Espositori

Few things cause the novice euchre player more anxiety than having to decide whether or not to name trump.  The new player does not want to get euchred and let their partner down, but they also don't want to find out after the hand is over that they had a really good hand and should have made the bid.  It's a tough situation.

We have developed a basic strategy that beginning  players can easily follow.  It is not a perfect solution, but it is a very good place to start.  Use it until you begin to feel comfortable enough to branch out into a more advanced euchre strategy.

Before we present the strategy, however, let's go over a few things to know about euchre bidding.

1.  During the first bid round:

• The dealer has an advantage because he can pick up a trump card.
• The player in the first seat has an advantage because he leads, and can draw trump.
• The dealer's partner in seat two has an advantage because he can order a trump card into his partner's hand. 

This means the only player without an advantage is sitting in the third seat.

2.  If you have two jacks of different colors and 4 suits, such as this: then you have a very good defensive hand. You are likely better off playing defense in nearly every position. 

3.  You may elect to bid in the first round as a defensive move to protect your score by depriving your opponents of the opportunity to run a loner.

A Euchre Strategy for Basic Bidding

From seat 1, seat 2, or the dealer seat, order the dealer up if:

• You have the right bower and another trump
• You have the left bower and two other trump
• You have three cards of trump and you are two-suited
• You have three cards of trump and at least one non-trump ace 

From seat 3, order the dealer up if:

• You have the right bower, two other trump and are two-suited
• You have 4 trump