Sometimes you may be able to bait an opponent into putting down the card you want during turn-based play. For example, if you're the first to play and you have an eight and a six in my hand, you might play the eight, knowing that the your opponent will jump on the chance to play their seven so they can peg two points for raising the count to fifteen. Once they've done so, however, you can put down your six and peg three points of your own for a run of three [8 7 6].

Similarly, if you're playing first and have two fives and a Jack, playing the Jack might bait your opponent into putting down a five, so they can peg two points for raising the count to fifteen. Then you can play your five off of the five they've just laid down and peg two points of your own.

This strategies has drawbacks, of course, since when it succeeds it also awards points to your opponent. But if you use it in situations where your play runs up more points than your opponent's (three points for a run vs. two points for a fifteen-count) or use it strategically at key points in the game (for instance, to move your peg past the finish line in the final hand), you can still work it to your benefit.