a good one to name with an eight: the chance that the next player can follow it is small. You do not need to count exactly; just notice when one suit has been played a lot.

8. With Action Cards

If you play with the action card house rule (a 2 makes the next player draw two, the Queen of spades makes them draw five, and an Ace reverses the direction), these cards are best saved for the player who is about to go out. A draw-two against someone holding ten cards does little. The same card against someone on their last card can win you the hand. When stacking is allowed, keep a 2 in hand as a shield: if one comes your way, you can pass the penalty on instead of taking it.

Practice Against the Computer

The online game is a good place to try these ideas. Start on Normal, use the Hint button when you are unsure, and read the Why? notes on the computer's plays. When you are winning regularly, switch to Hard, which remembers who could not follow which suit. If you enjoy reading the table like this, you may also like Hearts and Gin Rummy.

Ready to try it? Play Crazy Eights free against one, two or three computer players, with big cards and a Hint button whenever you want one. No sign-up needed.

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