Euchre Strategy R1S4 Dealer Ordering/ Bidding

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Richardb02
Posts: 748
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2018 8:57 pm
Location: Florida

Euchre Strategy R1S4 Dealer Ordering/ Bidding

Unread post by Richardb02 » Sat Oct 03, 2020 11:56 am

This is the 1st of a series of Basic Euchre Ordering.
R1S4 is shorthand for Round 1, Seat 4
Seat 4 of course is the Dealer
Minimums is my term for hands that are close to the “Edge”
Edge is the minimum hand, IMO, that should be ordered
Assumptions: Approximately equal players, Score is NOT being considered
Format: I will use BPS-Basic to explain my thought process. BPS (Bidding Point System) is best thought of as an organized analysis of easily observable factors that all players should consider, for ordering(Bidding). Point means that we assign values from 0.00 to 1.00, incremented by 0.25 (1/4) point, for each observable factor. 1.00 is the value assigned to a Right, it is the only single card guaranteed to take 1 trick. Therefore, it takes 1.25 points, in general, to count on taking 1 trick (with a 95% certainty), after all Euchre is a game of chance.
Basic Euchre ordering strategy includes the concept that you should order if you have 2 near-certain tricks in your hand. You then count on Partner to take the 3rd trick and earn your point! So, if you have 2.50 points in your hand, you should order (in general, remember this section of the forum is for Beginners and Casual players).
Goal: to improve Beginner & Casual Players to a level of Casual Plus. You are reading this information to enjoy Euchre more thoroughly by winning more often, aren’t you?
Suggestions: Beginners, please read the OE (Ohio Euchre) Lessons, for a basic understanding of Euchre strategies. Next, read the BPS-Basic section in this Beginners and Casual section, to understand the BPS approach. Advanced players, please post your more nuanced questions in the General Euchre section.

I will start with R1S4. This Round and Seat combination offers you the greatest opportunity to order! It deserves 1st place in this series. I will always assume that most Beginner and Casual players bid too passively and miss many opportunities to order. That costs them from winning more often! The reason? They play to avoid being euchred, instead of playing winning Euchre. They fail to grasp that getting euchred 1 out of 3 hands, on edge hands, is winning Euchre!

I see too many B&C players pass on R+1, from R1S4! Let’s use BPS analysis:
Up (Card_J-C)
S4 (Card_9-C) (Card_Q-D) (Card_K-D) (Card_Q-S) (Card_10-H)
1.00 value of R1S4
1.00 value of Jc
0.25 value of 9c
0.25 value of R+1 card combination
0.25 value of 1 void, after discarding the 10h
2.75 points, exceeding the 2.50 point minimum to order by 0.25 point or 1 factor
So I definitely order this hand. Do you?

Let’s look at an edge hand:
Up (Card_A-C)
S4 (Card_9-C) (Card_K-D) (Card_Q-D) (Card_9-D) (Card_10-H)

1.00 value of R1S4
0.50 value of Ac
0.25 value of 9c
0.75 value of 2 voids (2 suited), after discarding the 10h
2.50 points, meeting the 2.50 point minimum to order
So I order, knowing that I will be euchred 1 out of 3 hands!***

I actually use a 65% success, 35% chance of getting euchred, to define this hand. I round to 65% to simplify the concepts. (I also round because I also eliminate Opponents from getting a 4 point Loner)! This is a break even order. B&C players, order, to get use to getting euchred 1 out of 3 hands. Getting euchred is not the negative. Missing opportunities is the real negative! More advanced players, note that there are no defensive possibilities with the hand that I have illustrated.

Let’s go back to the OP (Opening Post) hand, which had a BPS of 2.75. How much better is it than the 2.50 hand? BPS is based on 1.25 points being equivalent to 1 almost certain (95% probability) of taking a trick. So if your hand contains 3.75 points you have an almost-certain probability of taking 3 tricks. (Note, you may want to consider a loner with 3.75 points! That will be covered later in this series). For this discussion about the probability of winning, 2.50 points give you a 65% opportunity and 3.75 gives you a 95% probability. Simply interpolate to a 71% opportunity to win this hand. You don’t even need math! Simply increase the probability by 6% for each 0.25 points over and above the 2.50 minimum. The 2.75 point example is 65% +6% = 71%. You are already an analyzing genius!

Continuing this thought, 3.00 points = 65%+6%+6%= 77%. 3.25 = 65+6+6+6=83%. Etc.

BPS is powerful, yet it is simple. It is simple enough to use in real games, with practice. I suggest that you practice online, against Bots. I suggest devoting 1/3rd to 1/2 of your playing time to learning and/or practicing.

Please let me know about your experience with this series. Please post any R1S4 questions to this thread.

***(Advanced players, feel free to adjust the points, plus or minus by 0.25, 0.50 or a maximum of 0.75, based on your analysis of advanced factors/observations, not covered by BPS-Basic. BPS-Basic is simplified for B&C players. There are many other factors that are too difficult for B&C players to consider. I will enjoy discussing these factors in the General Euchre Discussions).
Last edited by Richardb02 on Thu Oct 22, 2020 5:55 pm, edited 6 times in total.



knglenny
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Jun 29, 2020 5:25 pm

Unread post by knglenny » Fri Oct 09, 2020 2:48 pm

Thank you for this, can't wait for more of the series!

Quick question, I thought R1S4 was .5 on BPS, is it actually 1.0?

Richardb02
Posts: 748
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2018 8:57 pm
Location: Florida

Unread post by Richardb02 » Fri Oct 09, 2020 5:54 pm

knglenny wrote:
Fri Oct 09, 2020 2:48 pm
Thank you for this, can't wait for more of the series!

Quick question, I thought R1S4 was .5 on BPS, is it actually 1.0?
Thanks knglenny for the encouragement.

On 9/5/2020 I modified and simplified the BPS Basic. The huge advantage is that the minimum for all round and seat combinations is the same, 2.50. Please note that in the hands described, the minimum is 2.50. That compares to the prior to 9/5/20 BPS, the minimum was 2.00. There is no net effect on most hands. (There is a small but definite effect of raising standard Loner minimums from 3.75 to 4.00)

You can easily find the post in the General Euchre section.

You can also follow this link:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=417

I wanted to determine any consequences of the modifications until I gained enough experience using the 9/5/20 recommendations before creating a separate B&C post. FYI, I have amended the post to include my new, higher minimum, recommendations in that post as well.

Please feel free to add any additional questions and observations.

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