Strawman — Puzzle X2

Your opponent leads the Q♠. You are void in Spades, so the Tarok Rule applies: you must play a Tarok. Your hand holds the IV and the XIX. Your three piles show only court and numeral cards, no Taroks.

strawman Puzzle #138

Which Tarok do you play?

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Answer

The IV. Any Tarok beats the Q♠ for free, so send the smallest one to do a job that doesn’t need muscle, and keep the XIX in reserve for a real fight against enemy Taroks later. Notice this choice was always a hand decision: the cascade rule sends every Tarok and King straight into a hand the instant it surfaces, so your piles can never hold one to spend instead.