Contrary to what most people might think, Complex isn't about letting every hand go to the opponents to take least points, but more about knowing which hands to take yourself so that you give your opponents more (negative) points ultimately. Some hands must be sacrificed in order to let the game unfold upon your opponents with them taking the hands including the higher valued cards.
If your team does manage to take only one hand (or none), you're really lucky with the cards. This might be a long read but please bear with me and try to imagine the situations I'm talking about to practice the ways with least chances of taking negative points.
The trick to playing Complex Partner is giving your partner the right signals, like taking the hand, returning a suit, letting a hand go, sacrificing multiple hands to end up giving a doubled card to the opponents, etc. Double cards and take risks to try to give them to your opponents. You might need to take a few hands but by giving the doubled cards you get positive points that make up for the sacrifices, and also leading to an interesting turn of events. When a card is doubled it really adds a lot of fun in the game as priorities shift immediately.
- When you are dealt your cards, check if you have any cards to double. If you have a Queen with at least 3 more cards of its suit (with preferably 2 low cards and 1 high), you're good to double that one. Same goes with the King of Hearts, only that one is more valuable. If you have none or less than three cards of a suit, it's a good hand for Complex and to double something from a different suit. This is because you can finish that suit fast and use it to hit your opponents with cards of value when they are leading that suit.
- When the game begins and the cards are doubled, check what cards you have of the suit your opponents have doubled cards in. If the player on your left has doubled a card, make sure you do not open the suit at all unless your partner takes the game and opens it. This is because they might have a card higher than the doubled card and since they play before your opponent, you might force them to play and take it.
- If the player on your right has doubled a Q and you don't have A or K, it is your utmost priority to open that suit as one that person plays their turn, your partner (if they have) can play the card higher than the doubled card and get rid of it. You can also do this if you have an A or K, but have enough (4 or more) low cards too, to force the doubled card out. You two can then continue in a one-two fashion until you force your opponent to play the doubled card and take it.
One-Two fashion means you open it with a low card, your partner takes the hand with a high card. Then they return it with a low card of the same suit and you play a high card (lower than the doubled card) and take the hand. This is where the J/10/9 come in handy, they are very useful so try to save them for the second time a suit is played. Once you have taken it, play it back low, forcing the opponents to take the hand. If you're lucky, they will have to play a Q to take the hand to not let your team attack their suit any further.
- This tactic works the other way round too, if your partner opens a suit and you have the A or K, and the doubled card of the suit is on your left, immediately play it and get rid of it, or try to always play after the player who has doubled has played their turn.
For example: once again me and my (favorite) partner were playing one of the best players of the game I've met; I chose Complex and this guy, the player on my right doubled the Q of Diamonds. Watching that, my partner immediately doubled the King of Hearts, even though it was his one and only Hearts card! If anyone opened Hearts he would take the 150 points directly, but professionalism dictates otherwise.
He knew I would start the game so I would definitely not play Hearts. He also knew I would open Diamonds as the Q was doubled on my right. He had only two Diamonds: Ace and a low number. I started the game with a low Diamond, the opponents played numbers, he took it with the Ace. He then played the low number and I took it with the J. (Here if the opponent on my right, the player with the doubled Q had the K, he must have played it and taken the hand without thinking twice because) I then returned Diamonds with a smaller number, the opponent played a higher number and my partner immediately slapped the doubled King of Hearts on his Diamond face.
Numerically, we sacrificed 2 hands of Diamonds i.e. we took 110 negative points but the +75 from the King makes it only negative 35 points but by the third hand we gave them 195 negative points in a single collection! That is the fun of Complex, taking huge risks but making them pay off.
- Remember every suit has 13 cards so try to count how many cards of the suit have been played already, and how many of it are in your hand to determine how many cards of that suit are with the other players (and haven't been played) still. With experience if you focus and watch closely you can remember which cards have (not) been played.
This is quite important because if you have a Queen or the King of Hearts and are sure the opponents only have a card higher than it and nothing else, you can take the game and play the Queen/King, forcing them to play the higher card and taking it. That's the power of counting and focusing.
As good as this may be for you, you can also be on the receiving end of this tactic. Therefore try to get rid of the high cards (A or K) early on. Getting rid of high cards can be done in two ways:
1. Playing it as a waste when a suit is being played that you don't have: If you have an A or K of a suit and you know the Q is not with you (or maybe even doubled by your opponents), try to finish off another suit deliberately (letting your partner know so they can open it again for you with a low card) as you can then throw away your A or K here. In cases like this where your partner opens a suit, the next player plays a high card of that suit, and you don't have that suit anymore, you are free to play a doubled card/Queen/Diamond/high card to cause your opponents damage.
But professionally, it's better to wait and think before you do this in a hurry. Check if you have an A or K of a suit which your opponents have doubled the Q of, and you have less cards of this suit (which makes it even more dangerous for you to keep such cards in your hand); also if you have enough cards supporting your doubled card (more cards of that suit), you don't need to hurry and hit them. Play defensive instead, and throw away a potential dangerous (for you) card in that round so you don't need to worry about their doubled card down there.
2. Playing it and sacrificing that hand (taking it) to play the next one: It's best if you're the 4th person playing the suit in that hand (the person on your right opens it so you play last). This is because if the Q or K hasn't been played you can play your high card and take it immediately in relief.
If sometimes you have a bad hand with this suit (A and one more card), play the A even if you're the 3rd one to play. It's a risk as the next player might have the Q or K and you may take it but sooner rather than later is better. If your hand is even worse (with only A or K of a suit and nothing else), you can even open the suit with that card, ensuring you take the hand with the Q or K (from opponents) but at least you'll be getting rid of the suit in your hand which lets you hit/waste other dangerous cards when this suit is opened later on.
- Always save the 2 and 3 until the end if you can, and focus on whether the 2 or 3 of a suit have already been played (so you know if the 3 or 4 in your hand is the lowest of that suit currently and you can play it confidently). If you are opening a suit for your partner to hit the opponents, always play the lowest possible card for their convenience.
For example: if you have the 2 and 3 of a suit, you can play the 3 and the player on your right plays a different suit (as they don't have it), and neither does your partner so they will be confused to play a random waste card or hit them with a strong (doubled) card because they won't know if the last person to play (opponent) has a lower card (the 2) or a higher one. You will know they have a higher card because you have the 2, but your partner won't know it, so you must always play the lowest for them to notice.
- When it's your turn to open a hand and you don't know what to do, look for a suit in which you have multiple cards below Q, and keep playing it in descending order until someone takes the game (hand) from you. Getting rid of a hand is crucial in Complex, so if you have two cards of a suit, play the higher one first (always, unless you are definitely taking a doubled card), take the hand, then play the lower card and get out of that suit.
Sometimes don't worry even if the higher card is a Q or even the King of Hearts, play it if you're sure sooner or later you'll be taking it as you have no backup for this card in this suit, make the sacrifice by taking it, then play the next low card of the suit and your partner must notice that you're out of it. So if they have a low enough card they can take the game sometime later and play it for you, where you can get rid of something or hit them with a dangerous card.
If your partner is doing this as mentioned above; they open a suit with a Queen and you have the A or K, do not play it there. Save it for the next round. If they play back the same suit it means they are out of it so you can play this high card and take it to return it back with a low card for your partner. Even if this Q (or even a King) was their only card of the suit, after taking the game they'll play a different suit so you'll know that they are out of that suit. You can then proceed to playing the low card of the null suit for them.
- While someone else is leading the game and taking hands as you keep playing lower cards towards the end, keep in mind the cards that are still out (not played yet) of the suits that are in your hand to prevent them from opening it and you taking the hand. In other words, if someone opens a suit you don't have, don't always focus on trying to give point cards.
For example: if someone opens Clubs and you don't have any, and your opponents are leading the hand you have the option to play a Diamond card and cause them damage. But note that you also have only one or two high cards left of another suit, say Spades Ace and King. Instead of using this Clubs hand to give them Diamonds, do the wiser thing and throw away your high Spades here so that in case someone opens Spades, the game doesn't come to you (as you'll be taking everything). You can always hit Diamonds or even take one and return a low one to get out of it later. Avoid keeping (high) cards that make you take the game in your hands towards the end.
Keeping all these in mind over time and prioritising your gameplay options for causing maximum damage to your opponents you might need to break these rules too sometimes. All I've written must work vice-versa with your partner and applies to everyone playing. These are general practices but you can avert from them when more critical situations are faced. Highest priority goes to the doubled (or normal) King of Hearts, always do whatever to not take it. Then comes doubled Queens, then normal Queens and lastly, Diamonds.
Always try to keep count of how many cards have been played of the suits, especially the suits in which there are doubled cards. More importantly, notice who is repeatedly opening which suit and who is avoiding which suit. This is how you'll know who wants to get rid of which suit and who might be holding potentially dangerous cards of another suit.
It's all a partner game where you develop chemistry and work together to try and hit your opponents hard with the power of mathematics and memory. Very commonly a team can get positive points in a Complex round, by giving the opponents doubled cards and taking less enough hands to keep the positive points (from the doubled cards) more than the normal negative points.
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