Section 5

SECOND HAND.

Do not assist too light. This is the most common error in Euchre.

Assist with three trumps.

right and another.

left and another, and outside ace.

Assist with left and another; dependent upon the score,

two trumps and two aces.

ace and another, and outside ace; dependent upon score; always, however, if right is turned.

two medium trumps, and one suit of three, headed by the ace, dependent upon the score.

Ace and another, and king and another, even when short of a suit, are permissible only when justified by scores of four-all or four-love in your favor.

Anything less than this is not good Euchre, except, of course, at the two above-named scores.

Do not assist the right with two small ones. Your partner usually will know what to do with the bower. By too light an assistance you may tempt him into a lone hand, under the impression that one or two big trumps are out of his way.

Remember that to be short of one or two suits is a great advantage to an assisting hand.

When led through with right and another, play the right, except when the ace is turned,—when it is permissible to finesse.

When led through, when assisting with left and another, play left, unless right or ace is turned.

When assisting with three trumps, if you take the first trick in suit, lead trumps at once. If you take the first trick by trumping a suit, your play is then dependent upon the value of your remaining trumps and the turn-up.

With two trumps and two aces, lead trumps as early as possible, if your opponents have not done so for you.

If your partner adopts the turn-up without your assistance, and you hold queen, seven; ten, eight, etc., in trumps, ruff as early as possible with the big one, and lead the small one.

If you take the first trick in suit, and your partner throws away, do not lead the suit he has shown, even if you have the ace of it.

If your partner turn down black, make it red if you can, especially if he has turned down the bower.

When playing second to a small card, do not ruff with right alone if it is the first trick. Ruff with left alone, especially with your partner's make or adoption.

If your partner refuses to adopt the turn-up, and the third hand declares to play alone, lead a card of the same suit as the turn-down.

With one small trump, ruff as soon as you can.

Do not finesse in lay cards.

“Another” means “a small one.”

THIRD HAND.

It requires a stronger hand to order or make the trump in this position than in the eldest hand, since you cannot depend upon your partner's lead, and he has displayed weakness by passing.

However, if you have a good hand at the turn-up, and are very strong at next, it is better to order, since the stronger you are at next, the greater the improbability that your partner will be able to make it next.

It is wise to see your way absolutely clear to three tricks before ordering the right.

There are certain hands, however, which by their strength compel you to order,—the right not being turned; and here are most of them.

      Order with four trumps.

      two bowers and another.

      two bowers and outside ace.

      three trumps and two aces.

      three trumps and one suit, headed by ace.

      right, ace, and another.

      left, ace, king, and outside ace.

      left, ace, king, and one suit.

      left, ace, king, dependent upon the score.

      left, king and another, and outside ace.

      left, queen and another, and outside ace.

      Order with ace, king and another, and outside ace.

If you ruff, it is usually well to beat the turn-up.

      Take up three trumps.

      right and ace.

      right and king.

      right and queen.

      right and another, and one suit.

      right, another, and outside ace.

      left, ace, and outside ace.

      left, another, outside ace; and king, queen of the third suit.

      ace, king, and one suit headed by ace; dependent upon score.

      two trumps and two aces.

With the score at four-all or four-love in his favor, the dealer may play a lighter hand than any mentioned above, especially if it is his best.

Scores of three-all and four to two in dealer's favor require more than ordinary caution.

With score four to three in dealer's favor he may play a shade lighter than ordinary.

If it comes round to the dealer to make a trump, it is permissible to make it with somewhat less strength than would be required in the other three hands.

It is usually better with a fair hand to try for a point rather than to turn down for a euchre. If, however, the dealer is better at next, and holds both bowers of the cross-suit, it is good euchre to pass.

If the dealer adopts the turn-up without assistance and has right and another, and takes the first trick with his small trump, he should not lead the right unless he can follow with an ace.

Always be careful how you play your small cards, and never play false cards.

If the dealer adopts the turn-up, he should discard the lowest card of a short suit; for example, with three trumps, ace, seven of one suit, and outside king, discard the king. Some prefer to keep the king with score four-all with only two trumps in the hand. With two trumps (clubs), ace, seven of hearts, and king, seven of diamonds, discard the seven of diamonds.

With three trumps (clubs), ace, king of hearts, and ace of diamonds, discard the king of hearts, except when playing a lone hand, in which case discard the ace of diamonds.

When your partner assists, and you take he first or second trick, always give him a trump if he has not played one.

Give all the information possible to your partner by your play; for example, queen of clubs is turned up, and you are assisted and hold the king of clubs in your hand. If you or your partner take the first trick with a trump, play the king. If you hold both ace and king of clubs in your hand, play the ace.

If you hold ace and king of an outside suit, throw away the ace as soon as possible on your partner's trick, thereby showing him you have command of that suit. If, however, you see by the fall of the cards that your partner has no strength in his hand, you may conceal this information, since it will do him no good, and can only benefit your opponents. This, of course, applies to all four hands.

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