Hitting 10s

While 20s are where most games are won and lost, 10s set the pace. In a close game, they can make all the difference. In a game with a lot of missed questions, 10s can be the great equalizer. A good 10-point hitter will never want for a starting spot on a national-level team.

So how do you hit them? Well, quotes and completions are pretty basic, no matter what the point value. Let’s look at four types of questions and the rules for hitting them.

Locator (with or without GCA)

This is the most basic 10 you’ll hear. If it gives you a section or chapter locator, you want to hit for the third word. To do this, you want to anticipate by hitting on the second word. 90% of the time, this is a perfect hit. You will occasionally get burned, but that’s the cost of doing business. It’s worth the occasional miss, especially if you can get 9 out of 10.

Scripture Text Question

On these you want to look for a key word. Often, this will be after the word “quote.” Questions that require you to “complete the phrase” are obviously place hits. Contextual questions often give key words before that, so watch for those opportunities.

According to…

Questions that start with this phrase are tricky, because usually they pull you to a reference. Here you want to wait for the question word, so you have something to build the question on. For some reason, these get a lot of really early hits. “According” is seldom a key word.

Statement and Question

My kids refer to these as “big red flag” questions, mainly because I have drilled that into their heads. On 10s, this is especially true. Here, you need a key word and a question word. The key word usually comes in the statement, but the question word, naturally, is in the question. Honestly, the best approach on these is usually to let the other team turn them over.