D4: DUCKS PLAYING POKER

by Dan Katz (duh)

Solution: QUOTIDIAN

You solve the puzzle by following the directions. Below is a full account of the location of all chips and the duck after every turn, as well as which directions should be followed and which cards are drawn and discarded. At the end of eight hands, when the deck is empty, the puzzle says to look at the chips on the board. Row by row, the number of chips on each square is 17, 21, 15, 20, 15, 4, 9, 1, 14. Applying the usual alphanumeric code yields the answer, QUOTIDIAN.

Hand 1 - Multicultural  
A B C D POT
DISCARD DRAW Start 40 40 40 40 0
38 A 2D AS After 1st 37 40 40 40 3
8 B 9H AH After 2nd 37 34 40 40 6
35 C 7C 7D After 3rd 37 34 40 40 6
2 D 5S 2H After 4th 37 34 40 32 14
End of hand 37 34 40 39 0 D wins
 
After 1st After 2nd After 3rd
3 3
D D D
 
 
After 4th End of Hand
3 3
D
 
 
Hand 2 - Lonelyhearts
A B C D POT
DISCARD DRAW Start 37 34 40 39 0
11 A 10S 10C After 1st 27 34 40 39 10
42 B 10D JC After 2nd 27 27 40 39 17
19 C 8D 3C After 3rd 22 22 36 39 21
26 D 2C AC After 4th 22 22 36 32 28
End of hand 22 22 50 32 0 C wins
 
After 1st After 2nd After 3rd
3 3 3 5
7 7
D 5 D
 
After 4th End of Hand
3 5 3 5
7 7
5 D 5
 
Hand 3 - Testosterone
A B C D POT
DISCARD DRAW Start 22 22 50 32 0
32 D 6H 5D After 1st 22 22 50 23 9
3 A AS 4S After 2nd 23 22 50 23 9
20 B 8S QD After 3rd 23 11 50 23 20
27 C 3D QC After 4th 23 11 44 23 24
End of hand 35 11 44 23 0 A wins
 
After 1st After 2nd After 3rd
3 5 4 1 6 4 1 6
7 1 1 8 1 1 8
5 6 1 6 5
 
After 4th End of Hand
4 1 6 4 1 6
3 1 8 3 1 8
6 5 6 5
 
 
 
Hand 4 - Rey Misterio
A B C D POT
DISCARD DRAW Start 35 11 44 23 0
36 B QH 6C After 1st 35 5 44 23 6
6 C 8H 6S After 2nd 35 5 30 23 18
10 D 8C 9D After 3rd 35 5 30 17 24
34 A JS 6D After 4th 30 5 30 17 24
End of hand 30 17 30 17 0 B wins
 
After 1st After 2nd After 3rd
4 1 6 4 1 6 4 1
3 1 8 3 1 8 3 1 8
6 5 6 5 6 5 15
 
After 4th End of Hand
4 1 4 1
8 1 8 8 1 8
6 5 15 6 5 15
 
 
 
 
 
Hand 5 - Mathematician's
A B C D POT
DISCARD DRAW Start 30 17 30 17 0
23 C 3C 4C After 1st 30 17 15 17 15
30 D AC 4H After 2nd 30 17 15 14 16
14 A KS KD After 3rd 27 17 15 14 19
1 B AH 9S After 4th 27 8 15 14 24
End of hand 27 8 27 14 0 C wins
 
After 1st After 2nd After 3rd
4 5 4 5 4 5 18
8 1 4 8 3 4 3 4
6 5 15 6 5 15 6 5 15
 
After 4th End of Hand
4 5 18 4 5 18
3 4 3 4
10 5 15 10 5 15
 
 
 
Hand 6 - Engagement
A B C D POT
DISCARD DRAW Start 27 8 27 14 0
29 D 4H 5H After 1st 27 8 27 12 2
12 A 4S 3S After 2nd 17 8 27 12 12
15 B JD AD After 3rd 17 13 18 12 16
40 C 4C KC After 4th 17 13 14 12 16
End of hand 17 13 14 20 0 D wins
 
After 1st After 2nd After 3rd
4 5 18 4 5 18 4 5 18
3 4 20 3 4 20 3 4
10 5 15 5 15 5 15
 
After 4th End of Hand
4 5 18 4 5 18
20 7 4 20 7 4
5 15 5 15
 
 
 
 
Hand 7 - Double Blackjack
A B C D POT
DISCARD DRAW Start 17 13 14 20 0
17 A 6D JH After 1st 13 12 14 20 4
28 B AD 5C After 2nd 13 7 14 20 9
41 C 7D 10H After 3rd 13 7 0 20 23
31 D 9D 7S After 4th 13 7 0 19 24
End of hand 13 19 0 19 0 B wins
 
After 1st After 2nd After 3rd
5 5 18 5 5 18 5 18
20 7 4 20 7 4 20 7 4
5 15 5 15 18 5 15
 
After 4th End of Hand
5 18 5 18
20 7 4 20 7 4
18 5 15 18 5 15
 
 
 
Hand 8 - Classic
A B C D POT
DISCARD DRAW Start 13 19 0 19 0
9 C 6S KH After 1st 13 19 0 19 0
24 D 2H 7H After 2nd 13 19 0 10 10
5 A 3S 9C After 3rd 13 19 0 10 10
16 B JC 2S After 4th 13 0 0 10 24
End of hand 25 0 0 10 0 A wins
 
After 1st After 2nd After 3rd
5 18 21 18 21 18
20 7 4 20 7 4 20 7 4
18 5 15 18 1 14 3 1 14
 
After 4th End of Hand
21 15 21 15
20 9 4 20 9 4
9 1 14 9 1 14