Always Lead Trump To A Third Seat Call?

[RedDuke]

This came up in a game I played recently.

Neutral score (both teams have 2 points).

I'm in first seat holding this:



Upcard is .

I pass and so does second seat. My partner orders up the dealer.

Figuring this is a S3 first round call, I lead the to my partner. He instantly starts screaming at me across the table saying that I shouldn't assume that he has the right! What he actually had was King+9 and an off ace. Who in their right mind calls with that from third seat in the first round? That's a position that even having both bowers can get you euchred.

But it got me thinking, should you always assume that your partner has a way to take control when he calls from third seat? Or did I just have a moron for a partner?

[Richardb02]

Moron.

[Wes (aka the legend)]

But it got me thinking, should you always assume that your partner has a way to take control when he calls from third seat? Or did I just have a moron for a partner?

In any complex strategic card game like euchre or poker it can be dangerous to recommend one "always" do anything. Rare but relevant exceptions usually come up. In this case tho, I don't think there's any exception. When your partner calls from 3rd you should ALWAYS lead trump if you have it.

99% of people who play euchre don't play it very well. Very few people take this game seriously probably becuz there's no money it in, and people have other priorities. Of course that doesn't stop humans from formulating strong opinions on such matters, criticizing others even tho they don't really have a clue themselves. Why humans tend to form strong opinions on matters they are highly ignorant in is an interesting subject that is beyond the scope of playing euchre well. I'm sure there's some good books out there on that subject tho, and one should certainly be hyper-aware of that phenomenon not just to handle criticism better but also as a reminder that one should always challenge their own views to make sure they don't fall into the same trap.

Anyways, I've said it before and I'll say it again: In a game of euchre, when an amateur and an expert play together it will be the amateur who walks away thinking "That guy's an idiot". The chasm between expert play and amateur play is THAT large. Nearly every time I play on the app I get harshly criticized. People are way more polite in real life--becuz it's hard to call someone an idiot to their face--but I've definitely made a handful of people scream at me in my Thurs Vegas tournament, and I know many people still view me as a wild crazy idiot. And that's fine, you just gotta ignore the noise becuz it's never going away. If one desires the respect of others, euchre is one of the worst games possible to play. OTOH if one enjoys annoying others and feeds off their misery like I do then playing euchre is pure heaven!

[XaviRonaldo]

On first round of bidding I'm almost always leading my partner trump and I'm expecting my partner to do the same.

2nd round I'm often calling thin myself so I'm not demanding a trump lead. But I never get annoyed if my partner leads trump and we get set because of it. If in doubt lead it.

[Tbolt65]

Not Leading trump to your partner hurts your team. Even if 3rd seat is calling light, which they shouldn't be but lets say they are in some situations like at the end of the game. You still need to lead trump to promote his/her Off-suit and yours. Even if its your only trump. By not leading trump especially say on a weak holding from 3rd seat. It allow the dealer and seat 2 to ping pong aka catch your team in the crossfire where pulling trump severely hampers thats by pulling at least one trump out of the dealer hands and possibly two trump all together by making seat 2 give one up. Also of note. You effectively have no voids so it really makes it harder for one to justify not leading trump.

In this case as in 99.99% of them. Your going to lead trump Always to your partner in 3rd seat.


Tbolt65
Edward