Bad Call, Bad Execution, or Bad Luck
When you get euchred, you must ask yourself and your partner:
- Was it a Bad Call?
- Was it Bad Execution?
- Was it Bad Luck?
Rather than start complaining about the cards, which would violate the Tenth Commandment of Euchre, or their partner, which is poor sportsmanship, you should analyze the entire hand. If you determine the hand played was a Bad Call or Bad Execution, then use it at a learning experience for you and your partner. If it was Bad Luck, then keep it as reminder that you are playing the best euchre possible.
Let’s look at an example to determine if was a Bad Call, Bad Execution, or Bad Luck?
| Score E/W: 2 N/S : 5 |
North (Dealer)
|
Up-Card A |
West 9 Void A Q 10 J |
 |
East A J K Q 10 Void Void |
|
South
|
After the deal, East Passes, and South tells North to pick up the A and discarded the 9.
The Call: From South’s point of view, he has 3 trump cards, and North will have at least one trump and an improved hand. You should never underestimate the dealer improving their hand; it is simply a powerful play in euchre. South doesn’t know where the 3 remaining trump cards are located, but he realizes his partnership has the majority of trump cards.
Verdict: South simply made a solid call. What can be more wrong than knowing your team has the majority of trump cards with an improve hand?
The Discard:
It may have been slightly more accurate for North to discard the Q, because North is voluntary stripping the guard of the A.
Verdict: Despite the slight inaccuracy, it won’t change the outcome of the hand. Try it out for yourself.
1st trick:
East leads off with the A, everyone else follows suit.
Verdict: Just following the rules of Euchre
2nd trick:
East leads off the K, South Trumps with Q and North follows suit.
Verdict: It doesn’t matter which card South tosses out, West will play the right Bower. North must follow suit.
3rd trick:
West Leads off the A. North plays the A, and East Trumps over the Ace with the left Bower. South follows Suit.
Fate is sealed! East and West have euchred North and South. Rather pointless, but North/South will win the remaining two tricks.
Verdict: There was nothing that North could play to stop the other Bower.
So what went wrong?
North/South had 5 of the 7 trump cards, and yet they still got euchred. Many you will claim that North/South lost because they lack the bowers, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
North/South lost because East/West were able to coordinate their cards. If you look at the hands, East held 3 hearts and West held 3 Diamonds. This disparity allowed East and West the able to not follow suit, other than Spades. Their trump cards were never in jeopardy of being played during the same trick.
If East had played a Heart Instead of the A, South would have likely played the natural Q, and North/South would still have been euchred. In fact, South would have needed to play the very uncanny 10 to win that scenario.
Verdict: Bad Luck! While it is rare for a team to have coordinated cards, it is not completely uncommon. The vast majority of time, when a team has 5 out of 7 trump minus the bowers, the defending team will not be so lucky.
Second Hand Low
A classic strategy in euchre is Second Hand Low. The strategy is a trust play that allows for a partner a chance to win a necessary trick. It doesn’t always work, but it could mean the difference from winning two points instead of one.
Here is an example of Second Hand Low:
| Score E/W: 4 N/S : 4 |
North (Dealer) Unknown |
Trump |
|
West Unknown |
|
East Unknown |
|
South
|
South declared diamonds trump and is holding:
.
East leads off with the precarious 
.
There is no way that East believes that the Q will make it around the table, and it is obvious that East is getting rid of a singleton card to become two suited. The question remains for South who is hold the ace. If South trumps the Q, South could potentially ruff a winning A from North’s hand. Not to mention, South will only be left with one trump. Leaving any remaining tricks defenseless.
South ended up playing the hand low with the 9, leaving a 50% chance of North winning the trick. South will eventually have to play 9 , leaving an entire trick up to North. What better time will South have in order to let North win a trick?
Besides, if North doesn’t win the trick, South will still have two trump and an off-suit ace win 3 tricks.
Trumping In
The strategy of Trumping In is the exact opposite of Pulling Trump. The main idea behind Trumping In is to allow for a partner to ruff a trick. Generally, the trump maker should pursue Pulling Trump. In some cases Trumping In is the only way to win.
Let’s look at an example game to demonstrate when to Trump In.
South has named hearts trump. The grand scheme for South is to ruff East’s lead with the A, pull trump with the J, and follow through the A. If needed, South may depend on North ford help.
| Score
E/W: 9 |
North (Dealer) 10 10 K Q J |
Trump |
| West A K Q 10 9 void |
|
East Q 9 9 void K Q |
| South void J A void A 10 9 |
|
East leads off with the K. South follows suit with the A. West trumps with the Q, and North follows suit. Obviously, plans did not go right for South.
East leads the A, and play proceeds with the 10 and the 9. South trumps with the A. Currently, South is holding J and 2 losers.
South desperately needs for North to win a trick. Leading the J would pull the remaining trump from East and West, but it could also pull a winner from North. South needs to keep as much winning material in play, and allow for North to Trump In.
South leads the 9. Play proceeds with the K, the Q, and the Q.
West then leads the 10 with North following suit. West ruffs with the 9. With the trick score already 1-2, South must play the J if there is any chance of saving the game.
South plays the 10 followed by West’s 9. Finally, North is able to Trump In.
Changing of the Guard
There are two doubletons in North’s hand, the A-9 and K-Q . The the lower ranking card is said to guard the higher card. In this case, the 9 guards the Ace, and the Queen guards the King. Typically the guards are used as a waiting card in order to keep the stronger cards, but the role of the guard can be changed into an offensive weapon.
Lets look at an example game to see this tactic.
| Score
E/W: 3 |
North
|
Up-Card
|
|
West
|
|
East
|
|
South (Dealer)
|
|
South calls up the 10 and discards the 9. West is in a dreadful position. Leading trump when defending, usually benefits the trump maker. If West leads any club, it will likely be ruffed. Therefore, West is forced to play the K. North plays the A, and wins the trick since East and South must follow suit.
Many beginners would play the A hoping the card makes it around the table, but North fires back and throws out the 9. The once lowly guard of the Ace will change roles and go out on the attack. North realizes that since there are only two more spades left in play, South has a strong chance to trump the 9. In fact, South has a stronger chance of winning the trick than the A making it around the table.
Play proceeds with West following suit, South played 10, and East played 10. North and South went on to score a point.
Pulling Trump
Pulling Trump is a basic strategy in euchre. The basic premise of the strategy is to clear the table of all trump cards and win any remaining tricks with their off-suit. Pulling Trump is especially effect the trump maker has an off-suit Ace. In general, the partnership that makes trump should play it as quickly as possible.
Let’s look at an example game to see this strategy in action.
| Score
E/W: 7 |
North
|
Up-Card
|
|
West
|
|
East (Dealer)
|
|
South
|
|
K Q
Q
K 10
voidSouth is in an excellent position, and the player has many tactics available. South decides to pass and use the advanced euchre strategy of Passing Dirty. West, North, East also pass. South declares diamonds trump. While the idea Going Alone is tempting, it is far to risky at this point.
| Score
E/W: 7 |
North
|
Trump |
|
West
|
|
East (Dealer)
|
|
South
|
|
South leads off with a Double Bower Blast. In one fell swoop, all seven trump cards are wiped off the table. Without fear of being ruffed, South then leads the ace clubs. East and West follow suit, and North plays the queen of spades. South then plays the last two clubs, and no one is able to make a stop. North and South take a two points and go on to win.
