The Bluffer
BLUFFER — bet a hand you don't have so they fold the one they do. The card-craft primitive of strategic deception: your bets tell a story and the story can be a lie.
A story read by The Bluffer
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- "II"
- "IV"
- "VI"
- "VIII"
- "X" - "XI" - "XII"
The CardForge ensemble
The Bluffer is part of CardForge's distributed-narrative cast. Each character embodies a different curricular primitive; together they teach the full subject.
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The Finesseur
Finesse (force an opponent's high card via positional play; bridge / hearts / spades)
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The Squeezer
Squeeze (force a discard that gives up a winner; advanced bridge + hearts)
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The Endplayer
Endplay (throw opponent in to force a losing lead; bridge / hearts / whist)
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The Counter
Card-counting / pip-tracking (track played cards to deduce remaining hands; gin / bridge / blackjack-style)
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The Long-Suit
Suit establishment (set up a long suit to run for tricks late in the hand; bridge / whist / spades)
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The Discarder
Strategic discard (hearts: avoid points; spades / gin / rummy: shed dead wood)
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The Trumpkeeper
Trump management (when to ruff, when to hold; whist / spades / euchre / pinochle)
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The Forcer
Magic forcing (the spectator "freely chooses" the card you intended)
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The Shuffler
False-shuffle / stack management (control card order while appearing to randomize; mathematical card magic)