Okay, there are some who have told me "Gambler sucks.  You stand a 50%
chance of winding up with a hand of one card!"
To these people I say, "Big deal!"  There is a strategy to combining Oaks
and Gamblers to minimize the downside of both cards.
I've already mentioned the "down" side of the Gambler, that you have to flip
heads to get eight cards, or you wind up with one. 
The "down" side of the Oak is that you have to discard your hand, which can
deck you quicker.  So how do I propose minimizing
both "negative" effects?  Simple:  When you draw your hand, with any luck
you'll have an Oak or two, and a Gambler or two (my
most powerful decks have at least three of each).  When you need to refresh
your hand, ALWAYS PLAY THE GAMBLER FIRST.
This means you can shuffle that hand into your deck and flip and draw.  If
your flip is heads, GREAT!  If your flip is tails, then
hang in there and keep playing until you get another Gambler or an Oak.  If
you draw an Oak, GREAT!  You don't have to discard
much, because you flipped tails earlier.  You get seven fresh cards.  This
minimized both the tails flip on the Gambler, and the
discard requirement of the Oak.  If you played the Oak first, you would have
had to discard the Gambler!  Not good strategy.  But
by playing the Gambler first, you got to put the Oak back into your deck,
increasing your chances of Oaking if needed.

The upshot:  When you hold both an Oak and a Gambler, ALWAYS play the
Gambler FIRST, or you won't get to play it at all!

Alison
mailto:fries@hog.net