What makes a Good Euchre player?

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Tbolt65
Posts: 820
Joined: Sun Jun 16, 2019 9:14 pm
Location: Las Vegas

What makes a Good Euchre player?

Unread post by Tbolt65 » Tue Nov 19, 2019 2:04 am

Hi everyone. There is some stuff I'd like to just throw out there in regards to Euchre.

I'm going to ask some questions out loud here. Just to keep the line of thought going and hopefully through it all you guys can follow what I'm saying.

What makes a Good Euchre player? Scratch that. What Qualities ensure that someone might head down the road to become a good Euchre player......eventually?

A few things come to mind. 1. Being a Critical thinker, and always analyzing each play, move or call one makes. Right? Makes sense, seems logical. 2. Getting as much experience in seeing different situations play out against a variety of skilled or less skilled players and see what situations warrant what kinds of plays that could be expected to bring forth a positive expectation or out come. Right?

Would it be advantageous for someone to keep playing a lesser skilled opponents most of the time, or say a more skilled opponent? Who would you think have a greater learning curve? For example in mathematics. Lets say I'm in school in the 2nd grade and I'm learning the basic Addition in math ie" 1+1=2, 2+2=4 and so on. Now how much would I learn in math if I never left the manual or trainings of simple Addition? Everyone Follow me so far? Good. Would it not also be of help to have someone fact check or go over the way one might structure or set up a particular problem in math or Euchre for that matter? Ie: going over hand play, leads, card signaling(with in the play of the hand; Not the cheating kind) and open critique of why a certain line or ploy is not right for various situations and verse various opponents? Then go apply it in game play against others players to see what they have learned is applicable or not? It's a continuous rinse and repeat cycle until one hones in on the various nuances and facets that Euchre has to offer. One then begins to see that Euchre is a game of Adjustments. Continously. If one remains stagnant then you become predictable. At the same time though your thought process and modus operandi has the core principles of the game of Euchre. The basic principles, the intermediate ones and of course the Advance ones. With these core principles and learnings you can then dissect them accordingly and apply it as needed with-in your game of Euchre. Over time you develop a play style. It may be a rigid one, It may be a flexible one. In either case your becoming more and more defined and refined of a euchre player. As long as one keeps an open mind you will continue to grow, either little by little over time or perhaps exponentially as you go.

For some people Euchre is not taken serious so a lot wont seek out advice. They wont look to get better they are just there to have fun. Nothing wrong with that. As for the competitive player. The player who see's a challenge in the game wouldn't you think that naturally one would aim to get better? With just that competitive attitude alone? He/she is bound to pick up new things here or there by mere playing experience. You would think right? But alas some people don't while others do.

If people keep making the same mistakes or having a flawed sense of logic, they will never get better and always think there is nothing else to learn. Life is about learning its a constant. So is euchre. It's quiet a simple game but yet, with so many options and variable(s). If you are here on this forum. You are the players who wish to getting better. Seeking more information, more knowledge and trying to understand the ways what might best take you to that Next level of euchre playing.

Remember my fellow euchre enthusiast, stay hungry. Always test things out. Don't be shy to ask questions. Always try to figure out, "Could I have played this differently? What could Have I done better"? These will help you on your quest to be the best euchre player that "YOU" can be. Surround yourself with information and people that will help foster and compel you to become a better player.

Take care and I'll be seeing ya at the tables.

Tbolt65
Edward



WolfHills
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:26 pm
Location: Abingdon VA

Unread post by WolfHills » Tue Nov 19, 2019 7:24 pm

Tbolt65

Well said. I have always been a decent player but mostly my gut and most games involved a lot of beer. Always won lots of games by just telling my parter when in doubt call it.

Now that I am playing online usually with no beer. 🍺😀 I am trying to get to be an advance player by really learning from mistakes and this site. I take screen shots of hands and spend a bit more time on deciding what the right call would be, usually referencing this site to help me.

I do wish some folks would try to learn more (but I get the fun part) as it can be frustrating to see a single ace lead in defense of a loner by a “good” player. But I know I am better than average but still will make some stupid moves. 🤪

Tbolt65
Posts: 820
Joined: Sun Jun 16, 2019 9:14 pm
Location: Las Vegas

Unread post by Tbolt65 » Wed Nov 20, 2019 2:58 am

WolfHills wrote:
Tue Nov 19, 2019 7:24 pm
Tbolt65

Well said. I have always been a decent player but mostly my gut and most games involved a lot of beer. Always won lots of games by just telling my parter when in doubt call it.

Now that I am playing online usually with no beer. 🍺😀 I am trying to get to be an advance player by really learning from mistakes and this site. I take screen shots of hands and spend a bit more time on deciding what the right call would be, usually referencing this site to help me.

I do wish some folks would try to learn more (but I get the fun part) as it can be frustrating to see a single ace lead in defense of a loner by a “good” player. But I know I am better than average but still will make some stupid moves. 🤪
Awesome, good to hear. Keep at it Wolf.

Tbolt65
Edward

jspectre
Posts: 232
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 7:04 am

Unread post by jspectre » Fri Nov 29, 2019 2:22 am

I'm late by a week or so here, but as someone who mainly plays with bad euchre players, you don't really learn anything aside from seeing how the hands played out and whether you could have played certain hands a bit differently. Calling next (on a semi weak holding that blocks nothing) is often an exercise in futility when the opponents don't know how to make good calls, so a lot of the time you're stuck passing, and speaking of passing, STD is a horrible game type with weak players, I can't tell you how many times I've been trapped to make an awful call when almost every person at the table, including my partner, could have made some kind of call. When your partner passes a JA in reverse next and then makes you have to guess and you pick clubs and get euchred, you might as well be playing 3v1, because your partner is actively helping the opponents win with every missed call.

There's just not usually much to be gained when your p hides the left on you, doesn't lead trump before their aces, leads a K when they have AK on your deal, and the list goes on and on. Only when you play against good players can you sharpen your skills and improve, all you learn when playing with bad players is how to beat bad players, not how to play euchre at the highest level. As for what makes a good player, you need to be aggressive, but not foolish, know when is the optimal time to be using trump or playing off, when to lead trump against your opponents, how to put your team in the best position to either gain the point or get a euchre, too many players, even good ones, give away chances for a euchre. If you have at least one other out, don't be so quick to trump the first available trick from first seat, especially if you have a decent sized trump like an A or K.

Even if you have no other outs, the majority of the time I believe you will still get a trick, so put yourself in the best situation to get a euchre. If you're playing bad opponents who only call with monster hands then maybe get your trick and get out, but good players will call much lighter, and with a little luck, the tables can be turned very quickly. I have no way to test this, but against players that will call their partner with only 2 trump, I believe a trump lead is almost mandatory. If you have even a single ace it will put you in a better position to get it through, and even if you have no aces, your p likely has one or has a hand that could euchre the opponents if he gets a trump lead, I've been in that position many times. Then there's the unknown factor, is he leading trump against me because he has the left and 2 trump or is he leading it just because he has aces, in which case the left is most likely right behind me. Most often I believe using the right is the correct play, but it can then put you in a position for a left lead from an opponents ace combo.

Now compare that to someone leading a low trump in a suit you're void in, then giving you the ability to play off and void yourself in a green suit. Your partner generally has the ace or is able to trump it, and then you just need to hit a trick on your void with a small trump or make your ace good after you get a trump lead back, it's a much simpler process altogether. Other than making good calls and knowing when you need to call next, assuming good opponents and a good partner, I would say the trickiest situation is knowing when you should be crossing the river, instead of waiting to see if your partner has the diamonds, when it's 2nd seat that wants the diamond call, possibly even a loner. I used to think this was a situation that only arose because of bad players not calling properly, but there's many situations where I can't order my partner, but I do want to call next. I get to make that call the majority of the time, because players are often very hesitant to cross the river, even with a fairly strong holding. I would say that more often your partner is the one who wants the next call, but the more strength you hold in reverse next, the more likely it becomes than 2nd seat wants the next call instead.

I'm just rambling now, but I believe there's a lot of thought that goes in to high level euchre, sometimes your play is just an educated guess, but I believe there's almost always a correct move to be made based on the current cards, how your opponents play, etc. some games are just unwinnable, but I take it as a personal challenge to try and win those games anyway, which can result in some odd looking calls/loners, but it's pretty great when you make that 8-3 comeback.

Tbolt65
Posts: 820
Joined: Sun Jun 16, 2019 9:14 pm
Location: Las Vegas

Unread post by Tbolt65 » Wed Jan 01, 2020 4:39 pm

Jspectre, Thanks for the additional comments and thoughts of what goes into "What makes a good euchre player"

Yes the thrill of playing every card perfect and coming back from a daunting score is indeed exciting. Not naming trump or feeling I need to control the game, like other authors have mentioned.

Tbolt65
Edward


Last bumped by Tbolt65 on Wed Jan 01, 2020 4:39 pm.

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