jblowery wrote: ↑Mon Apr 29, 2019 1:01 pm
Let's say I have
and
and the rest of my cards are low. No aces or other trump. One of these cards would be the up card if I'm the dealer.
In which situations would you call hearts.
As the dealer: Always pick up Rt+1 if you don't block all suits. This hand makes a point often enough to make sure Seat 1 never gets a 2nd round loner.
From seat 1, 2nd rd: If you don't block reverse next then Rt+1 is a MUST call. Just remember to NOT lead trump and Don't lead the turned down suit.
Seat 2, 1st rd: If you don't block all suits, always order RT+1. This marginal call will score a point for your team very often as the dealer won't have to have much for your team to eke out a point. If you pass the dealer can correctly pass all kinds of helper hands he would not pass if he knew you had RT+1. Don't induce your partner to make these technical mistakes, and thus allow Seat 1 a chance at a 2nd round loner when you have this hopeful of a holding. To reiterate: always call RT+1 when you don't block all suits. It's imperative.
From Seat 3, 2nd Rd: When I have nothing going on in other suits I call this. This is a bit of a controversial call. What's baked into this call is the idea that your partner probably passes too much, at least in the 2nd Rd. Therefore he has a decent chance to help you. And the driving force behind this super-marginal call is you wanna block all reverse next loners from the dealer spot.
That said if your partner is a very strong, aggressive player who will call next super thin when he doesn't block reverse next, then you should NOT call with just RT+1 in next. Your partner passing = he already has reverse next blocked, which means as a team you guys have ALL suits blocked, so there's no reason to risk a shaky call to begin with. The problem however is this strong of a partner is mostly mythical.
RT+1 from 3rd, seat 2nd round only activates into a calling hand when your partner passes too much in the 2nd round, but here's the rub: At least 99% of all euchre players pass too much from seat 1, 2nd round, therefore RT+1 becomes a standard sigh call for me becuz I'm not giving the dealer a chance at a 4 pt or even 2 pt play when I have nothing in reverse next.
jblowery wrote: ↑Mon Apr 29, 2019 1:01 pm
I know you wouldn't order this up for the other team during round 1
Correct. Never would.
jblowery wrote: ↑Mon Apr 29, 2019 1:01 pm
or use this for a reverse next call.
Not so fast my friend!!
Let's say your team is up 6-0, and you are in the 2 seat with
Your partner turns down the
in the first round, and now the action is on you in the 2nd round.
Call hearts and fight it out. Yes it's dicey, but up 6-0, why take the chance that Seat 3 is loaded in black. You after all have virtually nothing in black and no off aces. Most cards in euchre are in action. This means if you don't have it someone else likely does. Yes your partner's range is statistically more likely to be strong in black, but it could be Seat 3 too. In this spot I'm gritting my teeth and calling hearts. I'm never letting the guy on my left have a chance at ANY loner when my team is up 6-0. Don't just assume you're dead since your partner is statically less likely to have any help. You never know, you could get lucky.
When you have a nice lead and don't block much, trying to get lucky is going to be your best option. Sometimes a "bad" call is better than a "good" pass.
Something to keep in mind. Hoyle does play a factor in our decision making but it is NOT the primary factor. What suits you have blocked or not is the primary factor becuz in the 2nd round you have to play strong defense to protect your team. Any time you pass in the 2nd round and the guy on your left gets 4 points or 2 points that's not bad luck, that's on you. There is a lot of luck in this game, but there's a lot of ways you can manipulate that luck in your team's favor. This reality should form the foundation to one's 2nd round calling. That said, everything being close to equal, go with Hoyle, but it's often not that easy.