Two, trick 11. You are the Declarer (P1), and P3 is your Partner. P3 led the 1
, P4 trumped with the XVI, and P2 plays after you.
P3Partner
P4Dealer
P3
P4Your hand
Pad
- Still out: Skus, C♥, Q♣, J♠.
- P4 holds the Skus. P3 holds the C♥. P2 holds the Q♣ and the J♠.
- So far your side has 22 cards with 20 pips; the Defenders have 24 cards with 18 pips, talon included.
Which Tarok do you play?
Answer
XXI. P2 showed at trick 10 that they hold no Tarok, so nobody after you can play the Skus, and your Moon wins this trick. The Skus has not been played, so a Moon kept for the last trick meets it there and is lost. Play the Moon while no one behind you can hold the Skus.
Rule: Protect the Moon: keep the Skus as its cover when you hold it, and never lead the Moon late while the Skus has not been played, whoever holds it. The Moon can only be lost to the Pagat in a Fairy Tale Trick, or to the Skus in any other trick, even if it is your Partner’s Skus that captures it.