Reading the discard pile: a probability chapter
The discard pile is a piece of public evidence. The guide reads what the discard pile tells you, what it does not tell you, and the reads the desk returns to.
Why the discard pile is a piece of evidence
Every card in the discard pile is face-up for everyone. Every card that returns to the pile is a discard-on-purpose. The pile is the public record of what the table has decided not to need.
What the pile tells you about a player's hand
Two reads the desk returns to. (1) A player who throws a 4-of-suit-A and then a 5-of-suit-A probably doesn't hold a 6-of-suit-A. (2) A player who throws a joker back into the pile has a rich pile and is happy to let the joker go.
What the pile does not tell you
Three things the pile does not show. (1) The order in which the cards were drawn from the closed pile. (2) The two cards still in each player's hand that have not been discarded. (3) The full hand of any single player. only the discards.
Reading tempo through the pile
A round that opens with three fast picks usually means opponents are confident. A round that opens with three slow picks usually means a pure sequence is being hidden. Tempo through the pile is the read the desk returns to.
Read next
The strategy chapter returns to the four reads on the pile. The tools chapter publishes the discard-pile counter for one round.
Read the pile. Read the tempo. Read the discipline.
The pile is public. Tempo is observable. The chapter is the discipline.