Hungarian Tarokk — Puzzle X5

You are the Declarer and took Three off the talon. Your hand is now: Skíz, I, XXI, K♥, K♦, K♠, K♣, IX, VI, III, Q♦, 1♦.

hungarian-tarokk Puzzle #215

You must discard three cards to get back to nine. All seven cards worth 5 are sitting in your hand right now: which three do you discard, and why is one of them forced to be a Tarok?

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Answer

All seven protected cards, the three honours and the four Kings, must stay: your only legal candidates are IX, VI, III, Q♦ and 1♦. Only two of those five are color cards (Q♦ and 1♦); with three discards required, you are forced to send one Tarok to the face-up skart whether you like it or not. Discard Q♦, 1♦, and the lowest Tarok, III: better to reveal a small, uninformative card than a mid Tarok that hints at your calling plans, and IX and VI stay home as flexible reserve.