NEVER lead trump on defense, page 6

A combination of three techniques used in this hand.

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The following hand shows euchre played at an enhanced level not commonly seen in most games. The competitors here are among some of the best players around. The combination of the various techniques used demonstrates this. Both teams have a strong desire to win and it shows in the way this hand is played.

The east seat is the dealer and has turned up the ten of clubs.

West seat orders their partner to pick up the ten. The dealer(E) inserts the ten of clubs into his hand and discards the ten of spades. South seat leads the nine of diamonds. The maker (W) throws off the queen of spades. North trumps in using his trump queen and West follows the diamond lead with a queen. The opponent's team has one trick.

Here's where it starts to get interesting. Now North leads the nine of clubs (trump). East plays the ten, South plays the left and the maker(W) takes the trick with the right. At this time, both teams have one trick each.

Now the maker (W) leads the nine of hearts. He's hoping the ace/king will fall or that his partner (E) can take the trick. North seat plays the jack, East throws off the king of spades, and South takes the trick with the king. The maker(W) needs the next two tricks to make the point.

The south seat leads the 10 of hearts back through the maker (W). He has no choice except to follow suit. This allows North seat to cash in his king, giving North/South two points for the euchre.

This hand showed us three nice moves.
1) Giving the partner a chance to take a trick.
2) A trump lead against the bidder,
3) A double suit led back through the maker.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable game.

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When first learning to play euchre many new players are told that leading trump on your opponent's call is about the worst play possible, yet as I have tried to show in these last pages, there are times when it is not only a good move, it is the correct play and results in the calling team being euchred. It's just one of the many strategies experienced players keep in their euchre toolbox.

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Suggested Further Reading: