Lifting two in round zero | Mafia Game Academy

Nominating and lifting several players is the topic of the section "A matter of technique" in the book "50 Shades of Red". The author opens it with a quotation from Karl Kraus, that the stimulus of technical progress is our defencelessness before technology, and explains the aim: we raise the percentage of civilian-town wins and punish the mafia for a mistake, for a miss. Lifting two in round zero is one of the most disputed topics of this section. The author treats it as an exception to the general rule, not as a norm, so read the conditions carefully. The lesson relies on the author's text, and the fact that applicability depends on the club or tournament regulations is stipulated separately.

The usual practice of zero and its price

The most widespread practice of round zero now: nominate player no. 1 and a player from the second half of the table (usually slot no. 6) to get their positions. Player no. 1 gives a layout of the table, shows the zone of suspicion, collects a team. Player no. 6 explains the position on the players who spoke after him. Nobody needs to be removed.

The benefit is clear: the more actions in the game, the more information and the easier it is to settle on a version, to find the reds by whom they play against and vote. Besides, in a "sawing" of no. 1 against no. 6 the probability of breaking the table is extremely small. The author admits that this tie vote has become an established template but "not always the best variant" and calls for loosening the foundations.

The argument for lifting two

Lifting two in round zero lets you remove from the game two at ten, one at seven, one at five and one at three players in the guessing round over the whole game: five players in total. On the scales are the amount of information and the number of removed suspicious players; the author recommends giving preference to the chance to get rid of the maximum number of potential blacks.

By default, for ethical and informational reasons, the number of players should not be cut from the first round: the sheriff will have only one check before the critical round. But there is a substantial "but": a fairly high probability of the sheriff's death right after round zero. The author shows what happens then:

If the leader of the reds dies with a black check, you will no longer remove five.
If the sheriff dies with a red check, the mafia in the vote at the lift of three will break into itself.
If the sheriff does not die, most likely there will be a second line of play, and that is from two (the sheriffs gave each other black) to four (the sheriffs have different checks) known colours. Most likely a free vote or a launch of balance on one of the versions awaits you, and removing five will not work.

Three conditions for the lift

When lifting two, there must be no sheriff among them, and one of three conditions must be met (in all other situations it is better to play the standard game).

Both players on the vote decide to stand, because they suspect each other. In this case with any role you always put a hand for lifting two. If both are red, they leave the game together as the right to a mistake. If there is mafia there, excellent. The author's example: you are the only sheriff and lifted two at zero, you have a red check. You can remove a player as a counterweight to the reddest of the two who left.
One of the players wants to be lifted with the other. This is the responsibility of the one who stands. By saying he wants to stand, the player as if declares: "I will not consider the version that the one I decided to leave with is a civilian." The statement can be a move of the mafia as well as of a civilian, it neither paints red nor blackens. In any case lifting civilians who have clashed with each other is not a mistake but the realisation of the right to a mistake (the author calls this a tautological paradox). With a living sheriff in the town the chances of winning stay at 50 percent and higher.
Among those nominated there is no player with whom you confidently played or whom you called rather red. Why do we need persons on whom an extra check must be spent, each of which is precious? Removing two does not guarantee a black among them, and after the lift the whole mafia trio may turn out to be at the table.

Can the hands for lifting two be read

The author answers: no. You cannot give a red colour with high reliability to players in a link if one or several black votes fell for lifting the pair. The mafia may put a hand for removing its own player in order to scatter, or counting on the votes not being gathered. With a living sheriff outside the pair, it is disadvantageous for the mafia to remove two suspicious reds, because they can be removed one by one in votes, bringing its team to victory, or the sheriff's check can be drained onto one and the other removed. The analysis of hands for lifting two has low reliability.

A separate observation: for the town, removing a pair may be handy if one of the slots is under a shot. The probability of a miss is high, because few know the shooting rule when the one who was to be killed has been removed. The rule: the first red by serial number is shot, as in the sheriff's round: no. 1 is killed, if no. 1 is mafia then no. 2, and so on.

What the sheriff does

Should the sheriff vote for the lift? On one hand, speeding up the game is disadvantageous for the leader of the town. On the other, remembering the raised probability of his own death by a mafia shot, the sheriff needs to shorten the circle of checks and remove the maximum number of suspicious players. By voting for the lift he will with a large share of probability hide from the don and strengthen his line. What he must convey to the town: voting for removing a pair under the three described conditions is not a black move but a red one. What is good for the town is good for the sheriff.

What to do with the check:

If you, being the sheriff, vote for the lift and most hands do not gather, go and check the one for whose removal you put your hand.
If the hands gathered, check the counterweight left by the removed player, or the one attacked by the reddest of the departed pair. On finding a black the town will have the full layout to choose your line in the round at seven.

Revealing

After a pair is lifted the sheriff always reveals himself in the morning. An early reveal is much redder than a waiting one: it is advantageous for the don to adjust to the check, and any mafioso can reveal himself in answer to his black check. How to declare the role: simply raise the sheriff's badge, the rest you tell in your minute. Showing the check before your minute comes is needed only if there is another version in the town. An instant reveal (before the victim is announced) and holding back information about the check complicate the black team's buying of votes: how to play, against your own or with your own, whom to attack, whose vote to fight for, whether to shoot the real sheriff or play wall against wall? Without understanding the check of the town's leader one can make a tactical mistake that will wreck the mafia's game.

How to play the round after the lift

In the round after a pair is lifted it makes sense to proceed from the assumption that the full black trio is at the table. If the mafia is in full strength, thinking so is useful; if not, there will still be time to sort it out, because the round is not critical. For the civilians, simply choose a line and all vote together for the needed candidate.

A break

There is no separate chapter on a break in the book: a break is a black move. Do not play complicated versions, do not call a civilian the one who breaks, even if he removes a suspicious candidate. If you broke, leave next; the sheriff does not reveal himself. We do not believe in random breaks, especially at tournaments; in ordinary games it is better to start a new one faster if a red made a critical mistake.

A separate case: if the break was made into the only sheriff, the one who broke is removed, then the one player whom the killed in the night at seven leaves as mafia is removed. No tie votes with lifting a pair at six: it is a practically guaranteed break and a mafia victory two on two. If the game continues at four, the shot player chooses the most suspicious one, and that one decides with whom he leaves the game.

Feints and the author's recommendations

For a civilian. A lift at zero practically guarantees the loss of bonus points for the one removed in the vote. Use it in a tournament fight.
For the mafia. You can calmly lift your own black. This will even strengthen the version in case of two lines of play with a launch of the run. You need not fear being left two: the game then goes on standard, with one right to a mistake for the civilian town. An ordinary game with a shot after zero takes the form 6 against 3, a game with a lift at zero 5 against 2. The only nuance: without the sheriff's death in the first night you will have to play team against team. With the death of the leader of the reds with a black check the "dry" chances of the mafia to win are 63 percent (the author's estimate).

For the red: how to run round zero

Determine whether one of the three conditions is met. If not, play a standard zero with nominating no. 1 and no. 6.
If it is, explain to the table why the lift is a red move and voice who votes for whom.
Make sure the sheriff is not lifted: the sheriff does not stand in a pair.
After the lift remember that the hands are of low reliability, and do not draw conclusions about colours from them.

Example (compiled for the Academy)

Round zero. No. 3 and no. 8 clashed and both say: "Put us both." This is the first condition: they themselves want to stand. The reds support lifting two, and both leave. If both are red, the town used the right to a mistake and kept the sheriff, who has one check before the critical round. If there is mafia among them, the town did the maximum. Sheriff no. 5 raises the badge in the morning and names the check.

Self-check questions

Why does the author not recommend cutting the table from the first round by default?
Name the three conditions for lifting two at zero.
Why are the hands for lifting a pair of low reliability?
What does the sheriff do after a pair is lifted?
How is lifting a pair advantageous for the mafia?

Practice

Play round zero with lifting two five times by the three conditions. After each game note how the mafia and the reds reacted and what changed in the information. Then play zero in ordinary practice (no. 1 and no. 6) and compare.

Typical mistakes

Lifting two without conditions.
Reading the hands for lifting a pair as informative.
Lifting the sheriff in a pair.
The sheriff revealing himself too late.
Playing complicated versions around a break.

Source of the idea. The section "Lifting in round zero" and the introduction to the section "Moves" from Dmitry Novik's book "50 Shades of Red" (2021). The percentages belong to the author. The recommendations for the red, the example, questions and practice were compiled for the Academy. The applicability of lifting two players in round zero depends on the club or tournament regulations.