Seat 3 Calls

[coolguy69]

Wondering what y'all's range is for seat 3 calls with an effective score of 0-0?

I tend to call with only very strong hands, such as having at least right king 10. Otherwise I pass with hands such as left king queen. The intentions here are to bag for dealer calls, let my partner call their best if dealer passes, and knowing my position is poor in the hand overall since I don't get to lead and I'm giving dealer a trump.

I tend to mostly disregard if I have aces or not. Wondering if I'm making errors missing calls with maybe right+1+ace or having 3 non-right trump and an ace.

There are also other factors here, such as how everyone is playing, and what card is up for the dealer. I get that this is a pretty open question and I'm open to hearing what you guys think

This tends to mean seat 3 for me is 90% pass 5% call 5% loner attempt...

What is your experience with it?

[Richardb02]

I unequivocally suggest that you are missing opportunities from Seat 3.
I unequivocally suggest that not considering aces, black vs green ace, 1void, 2 voids, up and/or down card, seat position, round and the score is a mistake.
I more gently suggest that you include as many of these considerations be a part of any question that you post. The more specifics you include, the more succinct, accurate and appropriate responses will be.
I use a BPS, Bidding Point System to estimate a value of the hand. I have posted details of the BPS on this forum. The latest link is at the end of this post.
You simply add up the points, 2.75 is approx. 50/50 and 3.00 is an order.
Let's explore your consideration of: "right+1+ace
Assume Round 1, neutral score and unknown players.
1.00 Right
0.50 1 Trump I have to assume AKQ, I should have included card values
0.50 1 Ace Assuming a black Ace, a green Ace would be 0.75
2.00 Total 2.00 <2.75, a definite pass, but lets add other details

1.00 Right
0.75 1 Trump I have to assume AKQ, a 9 or 10 is only 0.25
0.75 Green Ace
0.25 1 Void
2.75 Total B/E, your choice

Now lets consider Round 2
0.50 2nd Round Next
2.75 from previous example
3.25 >2.75, a favorable order.

I have used this approach for 4 years with success. I am not in a class with the likes of Wolf, Tbolt and Wes (Hi guys, I still pop in when time allows), but was competitive when we played together. I call this my Casual but Serious Student approach. It was constructed from the Lessons and Forum on Ohio Euchre. It looks imposing, but that is necessary to cover all the considerations in ordering. It can be used quickly to assess most hands. But then add the wisdom from the world class players.

viewtopic.php?t=417#google_vignette

[Tbolt65]

Bag, bag, bag. With competent partners. Otherwise 3 to the left bauer or three to the right bauer and 1 off Ace or any 4 trump with ×-off suit.

Tbolt65

Edward

[jblowery]

Yah. Need very strong hand for Seat 3 call round 1. I'd say rt +1 + 2 off suite aces or left+2 + 1 off suite ace would be minimal calls for round 1 order. I would need even more to order up the rt bower.

[Wes (aka the legend)]

Some notes on this spot:

Irishwolf has shown (and sims have backed him up) that if you have 3 small trump + an outside suited ace you should call from S3-R1. The only exception being if your outside suited ace is in Next, sandbagging can be better if you have an expert P. With an amateur P, still call. EG: Upcard is the As, and you have QsTs9sAh9h. You should all.

Ray's sims have shown that if you have the Left bower in your hand and you don't have a loner, sandbagging even very strong hands is probably the best play. EG upcard is the KS and you have JcQsTsAd9d you should sandbag. That said, with an amateur P, I'm calling this but even then it's close. Either way, you can literally think of the Left bower is The Sandbagging card.

Other than that: If I had R+2 I'm always calling unless I hit a Next call well and my P is an expert. Then I'll sandbag. Since like 95%+ of the time we wont have an expert P, a good approximation is always call with R+2.

And I would say always call with 4 trump, unless S4 is really aggressive and the Right bower is up. I've had good success sandbagging that, but that combination is rare, most people aren't too aggressive.

I will also call with R+1+2A, but I will sandbag that with an expert P.