I had got a problem that very few people know about. It was a habit that sometimes affected my life. It was soemthing I wasn't emotionally committed to but just couldn't stay away from. It was not an addiction! I am a mature person in total control of myself. I'm no addict. Anal retentives don't get addictions, we get compulsions. Well, maybe you could call it a need but only occasionally. Definitely not an addiction!
It's not like it filled my entire day or something. It was just one in the morning, maybe another at work, one or two at night. Maybe some practice while I was having a cigarette or on the crapper. You know, when I wasn't otherwise engaged anyway. It's just something I used to keep my mind occupied when I was bored. Well, okay, sometimes I got a bit lost when I was doing it and didn't realize that Lovely Wife was talking to me. And maybe once or twice I didn't hear a kid screaming while I was doing it. Does it really matter that I zoned a bit when I was concentrating? Isn't that the mark of a committed mind?
And so what if I did it a lot? I'm good at it so why shouldn't I have? I don't think anybody ever went up to Jordan and said "You know, Mike...you're playing an awful lot of basketball. Maybe you should give that a bit of a break and try something else for a while". Damn straight they didn't.
I've had a hell of a lot of experience, too. I started doing it when I was very young. You'll probably think this is a bit odd but my Mom was the one who introduced me to it. She told me all about it, gave me pointers, even explained how you could do it with a partner. My mom was pretty cool.
Of course it was all manual back then - I didn't have access to the cool toys and "helper products" I've got now. I was nervous about it, too. I mean, I didn't want any of my friends to know that I did it. That would have been mortally embarrassing! I'd do it on the sly in school, breathless and tingling with the threat of being discovered. That was a hell of a rush, I'll tell you. I'd do it all over the house too. I'd just move to another room if I heard somebody coming to wherever I was. I tell ya - with two brothers that involved a lot of moving around.
I did my share of experimenting too. It almost started to get boring after a while. I was looking for a thrill to rekindle the love, know what I mean? So I went for the "speed record" for a while. That was a blast. Talk about the fast and the furious! I tried using "aids" and had some good fun with that. I always ended up coming back to the basics though. After all, you can do it the natural way just about anywhere you go. What's the point of getting used to some twisty system or elaborate setup when you aren't going to be able to use it except in the privacy of your own home?
I dropped all of the colorful extras, the little games and variations and just went for perfection. I wanted an absolutely perfect experience. I worked at it, perfecting my game, day after day after day. It got to the point where it was affecting my marriage. I kind of hinted at that above but it's no joke. I'd be into it and Lovely Wife or one of the kids would need me and I'd just be totally oblivious. I was so close and I knew that if I just kept working at it I'd be there. Just a little more effort, a little better execution. So damn close that it started to consume my every waking moment. I knew how to get there, I just needed the right set-up.
Well, I got it a few weeks ago. Everything went perfect from the initial lay to the final play. Aces to kings in four piles, no mistakes, no missed cards, no misplays, not a single play from the stack to the waste. Absolutely perfect. Solitaire, you are my bitch.
POINTS: In Microsoft Solitaire, using standard scoring, what is the lowest possible winning score? The highest? The highest possible losing score? 1 point for each correct answer.
low possible to win: 625
Hi possible: 745
Hi Loser: 720
Jim - now you can finally get that life you've been missing.
At least it's not like my family, where my Ma, Pa and brother had nightly arguments over who could play Hearts.
Simon-my family used to get VICIOUS during Hearts games. It got ugly. Knives thrown, souls sold, the works.
As for me, I am currently nursing a Freecell addiction-I even dream about matching black and red things.
I am a loser.
I was working honest!
MojoMark - You got at least one but not all three correct. I won't say which one(s) yet so people can still guess.
In my family it was Pinnochle. Gram was an evil player. When I stayed with her on visits we would play all day and night. We played two man with a dead hand. The dead hand was named "George" after my Gramps. Yeah, that's how serious a player my Gram was.
This prepared me for the vicious games of euchre that occupied the majority of my high school days. Gram cheated like a wench and taught me everything I know so I was a killer euchre player against the lightweights I played against.
Then in the Navy it was spades. Lots and lots of spades. Then more spades. I tried to introduce euchre and had a little success but eventually I gave up and turned to poker since that has almost universal acceptance. I made a lot of money off of my fellow sailors.
Ah, those were the days.
Sounds like an intervention is called for. I know my mother definitely needs to get checked into the Betty Ford Clinic for Solitaire Rehab. They force you to occupy your time by playing backgammon. The shakes go away in a few days I am told.
I'm gonna say Shamming. No one would ignore their family over a stupid card game.
oh..my bad we're not voting on this one ;)
Since you haven't revealed the answer yet, can I get a point for saying that 745 highest possible is right?
Nope, but I'll confirm that that's the only one MojoMark had right. I'll reveal the answers and hand points out in about an hour.
subsequent to my posting I figured one was wrong, so I'll be interested in your response.
The answers are:
Highest points possible (with a win): 745
Lowest points possible with a win: 20
Highest points possible with a loss: 705
Solitaire points are scored like this:
5 points when you move a card from the deck to the field.
5 points when you uncover a card in the field.
10 points when a card is played to the waste (the Ace to King piles).
When the cards are dealt out there are 7 already exposed. These cards can generate a maximum of 70 points (by playing them to the waste). The other cards can each generate 15 points (5 for uncovering in the field or playing to the field plus 10 for playing to the waste). 45 cards times 15 points is a maximum of 675 points. 675 plus 70 makes the highest points possible 745.
Playing a card from the waste back into the field costs you fifteen points. Therefore you can always reduce your score to zero (it won't go below zero) by playing a card repeatedly from the field to the waste, back to the field, etc. The catch is there have to be at least two cards in the field because as soon as you put the very last card in the waste the game is over. So you have zero points and your last two cards in the field - those two cards will get you 20 points when you play them to the waste.
The highest points possible with a loss is a bit tougher because you have to figure out the best (or worst?) possible scenario for an almost win. This requires 4 cards be left in the field, 1 exposed and the others unexposed underneath it. The cards are a queen - the up card, the card immediately below that in the same suit (to prevent the stopper from being played to the waste) and the two cards higher than the stopper of the opposite color (to prevent it from being played off of the hidden cards). For example, the queen of hearts is face up in the field. Underneath it is the jack of hearts, king of spades and king of clubs. 4 cards haven't been played to the waste so the maximum possible score with a lost game is 705.
Note that there are many scenarios where you could be stopped and have more than 705 points but all of those can be corrected by playing cards back from the waste. They aren't lost games they're just unfinished ones.
One point for MojoMark
Points in solitare are meaningless. My office has set up the solitare-speed-challenge.
And the current record for a winning game of standard (draw three) solitare, is held by ME.
68 SECONDS, baby. You can't touch this...
I thought Jim's complete points analysis of the game was extremely sad, until I read Mike the Marine's post.
Now I think you're both sad.
Cut free of the cards, friends.
It's not a bug, it's a feature.
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