This is really a rhetorical question because I am convinced that the program (Hearts card game) by Microsoft DOES in fact cheat.I first noticed it on XP. But, I've REALLY noticed it on Vista. Here is what I mean.
I've played X amount of games. The game keeps track of overall stats. Whenever I go over a 38% win rate (which isn't really all that hot but it's respectable) the program starts to gain up on me and kick my ass. I mean, seriously. I get dealt hands that NO ONE could do anything with. I will lose over and over again; then, once I drop back down to 37%, I will start to win again (I'll be dealt hands that any idiot could shoot the moon with).
This has happened over and over again. I cannot get past 38%!
I looked this up on Google and someone said, "Well, I don't think it is cheating, rather, like with "real" people, once one person starts to get ahead, the computer might attempt to "gang up on you".
Ok, this is true. If you are playing with REAL people that are half-way respectable, they will, in likelihood, "gang up on you" if you are out ahead.
But, this is NOT what happens with the program. No, not at all. First off, "real people" can't deal you particular rotten hands over and over and over again. And, "real people" won't allow someone else to shoot the moon just to get YOU (not in my experience, anyway). But, the program continually allows one of the other players to shoot the moon (whilst I sit by unable to stop them and watch my opponents throw the Ace of Hearts or something on someone trying to shoot the moon...I mean...DUH!)
Obviously, this blog entry is meant to be somewhat mindless. A ramble, a rant. Man, this pisses me off, though, which is why I am writing about it.
I played one game this afternoon and just hit 38% AGAIN. Any guesses as to who will NOT win the next game?
Mrs. B
1,588 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 600 of 1588 Newer› Newest»This has always been a crappy game. That's why MS gives it away.
Don't you just love the games where you lose on the very last hand? I especially love the ones when the chosen one (who you are beating by a few points) will shoot the moon on the very last hand, propelling himself into first but also ending the game by busting one of the other bots.
It's amazing how often the game can pull this off, isn't it?
The Vista version of this game cheats at the rules from time to time. You just have to watch carefully, especially at the discards toward the end. You'll see some point cards that should have been thrown earlier in the hand.
Several things haven't been really mentioned from what I see. 1 - It's easier to win a game when you're behind, not ahead. 2. I can win the first game about 90% of the time. 3. How long would anyone play the game if you realized you would win 100% of the time? 4. If you don't want to call it cheating, fine. MS has released games they have obviously allowed to be 'tweaked' to make them unrandom (Hearts, Minesweeper, Solitaire, Space Cadet, maybe more), so you keep playing them, sure that you'll figure out the winning strategy. It can be done, obviously, too, since MS strategy stays constant, but you can change yours.
I'd just like to see a disclaimer by MS explaining the facts. That's all.
(ps, I'm the 'bridge' guy and as far as I'm concerned, the counts and distributions are non-random.)
here's an experiment: try to play the QS or a heart illegally as often as posssible.
if it is ever accepted, then there is a likely flaw in the program.
if it is always rejected, then we can point to the illegal plays by the bots as cheats.
be happy if the 5H always takes a trick. then you can try to shoot the moon with only the AH
and 5H(or even the KH and 5H ... or even the QH and 5H)
don't obsess over the no pass hands. you may only see 2 of 3 no pass hands per game.
concentrate on the others and try to close out games before game #8 and game #12.
My biggest complaint: I get dealt the naked queen on first hand. Have to pass it west. East passes naked king or ace. West takes first trick and won't lead a spade. East takes the trick and leads a spade. This happens WAY too often.
The game cheats! Plain and simple. Just count the number of singletons or lone cards in a suit you get dealt. Do it for five games, or fifty games, or 500 games and you will see that you are dealt a lone SPADE more times than a lone card in the other three suits combined. And guess what gets passed to you the majority of the time when you have the one spade. This alone proves the deals are not random, which, by definition, means they are selective. Logic says selective deals can set the hands in a predetermined manner, which is cheating.
I see numerous posts advising to "plot a strategy" against the program. What baffles me is what kind of "strategy" works when you are constantly looking at the queen of spades alone, or all but alone, in your hand and a steady diet of spades being led? Simple math says you have to "load up" the three bots three times to the one time you get "loaded up". Hard to do when you're getting the aforementioned hand every two to three deals.
To the poster who is happy that the five of hearts wins the trick - let me know how to do it and I will send you ALL of mine. I am so sick of that little ploy, I could just puke. I can't recall ever fashioning a moon shot out of it, but I've taken a ton of points and lost many a game because of it.
Most people claim they win over 50% of the time. What's wrong with that?
So, it isn't real Hearts, but it IS a game.
I can't speak for anyone else, but the maddening thing for me is the WAY I lose games. I don't know, is 50% good% I've seen posts claiming 50some%, 60some%, 30some%. I don't really care about %, I just hate losing games I've "won". I play a good game for 7. 8. 9 hands, making good passes, taking tricks with a heart or two in them to avoid taking a bunch later, etc.
But, there's almost always the one bot hanging close and then I get dealt a lone QS, or KS, or 3.Q,K of hearts and lose the game. Or the game where you just get pounded and have NO chance from card one.
The Vista version does blatantly cheat. Bots don't always follow suit in order to make you lose certain games.
They should call this game something else. It certainly isn't a legitimate game of Hearts with all the card rigging that goes on.
I'd love to see the code behind the game just to see if the bot players' hands are indeed fixed after the "deal". I suspect that they are only placeholders actually.
I agree. The game is bs.
One of the things I notice is that when you are dealt the hand where there is no pass, you almost always get the 2 of clubs. It happened 8 times in a row to me. The odds of that are astronomical. Also I notice if I short myself in diamonds, I get passed 3 diamonds. Same with clubs or hearts. And if you pass the queen of spades, you are almost always given the K or A.
Whenever I get one of those completely rigged hands (such as one of the many 22-4-0-0 hands), I simply quit that game and start a new one. I don't care about my stats since they're really meaningless anyway in a rigged game such as this. Anyone who takes this "game" seriously is living in a fantasy world.
What in the hell triggers the game to go into "hyper-cheat"? I just lost five games in a row where I was force-fed the queen constantly. Almost every "no-pass" hand was dealt QS & one other spade. The bots were constanly void in a suit. Probably took three hearts with the four of hearts at least a half-dozen times in five games, etc, etc, etc
For all of you disgruntled hearts players, have you ever won a game with a score over 100??? I had thought it was not possible, but tonight the scores were:
Me 101, west 110, North 103 and east 102. Probably will never happen again!!!
L.B. Strawn
I wrote about winning a game with a score of 102 BUT THAT WAS JUST A FIRST PART OF A WIN STREAK, THE LARGEST I HAVE EVER HAD. I WON 21 GAMES, BEFORE A LOSS
your game must be broken
There is more than a 50% chance that you are dealt bad spades.
At least 2 players have bad spades(2 or less) each hand.
Occassionally 3 players have bad spades. This means you
will have bad spades most of the time. Get over it.
The anonymous post from April 3rd poses an interesting way
to prove the deal is fixed. If you receive 0 or 1 spades
more often than any other suit, then you can says the deck
is stacked against you. Is anybody curious enough(or bored
enough) to document 1000 or more hands?
Passing the QS: often you
will be dealt the QS and
2 or fewer other spades.
If you do not wish to attempt
to shoot the moon, then pass
the QS along with your lowest
club and your lowest diamond.
Attempt to take a trick, then
play high clubs and/or high diamonds
until you see the passed cards.
If you happen to have the lowest
club or diamond, play it now.
Most likely, the QS will be
dumped here. If you do not have
the lowest club or diamond then
play a low spade or heart and
hope for the best.
Not hard to document dealt singletons. Just a sheet of paper with S,D,C,H and make a mark beside the suit when you're dealt a singleton in that suit. I still get over 50% singleton spades and around 15% in the other three suits which DOES pretty much prove the deals are NOT random. What makes it obvious that the deals are selective and stacked against you is that singletons in any other suit are not a detriment to your hand, but spades sure as heck are.
Interesting "random" deals I had recently. Back-to-back singleton QS, on the "no-pass" hand and "pass to the left" hand, no less. How astonomical are the odds of that? With any single card? Not to mention the QS, which multiplies whatever odds you come up with by 52.
The game cheats, get over it.
I noticed an interesting "strategy" in the MS Hearts game. If one of the hands shows void in clubs on the first trick, the bot that took the trick will lead back the 3 or 4 of clubs, giving the void hand a chance to dump the QS if they have it. Smart move, but they don't do it for the human.
I still maintain that the "cutesy play", where you take four hearts with the 5 of hearts (usually at least once a game) is proof enough of selective dealing.
If a card game doesn't have random deals, it's rigged. And that, my friends is cheating!
I agree. If this were a dice game, you would probably roll snake eyes or boxcars 25% of the time
Must be different versions of the game. I have Win 7 and there are very few crappy hands on the no-pass deal. I look forward to the no-pass hands. Like the previous poster said, the game cheats, get over it. I say find a way to get better at it. You can learn its nature and manage 50%
Hi Mrs B.
Relly enjoy your stuff and am consistently a 46% winner 142 out 0f 303. This last game has convinced me to enter a lottery tonight - It took just 4 rounds and I achieved the perfect score 0 / 104 / 104 / 104, yes I shot the moon 4 in a row. Not sure how many will believe this but I have the screen shots to show it. I'm off to do a lottery sweepstake now. Dave
Can't believe you don't see a hand where all four hands have the thirteen cards of a suit. That's only about a trillion-to-one shot, this genius programmer could surely manage that.
Sometimes the card rigging is simply ridiculous...
For example, I recently played a game wherein I was passed the A,K,Q of Spades all together three separate times. Hilarious!
In another recent game I was dealt the 2 of Clubs six times in a row. Simply amazing, eh?
This game is a joke really.
In the Vista version of this, the QS resides in the West position, if you don't hold it yourself, more than 60% of the time. That's more than double the statistical norm.
That's a crooked game by anyone's definition.
A card game that doesn't have truly random deals is a cheat. Let me deal and I will tell the computer how sorry I am that it lost the game every frigging time!
Notice that the card rigging gets more and more blatant as the game goes on? If you're in the lead or close to it, the rigged deals become so obvious that a 10-year-old could discern the cheating going on.
The programmers on this one were really lazy. I guess that's why it's a freebie.
I agree with the earlier comment that the game cheats in that the computer players don't always follow the rules. I've caught the game throwing a late heart many a time.
Apparently, the human player is the only one that actually has to follow the rules.
Every time the West player dumps the QS out on you in a contrived deal, just simply start a new game. Now watch how long it takes you to actually play a game to completion.
There's your proof that the "deals" are anything but random.
Cutesy play three times in five hands. What a genius! (oh yeah, I didn't get a moon shot out of it either, go figure )
Still checking the singletons dealt to me. Of the last ten - one heart (king on a "no-pass" hand, two clubs, one diamond, and six spades (got the queen on a "no-pass", was passed the queen three times and king once on the other five) One game had singleton spade dealt fo me three hands in a row - talk about defying the odds!
I would love to get the programmer that designed this piece of crap in a live "dime a point" game. If a real player passed me the QS and then led spades at me when I wasn't the low man, I would devote the rest of the evening making sure he lost as much money as possible. That's the advantage of a "live" game, you can punish idiots who don't play the game right.
Our class asked MS about the "amazing" odds programmed into this game (we sent them our entire stats) and they refused to comment on it after multiple requests.
That about sums up the value of this "game".
Here's a tip. If you are dealt a lone spade on the first hand of a game, flush immediately. This is a sure-fire sign that this is a "born to lose" game and you will see be dealt minimal spades and passed the queen multiple times.
Piece of crap game uses this tactic constantly. Deal you one or two spades, pass you the queen, and lead spades relentlessly. When's the last time you held the queen and something other than a spade was led first?
This is probably my "favorite" scenario in this pathethic excuse for a game. You're playing well, had fairly decent cards and the score is 8(you),43,68,22. Then you get the "cutesy play" and end up with 6 or 7 points. Now it's 14, 46, 85, 22. Then you get dealt 10,K of spades, and, of couse passed the queen. Now it's 30. 55, 85, 22. You're thinking "Need to get East some points", but it's a hold-em hand and you're dealt J,Q of spades. Now it's 48. 56, 86, 22 and you are toast!
one cutesy play strategy for holding only 2 hearts:
when you hold the 5H and let's say the QH and have cards to shoot the moon, play the QH first. most likely you won't be stopped. now play the 5H. if you are stopped, you have only the 4 points you normally get for the 5H.
nice stats on the singletons! 6 of 10 being spades is way out of line. did the 'class' do any testing on singletons? are the stats available from the 'class' project?
No, I don't have my papers from that class any longer. I just remember that the odds we saw were totally unrealistic. South is constantly having to defend against the Queen of Spades, which is either dealt or passed to him on a regular basis. If it isn't, it is lurking in the West position again and again.
No, we didn't study the singleton strategy, although I wish we had taken a look at that as well.
The game is a cheat. The programmer is a cheat.
The company is a cheat.
Computer only wins about 20% in reasonably "honest" games, reast of it's "wins" come on blatant card rigging.
Re: singletons
Last ten singletons on "no-pass" hands.
KH
8D
QS
KS
QH
AS
3C
9D
QS
AC
Apparently, there are several versions of this game. A test on version 5.1 had the following results for 60 singletons:
18 clubs
15 diamonds
15 spades
12 hearts
This is a small sample, but may indicate that this version may not exhibit the singleton cheat.
Unfortunately, this version does not keep your winning percentage.
Fun variation: Keep starting new games until you can pass west the queen of spades.
Either smoke it out or try to survive the east / west conspiracy.
I just played a game where the prima donna player (West in this game) won the game in 10 hands with 24 points. It received those 24 points all in the second hand and then got zero points for eight hands in a row!
Yeah, like that could ever happen in a real game.
There's nothing clever about this game. To the contrary, the frequency of the 0-0-x-x scoring per round (i.e., two players receiving most of the points) simply illustrates the laziness of the programming behind the card stacking. The algorithms must be pretty simplistic actually. It would be interesting to see the code.
Every damn thing about the game reeks of cheat.
I have Win 7. Over 300 singletons, spades 51%, clubs 19%, hearts 16%, diamonds 14%
61 singletons on "no-pass" hands
spade Q - 4 times
spade K - 3 times
spade A - 2 times
heart A, K, Q, or J - 8 times
Of the 150 or so spade singleton deals, I "ate" the QS over 70% of the time
I don't know about other versions, but the Vista version does blatantly cheat. Players don't follow suit properly. They will hold back a card that would take the trick (usually a spade or heart) and throw an off-suit discard instead. Then, later in the hand, you'll see that same player throw the key card that should have come out earlier.
Try this little test. Start a game without being dealt or passed the A,K,QS on the very first hand.
The game will almost always give you one or more of these cards when you are passing left (to West).
Another little quirk I've run across. The game won't let YOU break hearts to dump a lone high heart. You can be void in diamonds, clubs, or even spades, but that suit WON'T be led until one of the bots breaks hearts and your high heart gets led into, saddling you with four points. Watch for it.
Yes, the post above is something I've made note of as well. In these situations, the game will never let you, the human player, be the one to break hearts. The bots will always know what's in your hand, so you are never given the opportunity to throw that lone high heart you are holding. This little trick is used for both dumping points on you as well as positioning for the remainder of the hand.
Yes, this game cheats.
Any game that uses card fixing instead of random dealing is cheating.
MS Hearts is and always has been a joke in the gaming world.
There is no doubt that MS Hearts is a cheating game. Let me give you but one example of many I could cite. I was in the fourth round (no passing between players) and was dealt a singleton (solitary) King of Spades. After the first round of the 2 of Clubs was complete, the player on my left lead the Queen of Spades. It would only have done that if it had known that I was vulnerable with the singleton King. Later rounds of that hand demonstrated that that player had more than one spade.
Once that was demonstrated to me so graphically, I began to look at it as the old Bridge player I am and discovered that it reads your hand each round of cards to ascertain just where you are the most vulnerable and then leads accordingly. It doesn't vary one bit, it always leads to try to catch you at your most vulnerable. In addition, instead of being the traditional Hearts game where 4 people are ranged against each other we have the situation where one (you) are ranged against 3 who conspire together to work out how to make you lose. Make no mistake, the aim of this game is to make you lose.
Once I had worked that out I began to wonder about the actual ethics of the situation and quickly came to the conclusion that Microsoft have produced a game that is entirely unethical. Imagine if you were at a casino and you played by these rules. Your bloody and beaten body would be found floating in the artificial pond outside in no time flat. Therefore, I find it extremely hypocritical of Microsoft to mouth on about the ethics of software piracy for example as stealing from them when they steal your trust in this game. To me it is only a matter of degree. The intent in both instances is the same. And as for the 'bad luck' statement in the Windows 7 version after you have been manipulated throughout the game, well...
Therefore I no longer play it even though I love interactive card games. The people who coded it are lazy and unethical so it's far better to find a game that treats you fairly, unlike this one.
yep, noticed the same thing. YOU aren't allowed to break hearts, but AS SOON as they are broken, they are immediately led into your high heart making damn sure you take your points
I am convinced that something triggers the game into another level of bambarding you with crap deals. You can play 6 or 8 or 12 pretty much "normal" games, then for 3, 4, 5 games you just get brutalized.Last nite I lost 5 games in a row, got the "cutesy play" 9 times, including on back-to-back hands three consecutive games. I just can't buy that as "bad luck'.
I'm the bored guy who tracks singletons. Last 11 - 7 spades, two hearts, two clubs. Last three singletons on "no-pass" hands - spade queen, heart ace, spade queen. I don't claim to be an odds expert, but a moron can tell you that ain't right. Put me down as a skeptic of the "bad luck" theory, as well.
please tell us what version you play so others can avoid it.
Every version let's us shoot the moon ... often. This offsets any cheating the program does. If the program was good at cheating no one would win 60% of the time(or even 40%).
Again, with the point counts. I just kept track of the dealt points for my last 21 hands
14,12,7,17,12,9,3,10,13,9,16,14,17,17,10,8,9,12,13,10,8
What they do is toss in a 3 (or similar low) point count once every so often to keep the average close to what it should be, but with a supposed random average of 10 per hand, you can see that it is intentionally skewed.
Somewhere above, someone posted that their class actually sent a request to MS for some information. The real issue here is not some goofy programmer, I've been a 'goofy' programmer, and we only do what management demands. What I want to know, is what imbecilic senior manager at Microsoft felt that disseminating games that cheat is appropriate behavior. Makes one wonder what else MS senior management thinks is appropriate behavior.
It was only one hand (but a critical one with all four players in the 80' and 90's) My point count was only 13, but I was dealt only two cards lower than a nine on a no-pass hand. I lost.
Of last 50 singletons dealt to me on no-pass hands, spade queen 4 times, spade ace and king 5 times.
When game goes into "cheat" mode, there is no posibility of winning. Recent three game stretch I ended up with QS and one other spade 11 times. Seemed like every other hand I'd get dealt a lone spade and then passed the queen.
Does the programmer get a royalty or bonus for "winning" games? I cannot believe the lengths the game goes to stacking hands to ensure the human loses. Absolutely astonishing at times. It goes way beyond the "bad luck" one poster referred to. The kind of "luck" he is talking about is about as likely as getting a cell phone call saying you'd won the lottery while you were trying to take a picture of bigfoot and being struck by lightning.
The freaking game is becoming a caricature of itself. Last night I won three games in a row. Fourth game I was dealt a singleton spade the first three hands, got passed the queen all three times, took the queen all three times. Also got the "cutesy play" twice. Think MAYBE I wasn't supposed to win that game?!?
Just got the "cutesy play" (5 of hearts taking 4 points) on last three hands of the game, consecutively. Ended up losing to the chosen one by two points. Some kind of "bad luck", eh?
The game, and I use that term loosely, is a total joke.
I'd love it if the Vista version had the same egg in it that allowed one to add to the registry in order to show all of the cards at the beginning of play like the XP version does. I'd like to see if the cards "dealt" to all players are indeed fixed in position (card-stacking) or if the cards move around among the three bots after play begins.
Either way, it's still cheating to me.
Yeah, we also looked at this game in my statistics class in high school a few years ago.
It's completely rigged and thus a totally bogus game.
Just about any other computer game is more enjoyable to play than this dud.
I won the first game I played tonite. First hand of second game I got dealt void in spades and of course, passed the lone queen. Also got "cutsied" with the 5H later in the hand. Second hand
I got dealt 3,4,5,7,9 of spades and void in hearts. Got passed the A,Q.J of hearts and took all thirteen hearts. Third hand got "cutsied" again. Fourth hand
(no-pass) got dealt 2,Q of spades. I guess that's just some real bad luck
Have played about 6 games tonight - already been dealt the QS as a singleton twice on "no-pass" hands.
Please tell me nobody is stupid enough to believe is just a result of "luck".
It would be mind-boggling if it happened with the 6 of clubs or something, but the Poisoned Lady? Come on.
I forgot to add that when we looked at this "game" in my stats class, the most glaring distortion of true odds was with the distribution of spades. The game simply makes no attempt at random dealing; rather, it employs logic centered around stacking the cards to the disadvantage of the lone human player. The different ways it accomplishes this have been mentioned over and over again already on this discussion, so I won't bore you with the details. Let me just say, it's no wonder that the prima donna player always has just the right card to play.
Is this the best you can offer MS?
Again, try this little experiment. Start a new game and see how long it takes you to get the first hand without the A,K,or Q of Spades either dealt or passed to you. Just keep starting a new game without playing any tricks. My record is 23 games started before finally getting to play the first hand without holding any of these cards.
FIXED.
RIGGED.
LAZY PROGRAMMING BEHIND IT.
IN ALL, A PIECE OF CRAP.
Vista version does not follow the rules of play.
So yeah - it cheats.
Luck or cheat? Me 18, bots 30,97,89. West takes first trick, plays 2D, North plays 3D, East plays QS, I play my only diamond, the 4. Absolutely impossible to get chosen one to take even one point. I lose 30-31. Not like it's the only time it's happened. Pretty long odds of only one diamond between myself and East. Great "hunches" by West and south to play low diamonds on such an early trick (and forego the spade lead). Great luck on West's part to avoid even one heart (even had his KH covered by East's Ace.)
Is anyone else getting the ridiculous proportion of spade singletons? Geez! I'm averaging about three a game! Last game I got dealt singleton spade the first three hands and the lone QS on hand #8 (hold-em, of course)
I have vista and don't see these problems. I win 63% of the time. The game is not very smart. I shot the moon today with AK8 of hearts. What a gift. I saw 345 of hearts and had the 2 & 6. Lucky for me. I never lead spades and nail East every chance. Once East is behind, the others are easy.
Highly unlikely over time.
The frequencies of receiving the 2C and the QS are the highest, multiple standard deviations away from expected (random dealing) results.
Thus, this in no way should be considered a real game of hearts. Rather, it should be viewed as more like a puzzle wherein you're challenged by rigged card sets.
I like a challenging hand or game. But when I am constantly staring at the QS with one or two other spades to defend it, and one of the bot hands is predeterrmined NOT to take points, I don't considered it challenging or enjoyable. It's nothing but blatant cheating and it sucks.
Why can't the moron who designed this game just have random deals?
Every good gaming programmer knows that authenticity is the key. With regard to MS Hearts, said programmers have failed miserably. I'd suggest playing the game online instead.
Random dealing?? Gee, what a novel idea, eh? Well, if that's what you were expecting from this game you will be sorely disappointed.
This game does not use random dealing at all. The deals are predetermined (i.e., rigged) card sets that are designed to set up South to take points. (Notice that the QS is seldom thrown from one bot to the other, except for the designated patsy. But it will be thrown on South each and every chance it gets. Coincidence? Hardly.)
What puzzles (and infuriates) me is why so damn many cheats are programmed into the bogus deals. Do they think we are total idiots and can't figure out we're being cheated? I've mention the inordinate amount of spade singletons and the QS singleton on no-pass hands. How many times does the bot to your right end up with the club ace? It seems like the lead is always there and every play you make has to run thru the other two bots.This is critical because even one card (like playing a high diamond as opposed to a low one) can change the outcome of a hand. Almost every lead I make, the other two bots duck and the bot to my right takes the trick. It's just a never-ending cycle.
I've finally come up with a strategy for this piece of crap. At the first hint of cheating, I dump the game. If I get dealt a singleton spade and passed the queen, I dump it. I don't even allow the stupid SOB the pleasure of the annoying "CLICK" when the queen is played. If I get the cutesy play, I dump the game. I absolutely NEVER let the cheating bastard run his little "Sorry, you lost this game". I don't care if it's the first hand or the next to last card, I tell it to go to hell and dump it.
Why even make a pretense of a "game"? Why not just make sure the human has a lone queen every hand, stick him with it, and end the "game" in 5 or 6 hands? Just for a change of pace, one of the bots could be dealt all thirteen clubs a couple times a game, too. And add a lot of fanfare after the game celebrating your glorious "win".
I have to unsubscribe to this blog. Same old complaints day after day. My gawd, it isn't hearts but it IS a game. Anybody can win 50%. It has its predictable quirks so just learn them and deal with it.
The number of rounds, particularly late in games when you are challenging or leading, that end in x-x-0-0 or x-x-0-1 scoring (i.e., two players end up with all or almost all the points) demonstrates how truly unsophisticated the programming behind this game is.
some observations:
Minimize the pain at the end of a hand by playing the high clubs and diamonds early. Only play a low club/diamond on the 2nd club/diamond trick if you hold 4 or more clubs/diamonds, otherewise play a high club/diamond.
Avoid leading spades if you do not lead east by at least 13 points. Avoid leading spades if east has already led in spades.
Count the number of cards played in each suit(at minimum count spades). Avoid passing spades if you hold 4 spades.
Whenever the game wants to destroy your lead it can (and often does) by simply making sure you play ahead of West who is holding the QS with amazing frequency (when it's not in your hand that is). 13 points guaranteed!
I just played a game (that I narrowly won after 13 rounds) wherein the "chosen one" escaped from chalking up any points at all for the final seven hands....consecutively.
West: ....0,0,0,0,0,0,0
Wow, what an amazing run, eh?
Amazing, yes. If you're anything like me (or any competent player I've ever known) you were TRYING to get the chosen one some points.
I'm guessing he had an amazing run of good cards and some miraculous escapes.
Mark said to learn the game's quirks and adapt. Well, when the "quirk" is sticking you with xQ, xK, AK of spades 4, 5, 6 times a game it's pretty tough to come up with a winning strategy. A friend of mine who is into poker and card distribution probabilities figured out that a given player should get the "cutesy" hand (5 of hearts, with the other 3 players having 2, 3, 4) about once in 50 hands or four games. I have stretches where I'll average it twice a game for 6 or 8 games in a row. That's a minimum of 8 points (and likely a lot more). Makes it tough to win a close game with a "chosen one" nearly impossible to give any points to.
Bottom line: I really don't care about win percentage, I just hate losing to a cheat!
Great comments.
Ever notice how often the game starts with a bot shooting the moon on the very first hand?
Whenever I get one of those games, I just start a new game right away. I too could care less about the "winning percentage", so I just clear the stats after every game.
Occasionally, the cutesy play can be avoided by holding the 5H until later in the game. When the 2,3, or 4 are led try playing your 2nd highest heart. Once in awhile a bot will take the trick and you may now be holding the lowest heart!
Yes, it does, at least the Vista version does.
Our class stats showed how completely fixed the game is.
A,K,QS and 2C are dealt or passed to South with such frequency that the odds were off the chart. If South holds the QS, bots try to flush it out by leading spades. If South doesn't hold the QS (most often being held by West), then bots try to stick South with it by helping the bot who is holding it by leading with his void suit (watch the discards from the prima donna player). It's completely orchestrated by set card distributions.
Whether one looks at the game casually or methodically such as our class did, the conclusion is the same: the game is completely rigged.
Looking for a "strategy" for this one. I'm leading 30,61,98,71. I'm dealt void in spades, passed the lone queen. Next hand, I'm dealt void in spades, passed the lone queen. Final score 68,61,108,75.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is winning a game. About 80% of the time I take around 20 points on first hand of next game after a win.
I agree with the others here. The version I have (Vista) doesn't follow the rules of the game. If you watch carefully, you'll see point cards played later than they should have been.
Lottery like odds:
1. Consistent even distribution of 2,3,4,5 of Hearts.
2. Routinely getting passed the A,K,Q of Spades as a group (particularly late in games that you are leading).
3. Number of 25-1-0-0 hands that occur.
Please feel free to add to the list.
Looking for a "strategy" for this one. I'm leading 30,61,98,71 ...
This could happen in a real game. You are going to have bad hands. If you are void in spades, look at your hearts. If you have 3 or fewer hearts, you might consider shooting the moon after passing your low hearts(always keep the AH). If you decide not to shoot the moon, get rid of your high hearts to minimize the damage to 13 points.
from an earlier post:
3. Number of 25-1-0-0 hands that occur.
This is not a surprise. The bots will hold high cards toward the end of a hand. Often they cannot get out of the lead. You want to see 4-22-0-0 more often than 25-1-0-0. If you took 4, this indicates you were in control for that hand. If all you see is 25-1-0-0 then you have more problems than a game that 'cheats'.
Regarding the above response....
The 25-1-0-0 statement did not assume the 25 points was going to South as your cheeky response above did. It simply meant that one player was receiving the 25 points, which is statistically highly improbable in a game with random dealing.
I'm the guy who was dealt void in spades and passed the lone queen on back-to-back hands. My point was the incredible odds involved. How often are you dealt void in ANY suit? MAYBE once a game? There are four suits, so we're talking you SHOULD be dealt void in spades once in 50+ hands? Now factor in back-to-back hands, factor in the one-in-three chance of the queen being in the hand passing to you (again, back-to-back), factor in leading by thirty points near the end of the game and taking enough points to lose and I find it tough to explain as "bad hands".
Isn't it amazing how these incredible odds always involve cards that screw you over? (Basically the QS) Has anybody ever noticed being dealt the 2,3,4 of hearts four hands in a row?
I just got dealt a singleton spade five times in a 13 hand game - no other singletons.
it sounds like there are bad versions out there. try hearts version 6.0. it runs on vista. the bots are not very smart, but the dealing appears to be a lot more legit than the singleton and cutesy versions. it will still let you shoot the moon when you trail by 25 points on the last hand. the bots keep high cards at the end of a hand leaving them vulnerable to taking a bunch of points at the end.
Results for singleton test for xp version 5.1 over 6 games:
5 clubs(Q 9 none 9 3)
2 diamonds(K 2)
4 spades(5 4 J none)
3 hearts(4 none Q)
Spades do not appear to dominate the singletons for this very small sample.
If you do nothing else to see the "cheats", just count the number of times the QS gets thrown from the West position.
Statistically speaking...highly improbable odds present themselves again and again.
Regarding the above comment....
Nobody said anything about South having the 25 points; that was a poor assumption on your part. I simply meant that one player received the 25 points.
Here's an example from a recent game (in which South did ultimately prevail):
Hand - South, West, North, East
1 - 0, 3, 23, 0
2 - 0, 25, 1, 0
3 - 3, 0, 0, 23
4 - 0, 13, 0, 13
5 - 26, 26, 26, 0
6 - 0, 4, 22, 0
7 - 13, 9, 0, 4
8 - 0, 0, 10, 16
9 - 0, 13, 6, 7
10 - 0, 1, 25, 0
Totals - 42, 94, 113, 63
As you can see, in just ten hands, the 25-1-0-0 scoring result appeared. Also, seven of the ten hands resulted in the x-x-0-0 scoring scenario. (There was also a moon shot thrown in to boot!)
Correction:
"...the 25-1-0-0 scoring result appeared twice."
The game reneges on the rules of play frequently (but still subtly through improper discards). For that reason, this fan of the real game doesn't play it that often. But, hey, to each his own. Have fun.
From an earlier post:
Nobody said anything about South having the 25 points; that was a poor assumption on your part.
you are correct ... I misunderstood your point ... sorry
Has anyone tried Hardwood Hearts? It is a lot more challenging than the MS Hearts.
The frequency at which the Queen of spades is held by West makes this computer game version of Hearts completely ridiculous. How many times can a player eat the Queen of spades with the 4 of diamonds in the real game? In this stupid version, that ploy seems to be used again and again. How boring.
I know what you mean. It's insane how often West throws out the Queen of Spades on you. You can watch the set-up for it developing but since the hands are so rigged there's usually little you can do to avoid the hit. Whenever I get a slam like that early in a game, I just start a new game immediately.
I just "lost" a game I was leading handily by taking the QS three hands in a row on the first diamond lead. Just "bad luck", eh?
I'm convinced that there are games you are predestined to lose and the game will make sure you do. If you happen to wiggle out of a crappy hand with a minimum of points, the next hand will be worse. There will be 3,4,5 hands in a row that, no matter what you do, you will get the queen stuffed up your rear. You will be dealt the queen, ace, or king and spades will be led at you until you have the queen.
I absolutely agree. I just lost a game where I took the QS with 3 of diamonds twice and the 4 of clubs once. Three hands out of 12 where two hands are void in a suit? My ass!
Yep Carl, you got cheated. No way those hands come up on random deals. And if it ain't a random deal, it's cheating. Proud of ya MS.
What the hell is wrong with the programmer of this game? I can't count how many good, competitive, interesting games have been totally ruined at the end by a completely bogus deal. You play 12 or 13 hands, then on the last hand it simply deals you a lone spade, passes you the queen, leads spades twice and you're screwed. Over and over. I hope you get a big bonus for "wins" you pathetic boob.
Just finished another fine example of MS hearts cheating. After 11 hands all players in th 80's and 90's. I'm ahead by 5 points. Hold 'em hand and I get dealt all cards between 8 and queen. Congrats, MS, you "win". And you suck!
I found your Blog looking to see how my Hearts winning percentage - it's 56% (in 1640 games played)- stacks up with the known Microsoft Hearts 'universe.' I do think there are some subtle 'fixes' and some illogic in the Mocrosoft hearts program all designed to defeat the human player. While I have won 9 consecutive games a couple of times, had a couple of '0' games, and a few with scores of 1, 2 or 3, I've also lost 11 straight once. The 'fix' I've seen, or at least percieve, are seemingly illogical discards that fall out of line with discards that come before or after. I think that helps make the program win. But at 56% I'm NOT complaining! I do wonder though if you knw if anyone has consistently scored higher?
No disrespect, but the problem isn't "illogical" discards. It's that the deals are NOT random and that equals CHEATING. I've been dealt the QS 12 of the last 15 no-pass hands. One time I had three other spades, eight times two other spades, and three times one other spade. I ate the queen nine times. I'm not a genius like the programmer of this trash, but I do know that one player out of four shouldn't be dealt a card (esp. THAT card) 80% of the time.
One of my biggest gripes is the "cutesy" play (taking 4 hearts with the 5H). This is DEALT. I doubt players are passing the 2,3,or 4 of hearts. If they are, it's worse than I thought.
That can't be bad luck. It sounds like you have an awful version of the game. Try another version.
Yeah, as anyone can see from reading through this blog, Windows Hearts fails on so many levels. As a game of chance. Chance? I think not. FAIL.
As a computer game program. Repetitive ploys used again and again. Oh yeah. FAIL.
Even Spider Solitaire is more interesting to play than this joke.
The game is nothing but rigged card sets. Nothing more and nothing less. It can be amusing for awhile, but most people soon lose interest in it. That's the real test of a computer game. On that note, I'd agree with you that MS has failed miserably.
Can some computer genius out there rig my game so I can deal the cards? Please! Just for one week, let ME deal the cards and let me show the bastard how to cheat. I still don't know why it is so damned important for the game to win. It is just incredible how many times you get dealt an impossible hand in a "do or die" situation. Just incrwdible.
The game will almost always put the QS in West (when it's not in your hand) when your position is winning. It will make sure East takes the first trick and then lead out in spades (if you have the K or A) or a suit that West is void in.
This is a highly repetitive pattern. Most often there is nothing you can do about it as the fixed card set that is "dealt" will not allow you to take that first trick.
Again, this little equalizer is used repeatedly.
The game reneges on the rules of play (held discards). That's cheating in anyone's book.
Playing this game is a waste of time, even if you're intending to waste time playing a computer game. Our class project demonstrated that the game does not use random dealing at all. Rather, the logic behind the game is all based on card-stacking with known (probable) point outcomes. Even the best card counter cannot overcome many of the stacked "deals" employed.
Just for grins, try this little test. Keep track of which hand the Queen of Spades is thrown from for a half dozen or so games.
Amazing, eh?
The card rigging built into this game is self-evident. What sometimes gets overlooked, however, is the fatal flaw in the logic that's behind the play: bots do not play to win. On the contrary, their purpose is to make you lose while protecting the prima donna position.
That's what ultimately makes the game unrealistic, and, imho, not that interesting to play.
What is perplexing and disappointing to me is that the game is capable of playing an interesting and competitive game, but goes into "cheat mode" way too often and ruins games by relying solely on rigged deals to "defeat" you.
That's because the code written into the program is very lazy. From a gaming perspective, it's a very weak product. MS knows this and that's why it's included with Windows.
Also, to further your point, notice that the "cheat" deals increase as the game progresses. Obviously, the program takes into consideration the scoring and what relative position South is in. An unbiased program wouldn't do this, lending further evidence that the game does not utilize random dealing.
A new all-time low for this piece of s***. First three hands of a new game (after a win by me) got the "cutesy play". Fourth hand ? Dealt lone QS (of f******* course)!
There are so many better games out there worthy of your free time.
This is not one of them.
Yup. As the game progresses, the rigged deals become more and more blatant. QS lives in the West position just waiting to strike. The 2C keeps getting dealt to you. You start seeing fewer and fewer low cards. East keeps taking the lead after the first trick. Etc., etc., etc.
It's pretty lame.
I just played a game (didn't finish it since it was so ridiculous) wherein the prima donna player got zero points for eight consecutive hands.
Yeah, like that could ever happen.
Yep, pretty amazing since at least one player (you) is TRYING to get him points.
Consistent even distribution of the 2,3,4,5 of Hearts.
What's that all about?
More lottery-like odds I guess.
It's pretty comical to see what lengths this game will go to just to have you lose in the end. In the game I just played, I was leading up until the very last hand and then lost by a close one. I was actually passed the A,K,Q of Spades all together twice in the last three hands.
All, I can say is "wow".
Here's another little experiment you can try...
Every time you are dealt the QS and your pass is to West, go ahead and pass it. It is almost certain you will be passed the KS or AS or both.
I agree. The game is totally rigged. I seldom play it, nor any of the other Windows games for that matter. I don't really understand why they keep putting their crappy games out with every new version.
Why do I keep getting slammed with points on the 4th, 8th, 12th, etc. hands? Hmmmm.
And I keep getting passed the ace, king and/or queen of spades, no matter which player is doing the passing. It's "amazing" how those cards always seem to be in the hand of the player passing to you.
I managed to win three games in a row. After three hands of game four I was behind 44-0. There was no fourth hand. I just grabbed the litte silver handle and KAWHOOSH!
Again, it's not 'a lazy programmer'. In a company of MS's size and management style, some senior management team (ie Gates)decided to 'fix' the game, like they have 'fixed' Solitaire, Minesweeper, Space Cadet, probably others. Someone here said that was unethical. That's absolutely right. If they are unethical about something as simple as this, exactly how far and how deep does it really go in that company. My guess is all the way.
btw, sometimes on a Pass Left deal, West does NOT pass the QS. Interesting, huh.
I disagree, to one of your points. The game, and I use that term loosely, is indeed fixed but it is also full of lazy programming. The same patterns are used over and over again.
You just gotta love how the protector bots will just continue to take bullets for the chosen one. Of course, since they are all colluding to defeat you and not actually win for themselves, this should not be a surprise to anyone that's played the game for more than ten minutes.
Then, when a game is really close and you're in like hand no. 12 or so, the chosen one gets the perfect cards to seal up the victory while one of the protector bots goes bust. (Also notice that your hand probably doesn't have a card under 6.)
For all you MS apologists out there who say it's just "bad luck" or whatever. Just finished a game. Score was me 33, west 70-something, north 97, east 37. "No-pass" hand. I'm dealt loner QS. North busts, I lose. Bad luck? Bulls***! It's a GD atmosphere of dishonesty and corruption. I wouldn't trust a thing this outfit does.
I agree totally. If it's important enough to cheat an old man sitting in an apartment in a card game, what would they do for $$$$$$$$$$$$$ ?
I just get so sick of playing a game right up to the end and getting a "shove it up your butt" deal to lose the game. Happens over and over.
The last game I played (and maybe the last one I will ever play) I led the chosen one (East) by 22 points. He had taken the QS and a heart. I was void in hearts, so all I could do was watch. The last four heart leads it was just East and West. West ducked every heart lead East made and then dumped the heart ace on East's last card (ace of diamonds). East gets the moon shot, goes ahead of me and busts the other two bots. Cheating MFs.
Congrats, Mr. Programmer, you won on the last hand.....again. Go home and tell mommy what a brilliant fellow you are! And it was so simple! Just deal me one spade, pass me the queen and lead spades....again. Three of the last four games. To all you MS apologists, just a stretch of "bad luck', I guess. What a boring, tiresome load of crap.
I think the "game" has quit trying to even play a legit game. Just every two or three hands deal you short in spades, pass you a big one and immediately lead 'em until you eat the queen. Game after game it's the same old horsesh**. It doesn't even change the pattern. East has ace of clubs, leads spades and west dumps the queen.
Oh, hey, Mr. Programmer, be sure and tell momma about your "cutesy play", you clever dweeb. seven times in three games, what a marvel you are!
Seven "no-pass" hands in a row dealt QS, two other spades at most. You MS shills, tell me all about "luck" and "bad streaks". You've got a corrupt product.
Carl, you are dead right. Isn't it "amazing" how frequently East takes the first trick with the AC?!!
The game's strategy is extremely repetitive (a sign of some pretty lazy programming). When we studied the game in our class, we were surprised (not really) to see how lopsided most of the card distributions were. This is why so many rounds end up with x-x-0-0, or x-x-0-1 scoring. In general, the game plays just one bot against South each hand. This is pretty evident once you see the entire hand's card distribution.
The game is entirely rigged from start to finish.
The Windows Hearts game is a piece of junk. It always has been. If you like playing Hearts, I'd suggest playing the game online somewhere rather than wasting your time with the rigged Windows game.
Thought I'd finally escaped the "cheater's curse. After 11 hands score was Me 46, 97, 94, 46.I was dreading the "no-pass" hand, but to my surprise I got dealt the following:
Clubs 3, 5, 6, Q
Diamonds 3, 4, 6, 7, J
Spades 2, 8, 9
Hearts 5
It looked like a hand where I could avoid even taking a trick, much less any points, while one of the high-point bots would surely bust.
Yeah, you're way ahead of me. I got my dumb ass "cutesied", prima donna takes zero, I lose by a point. Bad "luck" again, eh
Sorry, typo. Score was 46, 97, 94, 49 going into last hand.
Damn, this game is gooooood. I was ahead by fifteen points. I had a lone 9 of spades, got passed the AK, took the queen and lost by 2 points. HOW DOES HE DO IT ? What a tricky, clever programmer.It's probably hsppened to me a thousand times before, but I'm still struck by the genius behind the strategy. Go tell mommy you won again,
Watch the discards carefully. The game does indeed renege at times.
I'LL SAY IT REAL SLOW. IF IT'S NOT A RANDOM DEAL IT'S A SELECTIVE DEAL...WHICH IS C*H*E*A*T*I*N*G !!!!
You win MS. Your programmer is too brilliant for me. I'm just too stupid to figure out how to avoid taking 13 points when you deal me void in spades and pass me the lone queen.(twice in three hands) Maybe I should just stick to "War" or "What number are you thinking of"
Oh, and I forgeta the cutesy play. Leta everybody aknowa howa cute you are.
Yes. It plainly does not randomly deal the cards. The 2, 3, 4, 5 of Hearts consistently being distributed among all four players is a clear indication of card-fixing.
Card-fixing is cheating where I come from.
After winning 7 games in a row, the next game was over in just eight hands. Needless to say, I was not the winner. LOL. I was passed the Queen of Spades on all eight hands. WOW!
That's funny. I think I've had a few games like that as well.
One of my recent ridiculous games:
1. 0,21,2,3
2. 0,0,7,19
3. 26,26,0,26 (the chosen one)
4. 13,8,2,3
5. 26,26,26,0
6. 0,26,26,26
Final scores -
65,107,63,77
The chosen one won by 2 points in the end from a moon shot that I sort of had to take, lest I end up with a boatload of more points. But three moon shots in six hands?? Give me a break.
Here's further proof that the game is rigged (I know, as if any more is needed...lol).
Watch the last few discards of hearts at the end of a hand. The bots that are discarding them will hold them until they can discard them on you even though they could have dumped them on a fellow bot on an earlier trick. Now, this would make sense if you were actually leading, but when you aren't in the lead....hmmm.
Like some poster above already stated, this is the critical flaw in the game. The support bots are not actually playing to win.
Haha.
Yes.
It reneges on discards.
It's a very fixed game. Sometimes no matter what you do, you just can't pass points to the "chosen one".
Someone should add a reference to this blog on the wiki page about Windows Hearts. That would certainly be far more interesting than actually playing the game itself.
Why can't the damn game just deal the cards honestly (random deal)? It is just mind-boggling how skewed the odds of the deals are.
Lazy programming. It's that simple.
The consistent even distribution of the 2,3,4,5 of Hearts is proof of this.
I've said it before but I'll say it again. It's a crappy product. It always has been and probably will remain that way as long as they continue to give it away with every new version of Windows.
Anyone up for some online Hearts instead?
First hand of game (again) dealt lone QS, pass it left, get passed lone AS, east takes club trick (of course), leads spade, two cards in and I'm 13 down. How many damn times does the game have to use this ploy?
Second hand, dealt JS, passed QS, three cards in and I'm down another 13. Ain't gonna be no third hand. KWHOOSH! I don't care if my percentage goes to 10% I wiil not play out a game where I'm blatantly cheated. Culture of corruption.
A great example of how fixed this "game" is...
Hand 1: 1,1,24,0
East leads
Hand 2: 0,21,1,4
Totals: 1,22,25,4
South leads
Hand 3: 9,3,13,1
Totals: 10,25,38,5
East leads again
Hand 4: 7,0,19,0
Totals: 17,25,57,5
East still leads
Hand 5: 4,2,20,0
Totals: 21,27,77,5
East leads
Hand 6: 1,6,17,2
Totals: 22,33,94,7
East leads
Hand 7: 2,0,5,19
Totals: 24,33,99,26
South retakes small lead
North threatening to bust
Hand 8: 12,1,0,13
Totals: 36,34,99,39
West takes small lead
North still on the verge of busting
Hand 9: 1,25,0,0
Totals: 37,59,99,39
South retakes small lead over East
North still not busted
Hand 10: 5,0,21,0
Totals: 42,59,120,39
North busts and East pulls out win
over South by 3 points
How amazing it is that North held at 99 while they stuck South (me) with 12 points on the no-pass round (by handing me just about all face cards). Then, of course, the chosen one pulls out a zero on the final hand.
Yeah. I do the same thing. As soon as I get one of those totally set-up hands, I just start a new game. I do that every time there's one of those infamous 25-1 hands. Woosh. New game. I too could care less about the "winning" percentage, as if it meant anything anyway.
They should just rename this game "Card-Stacked Hearts".
What's really the fun in playing this game when it can dump points on you at any time (and especially on every fourth hand) through its blatant non-random dealing?
It seems pointless to me.
It cheats at discards also. Watch carefully and you'll catch it every now and again.
COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY RIGGED. ENOUGH SAID.
Can somebody give a reasonable explanation why it is so damned important for the game to win? or, more accurately, make you lose? It would seem that a competitive game, one that makes you concentrate, strategize. etc. would be the goal. Why the blatant cheating to make you lose? Corrupt bastards.
quick survey ... does everyone have a legit/registered copy of MS on their pc? I don't believe MS is dastardly enough to pull it off ... they might 'catch' unauthorized software and punish the criminals who have bootleg software. NOT likely ... but it makes me wonder. I have 3 registered versions of MS(98 xp & vista) and none of them exhibit the problems everyone seems to have.
stop the whining and try a different version of hearts.
What a joke of a game Microsoft Hearts is. Everytime you pass hearts you get hearts back and one a computer gets the lead another will try to go over 100 as quickly as possible so you have no chance to win. And they let each other shoot the moon and it seems like they are all always short-suited. So freaking frustrating.
So the "true" MS versions deal fairly and don't cheat. Excuse me, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. Just finished a game where" I got "cutesied" (5H takes four points) three times and dealt void in spades and passed the QS on the last hand to lose by two points. I guess the honorable Microssoft and its above reproach programmers wouldn't "cheat" just to win a lousy computer game, I mean, what would be the point of that?
For those of you with "bootleg software" versions of the game, how often do you see these ploys?
*CUTESY PLAY (or as I call it) MIGHT WELL BE THE ACE > Your 5H takes the 4,3,2.
*THREE CARD MONTY > You end up with Qxx of spades. East takes club trick, leads spade, north takes with KS. North leads spade, west takes with AS. West leads spade, you take with QS.
*LEAD HIM TO WATER AND MAKE HIM DRINK > You end up with A,K, or Q of spades alone or with one defender and are quickly led into eating the queen.
BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER > You don't have the A,K, or Q of spades and spades are NOT led.
*SAVE THE LAST DANCE > You get some version of the above so the chosen one can slip past you on the last hand and allow MS to claim yet another wonderful triumph.
Pay attention and you will see these and other ploys pop up way more often than random odds would allow. Distributions you should see once per hundred hands will show up nearly every game. Once every third or fourth game occurences may show up two or three times in a single game, etc.
Deals are SELECTIVE, not RANDOM, which is CHEATING. And they are designed to hinder the human so the computer can "win".
Hey, MS lackey. I won three games in a row. Game four I got QS first four hands with zero or one defender. Score was 63-4-17-20. Yep, straight-shootin' honest dealin' MS hearts.
Yeah, that's the first thing I look for to see if the fix is in, a shortage of spades after the deal. If you're looking at zero, one, or two spades on the deal the first few hands, you're hosed. It ain't gettin' better. You'll spend the whole game with A,K, or Q of spades & hardly any protectors.
Well said Carl. Don't forget the 2c routine also, i.e., dealing the 2c to South in order to eliminate a crucial card pass (if 2c is passed) or to get position (if 2c is not passed). South sees the 2c more than any other player. Our class project demonstrated that statistically. We also showed a whole bunch of other ways that the game puts South at a disadvantage through what can only be described as blatant card stacking.
Anyone who has played this game for awhile has figured out that it is totally rigged.
It does not, repeat not, use random dealing.
I really don't care too much about how the game plays or passes cards, that's part of the game. I've played with people who always passed QS or 2C. One fellow always passed a small heart. His theory was he could slug it out over the long haul, but a moon shot was too big a hole to climb out of. It pisses me off when I think the gaame is "looking" at my cards, ie. leading king or queen at my ace when a reasonable person would lead a small card from a different suit.
I just want the damn cards to be dealt fairly. All of the "tactics" the game uses are predicated by cards being in the right places and it damn sure puts those cards in the right places an inordianate amount of the time.
Deals are all rigged.
So why bother?
The game isn't very interesting imho. A game that actually dealt the cards randomly would be far more interesting and fun to play.
Ask yourself this: how much did you pay for the game?
Another tactic the game uses to defeat you that hasn't been discussed too much on this thread is how the game positions you, South, to play as often as possible before West. Count the number of times in a hand, then in a game, that you are playing before West. This is why the game regularly keeps the Queen of Spades in West's hand, just waiting to drop it on you. As I said before, if the Queen is not in your hand, there is a very high probability it is in West's. Thus, sticking you with the Queen on every no pass round is quite easy given the expectation of card rigging that's been well established already.
Whenever we get new computers at my company, we have our IT folks delete all the MS game files upon initial configuration. This has nothing to do with employee productivity, but rather reflects our position on MS's insistence on bundling. (One would think they might have learned this lesson by now.)
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