SKILL SHARPENING
Here is a quiz to help sharpen your skills. You are sitting in the South seat as the dealer. In each of the illustrated hands below, you have "taken up the trump", and the West player has the opening lead. What is your best discard and your proper reply to the opening lead as indicated?
Note: The score is tied at 6-6 in all three cases. Oh yes, let us assume that partner has a terrible hand and does not provide any help to you. Thus, each of these hands present a new challenge. Finally, the East player does follow to the first suit led.
Hand A
The upcard is the King of Spades
Opening lead (after your discard) is the Ace of Clubs by West.
You hold:
A 9
Q
A K
*****
Hand B
The upcard is the Ace of Clubs
Opening lead (after your discard) is the Ace of Spades by West.
You hold:
A
Q 9
J 10
*****
Hand C
The upcard is the Nine of Hearts.
Opening lead (after your discard) is the Ace of Diamonds by West.
You hold:
A
K Q 10
9
*****
Answers:
Hand A
This is not any easy hand and the word "Euchre" may be doing a tap-dance on your brain! Discard the heart Queen, reducing to two suits. Your trump suit is borderline. Ruff the Ace of hearts with the nine, and return the diamond Ace. If it is ruffed by any other trump besides a Bower, you are in deep trouble. If it walks, you may make it home. Continue with the diamond King. Hopefully you win a trump in the end (A Bower may be in the "Kitty"). There are sure a lot of "ifs" here....
Hand B
This hand is better. Discard the diamond Queen on trick one thus voiding the suit. Assume West shifts to the diamond Ace. Ruff with the ten, and cash the Right Bower. Now play the heart Ace. If it rides, you have made your hand. If it is ruffed, then the only hope is that the Left is in the Kitty. Thus, you have two chances. Cashing the Right helps to prevent a heart ruff with a low trump.
Hand C
In spite of its trump length, hand C does have problems - the lack of big trump. Dump the low diamond. Ruff the diamond Ace lead with the nine, and lead your heart King. Hopefully, the high trump will "crash" together! Depending on the leads, you should score three tricks, unless there is a trump "stack" in one of the opponent's hands. Then again, a key trump may be stranded in the kitty.
These were "tough" hands - but then again, who would want to play boring "ice-cold" hands?! This is why Euchre is so much fun! It is a random game as well, and the
three unseen cards make the game a real challenge. See you next month!
- Joe Andrews
