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This glossary cluster groups Hand State concepts so you can read rules, FAQs, and strategy content faster.
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Decision to break an existing cạ to open a stronger future ù shape.
A hand transition where a player stops exposing new meld information and plays concealed.
A lone card with no realistic path to combine before hand end.
Cards not included in any Phỏm meld, counted for points at the end if no one ù.
Maintaining two live wait cards to increase the chance that one feed remains available.
Maintaining two possible Phỏm completions from one hand segment to improve draw flexibility.
Pressure created when many copies of one rank are already visible on table.
In Tổ Tôm, holding a near-complete frame while waiting for one decisive draw card.
A Tứ Sắc hand segment that cannot currently merge into any legal set without exact draws.
A hand state where your practical options are narrowed to drawing from nọc and minimizing loss.
A losing hand state where you fail to win any face-up trick in the first four rounds.
Hand compression in Tứ Sắc means reducing the number of unresolved groups so each draw has clearer strategic impact.
Balancing strong and weak cards in Tiến Lên to avoid running out of legal replies mid-game.
In Blackjack, a hand where the Ace must count as 1 (or has no Ace) to avoid busting. For example, 10-6-Ace is a hard 17.
In Chắn, retaining cạ in hand without exposing it to preserve declaration flexibility.
In Phỏm, keeping a two-card setup (cạ) instead of discarding it, waiting for the exact completing card.
Late-game tightening is narrowing Chắn hand choices near the end to protect a concrete winning shape and avoid risky flexibility.
A To Tom card that currently does not connect to any valid set pattern in hand.
A Tứ Sắc piece not currently integrated into any legal pair, triple, quad, or sequence group.
A visible sign that an opponent is close to completing a phỏm, affecting discard safety.
Odd-card clearance is the Tứ Sắc process of systematically removing isolated cards so the hand approaches a zero-odd finish.
Intentionally splitting a pair to maintain flexible singles and disrupt predictable combo timing.
Set efficiency is maximizing useful grouped cards in Tổ Tôm while minimizing isolated cards that block hand development.
A Chan hand state that can win only with one exact incoming card.
A vulnerable hand state where overreliance on one suit leaves you exposed after that suit is exhausted.
In Blackjack, a hand containing an Ace counted as 11 without busting. For example, Ace-6 is a soft 17. Offers more flexibility since the Ace can count as 1.
In Cát Tê, the state of having no card in the led suit, forcing alternative responses.
Keeping one reliable high card in a target suit acts as an anchor for end-round contests.
Winning at least one of the first four Catte rounds to stay eligible for rounds five and six.
Protecting a sequence of surviving rounds to carry control into the reveal phase.
Each player in Tổ Tôm starts with exactly 20 cards before open play begins.