4 large please

[Martin Gardner]

It's pretty cool looking at the 4 large stuff that Jerry Humphries and to some extent Jono have written. It was always my favourite selection and I think it's quite different from six small numbers. For six small numbers you have to be able to multiply very quickly and most of the time you need to factorise the target to get it, or get close. I only chose this once in my semi final because I was losing and I didn't want to have been on Countdown and never chosen six small ones. But I think the difference is that 4 large is very procedural. You need to get a feel for the target and try and get as close as possible and then make the rest from the other numbers. Jono was amazing at this, I didn't see his shows but I've just read the Countdownwiki and he got a lot of games I wouldn't have got. If I went to a COLIN, he's probably the only player I wouldn't choose for large against. I think with foru large you can get a massive advantage over your opponent who's possibly not done more than a couple of 4 large games (s)he's seen on TV, whereas if you've practised you've got an arsenal of methods to get close to the target straight away.

Martin

[Charlie Reams]

Yep, 4 large is a very beautiful sub-discipline of Countdown and I have massive respect for its aficionados (except Jono, who I can't respect due to his working class background.) I'll try and sharpen up my 4 large skills before Cobris.