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→♥ Perhaps, the first question new players frequently have is 'having the first play, what card should I lead?' This depends largely on what team bid. If you are the non-bidding team, and you have a singleton ace (an ace no other cards in that suit), then that ace is usually the best lead. An ace with one other card in that suit should be your second choice. If you have a suit of 3 or more cards headed by an ace, don't lead it as it will likely be trumped probably by the bidder. You may be able to make this ace good once trump has been played out. Pay special attention to the "next" suit, the same-color suit as trump. Since the left bower switches suits, this suit only has five cards, and thus even if you hold only an ace and one other card in that suit, leading the ace will often be an invitation for your opponents to trump in.

If you don't have an ace then the best lead seems to be the smallest non-trump that you have the least of. This is based on my experience and worth a try. No matter what you end up leading. Try to keep in mind you want to lead a suit that your opponents won't able to trump in. Never lead a king from an ace/king set. This just confuses your partner who may trump in on your trick unnecessarily. You should never lead a trump into an oppositions' bid as this only helps to make their bid, gives information about everyone's hand and takes trump away from your partner.

If your partner made trump, and you hold the right then this should be your first lead. This will let him know where it is, and help him to play the rest of his hand. Same goes if your hold the left. If you hold both only play the right. Do not play both, as this may clear out all trump leaving the boss aces in the oppositions' hand. If you do not have hold a bower, then lead a small trump, Remember, there are a total of 7 trump cards. This could remove 4 of them from play. It increases the chance of your teams aces go through. Because your partner bid, it is most likely your partners holds at least one bower. A small trump lead should bring the lead to your partner giving him a chance to play his aces. You will get a chance to play your aces latter in the hand.

I've been euchred many times because of a partner that didn't lead trump first. If you don't have any trump then lead your aces as described in the first paragraph. Leading an ace tells your partner you don't have any trump. Now he knows the other trump could be in the oppositions' hands, and plays his hand accordingly.

If you made trump and hold the right in your hand along with an off suit Ace (or aces). Your best lead is useraly the boss bower. If you lead the bower and your partner doesn't follow suit, meaning he has none. Then, if you have the next high boss card in trump, play this, as the oppositions must likely still have trump. You don't want them to use it against you. By removing trump from their hands, you will increase the chance of an ace being good.

These are guidelines to help you get you started. As your skill level advances, you may want to try out different strategies. Plan out your hand, make it work for you. Only experience can teach you the best lead in a given hand. Remember there are four things to take into consideration to determine your lead. Who made trump? What is trump? What is your position at the table? What cards do you hold in your hand? (In that order.) Position and who made trump are the most important.

Remember this is a partnership game There is little opportunity to recover from a mistake. Each decision could mean success or failure of the hand. You must not only consider what you hold in your hand, but what the other three players hold as well.

Here are some other articles that may help learn more about the game.
→ Learn to play Euchre
→ The Ten Commandments of euchre
→ The top mistakes made by new players