let’stalktactics
BEGINNERS! Be Careful Not To Do This! By Bob Kroeger and John C. Osborn
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his column deals with one of the most serious yet avoidable tactical errors beginners sometimes make: getting dead on your partner rather than simply giving your partner a rush. Diagram 1 shows Blue and Black for Wicket #3 all alive while Red and Yellow are dead on each other going for Wicket #2. It is Blue to play. In Diagram 2, Blue rushes Black to Wicket #3, splits Black to the southeast of #3 in Diagram 3, scores the wicket in Diagram 4 and then makes the error we are discussing. In Diagram 5, Blue roquets Black (remember, black is alive on blue) and lines it up to put it into position at its wicket, which it does in Diagram 6. The proper play is to simply give Black a rush after having scored #3! We have seen a few 10 handicap players make this error as well and have even witnessed a nine making the same mistake. In a way, it’s not surprising to see 13s and above do this as they may not have grasped the concept of rushes in addition to not roqueting balls just because they can. In Diagram 7, Blue finishes the turn by shooting to the non-playing side of Black’s wicket. Diagram 8 shows the proper choice for Blue after having scored #3 – giving Black a rush. Some might ask if Blue should have rushed Black to Wicket #3 in the first place had Red been alive on Yellow. The answer comes down to how confident Blue would be in Red’s ability to take advantage of the ball positions seen in either Diagrams 7 or 8. If Red was alive on Yellow, both diagrams would be good examples of enticements (aka tices), be them intentional or not.
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2 5
3 6
In review, as a beginner or even advanced beginner, the general rule (and there are exceptions) is do not get dead on your partner when giving a rush is safer and wiser. Some last-turn situations may exist where it is worthwhile getting dead on a partner if it will make the turn easier. Please visit Bob Kroeger at www.bobcroquet.com. Bob Kroeger is producing a new croquet strategy video series. If you’d like to know more about it, please send him an email Bobkroeger@aol. com and put “New Strategy Video” in the subject. Your email inquiry may be missed if this subject line is not used. Thank you for understanding.
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