The following points are written simply for the information of those not thoroughly conversant with the game of Euchre.

It is not the intention of the authors to write a treatise on the game, but merely to illustrate a few conventional plays, most of which are in use among the best exponents of the game.

There can be no absolute rules about the play in Euchre, as in Whist, as the number of cards is so few that the importance of each play is intensified, and the score has so great an influence on the hand.

The exceptions also are perhaps almost as numerous as the rules; but if the beginner will accept as a guide the appended hints, it is thought they will not lead him far astray.

The play of the cards is governed by the card sense of the individual.

The refinement of the game consists in playing to the score, which is quite peculiar to Euchre, since it is so constantly changing. The same hand should suggest different ideas at different scores.

A player should school himself to notice the score before he picks up his hand. No attempt has been made to go beyond the adoption of the trump, passing, assisting, and the original lead or play, at the risk of being confusing.A beginner should follow these hints pretty closely. A good Euchre player can make his own exceptions; but they should be made with careful consideration, and not abused.

ELDEST, OR FIRST HAND.

When the right is not turned, order with three medium trumps or better, and some strength in suit, provided you have nothing to go to; for example, ace, queen, ten of the turn-up, and two cards of another suit.

Do not order (unless with great strength) if you can make it next; for example, queen of clubs turned up, you hold right, ten, and nine of clubs, and king and ten of spades; or left, ace and seven of clubs, seven of spades, and seven of diamonds. In both of these cases pass, and make it next.Make it next when you can, and do not cross the suit, unless very strong, especially when a bower is turned down; for example, the dealer has turned down the king of spades, with ace, king, and seven of hearts, knave of spades, and ten of clubs: make it next, and lead the left.

When making the trump with ace and two others (without the king), lead ace in next, and small one when crossing the suit.

If the right is not turned, lead trumps through the assisting hand. The exceptions to this are,—With left and small one; ace and small one; with score four to three in your favor, and you play with certain reasons to stop a march; and occasionally when short of a suit.

With a large tenace in trumps as right, ace, or right, king, and no outside cards of any special value, play an off-suit, whether dealer takes up with or without assistance.

With one or two trumps and two aces, lead trumps, whether through assistance or not.

If the dealer adopts the trump, avoid, if you can, leading from suits of king, seven; queen, seven, etc. If possible, lead an ace, or from a short suit of king or queen, or from a suit of equals, as king, queen, or queen, knave, or knave, ten.

In general do not lead trumps up to the dealer's adoption; but with three trumps, and the score two points in your favor, lead a trump, if the turn-up is not above the king. If you hold the two bowers and an outside ace, always lead them in the order named.

Always lead a trump when your partner has ordered up, or made the trump. If you have no trump, play your best card. Avoid leading the turn-down until at least one round of trumps has been played. If you have left and small one, lead the left and continue with small one if both opponents follow. With any two others, lead smallest, unless equals.

Score four to three in your favor is a position of caution, and consequently your play should be very conservative.

SECOND HAND.

Do not assist too light. This is the most common error in Euchre.

Assist with three trumps.

right and another.[1]

left and another, and outside ace.

Assist with left and another; dependent upon the score,

two trumps and two aces.

ace and another, and outside ace; dependent upon score; always, however, if right is turned.

two medium trumps, and one suit of three, headed by the ace, dependent upon the score.

Ace and another, and king and another, even when short of a suit, are permissible only when justified by scores of four-all or four-love in your favor.

Anything less than this is not good Euchre, except, of course, at the two above-named scores.

Do not assist the right with two small ones. Your partner usually will know what to do with the bower. By too light an assistance you may tempt him into a lone hand, under the impression that one or two big trumps are out of his way.

Remember that to be short of one or two suits is a great advantage to an assisting hand.

When led through with right and another, play the right, except when the ace is turned,—when it is permissible to finesse.

When led through, when assisting with left and another, play left, unless right or ace is turned.

When assisting with three trumps, if you take the first trick in suit, lead trumps at once. If you take the first trick by trumping a suit, your play is then dependent upon the value of your remaining trumps and the turn-up.

With two trumps and two aces, lead trumps as early as possible, if your opponents have not done so for you.

If your partner adopts the turn-up without your assistance, and you hold queen, seven; ten, eight, etc., in trumps, ruff as early as possible with the big one, and lead the small one.

If you take the first trick in suit, and your partner throws away, do not lead the suit he has shown, even if you have the ace of it.

If your partner turn down black, make it red if you can, especially if he has turned down the bower.

When playing second to a small card, do not ruff with right alone if it is the first trick. Ruff with left alone, especially with your partner's make or adoption.

If your partner refuses to adopt the turn-up, and the third hand declares to play alone, lead a card of the same suit as the turn-down.

With one small trump, ruff as soon as you can.

Do not finesse in lay cards.

[1] “Another” means “a small one.”

THIRD HAND.

It requires a stronger hand to order or make the trump in this position than in the eldest hand, since you cannot depend upon your partner's lead, and he has displayed weakness by passing.

However, if you have a good hand at the turn-up, and are very strong at next, it is better to order, since the stronger you are at next, the greater the improbability that your partner will be able to make it next.

It is wise to see your way absolutely clear to three tricks before ordering the right.There are certain hands, however, which by their strength compel you to order,—the right not being turned; and here are most of them.

Order with four trumps.

two bowers and another.

two bowers and outside ace.

three trumps and two aces.

three trumps and one suit, headed by ace.

right, ace, and another.

left, ace, king, and outside ace.

left, ace, king, and one suit.

left, ace, king, dependent upon the score.

left, king and another, and outside ace.

left, queen and another, and outside ace.Order with ace, king and another, and outside ace.

If you ruff, it is usually well to beat the turn-up.

THE DEALER.

Take up three trumps.

right and ace.

right and king.

right and queen.

right and another, and one suit.

right, another, and outside ace.

left, ace, and outside ace.

left, another, outside ace; and king, queen of the third suit.

ace, king, and one suit headed by ace; dependent upon score.

two trumps and two aces.

With the score at four-all or four-love in his favor, the dealer may play a lighter hand than any mentioned above, especially if it is his best.

Scores of three-all and four to two in dealer's favor require more than ordinary caution.

With score four to three in dealer's favor he may play a shade lighter than ordinary.

If it comes round to the dealer to make a trump, it is permissible to make it with somewhat less strength than would be required in the other three hands.

It is usually better with a fair hand to try for a point rather than to turn down for a euchre. If, however, the dealer is better at next, and holds both bowers of the cross-suit, it is good euchre to pass.

If the dealer adopts the turn-up without assistance and has right and another, and takes the first trick with his small trump, he should not lead the right unless he can follow with an ace.

Always be careful how you play your small cards, and never play false cards.

If the dealer adopts the turn-up, he should discard the lowest card of a short suit; for example, with three trumps, ace, seven of one suit, and outside king, discard the king. Some prefer to keep the king with score four-all with only two trumps in the hand. With two trumps (clubs), ace, seven of hearts, and king, seven of diamonds, discard the seven of diamonds.

With three trumps (clubs), ace, king of hearts, and ace of diamonds, discard the king of hearts, except when playing a lone hand, in which case discard the ace of diamonds.

When your partner assists, and you take the first or second trick, always give him a trump if he has not played one.

Give all the information possible to your partner by your play; for example, queen of clubs is turned up, and you are assisted and hold the king of clubs in your hand. If you or your partner take the first trick with a trump, play the king. If you hold both ace and king of clubs in your hand, play the ace.

If you hold ace and king of an outside suit, throw away the ace as soon as possible on your partner's trick, thereby showing him you have command of that suit. If, however, you see by the fall of the cards that your partner has no strength in his hand, you may conceal this information, since it will do him no good, and can only benefit your opponents. This, of course, applies to all four hands.

THE BRIDGE.

There is such a variety of opinion about the bridge that the writers do not feel confident enough to express any decided view about the matter.

It is a complicated question from a mathematical point of view, and they have never kept any record for a long enough period of time to be of any practical value.

They doubt, however, the expediency of keeping the bridge strictly.

If, however, the bridge is to be kept at all, it should be kept always, and in the same manner; otherwise you deceive your partner.

There is a growing tendency to abolish the bridge. The writers remember distinctly not long ago when every one kept the bridge; now the same players take their chances with two lay aces, or the ace and another in trumps. This, however, is purely a matter of taste, and is not offered here as an arbitrary rule.

Naturally, some hands will make four beyond a doubt; but it is much harder to get an imperfect lone hand through against two good players than against two inferior ones; hence the better the players, the less is the value of the bridge against the ordinary lone hand.

LONE HANDS.

It is impossible to absolutely define a “lone hand.” With the score three-all, four-all, or any score in your favor, do not risk a light lone hand. It is our opinion that a great many points are lost by not taking your partner with you for a march.

With the score four-one or four-two against you, you may take a desperate chance.

If your opponents keep bridges tolerably strictly, you must, of course, be more careful if they have passed.

The eldest hand has the best position to play a lone hand, and the dealer the next best.

The second and third hands have the weakest positions for lone hands, especially the third hand, if the turn-up is the trump, since if the third hand declares to play alone it has become an established custom for the dealer to discard next in suit, and for his partner to lead it to him. The third hand should take this into consideration before playing alone. This is the only case when the original lead of next in suit has any significance.

In playing against a lone hand, you should lead from a short suit or suit of equals, if possible, and the fourth card you play (supposing always the lone hand to take the first four tricks with trumps) should inform your partner what suit you mean to keep. For example: Clubs are trumps. Eldest hand has two small trumps, queen of hearts, and queen and seven of spades. Lead the queen of hearts. The dealer, who is playing alone, ruffs the heart and leads both bowers and the ace of trumps. On the fourth trick you play the seven of spades; your partner, holding the ace of spades and the ten of diamonds, should throw away the ace of spades and keep the ten, thereby attacking the lone hand in all three suits.

Example: Clubs are trumps. The eldest hand has the king of clubs, the king of hearts, the ace and seven of diamonds, and the ten of spades. Lead the king of hearts, throw away the ten of spades as early as possible, and play the seven of diamonds on the fourth trick, thereby informing your partner that you are keeping a diamond.

If you lead from equals,—as king, queen, or queen, knave,—and your opponent takes the trick with a card of that suit, throw away all your other cards, however high, and keep your second one of that suit. This applies always against the dealer, and usually against any other player.

If the eldest hand holds the ace of hearts and the ace and king of spades (the trump being a club), lead the ace of hearts and advertise the command of the spade suit by throwing away the ace as soon as possible.An exception: For third hand, supposing the dealer to have taken the first three tricks without showing a lay card and to have led a winning trump for the fourth trick. If your partner's fourth card is a lay king, and you hold one card of that suit and one of another, neither of which suits has been ruffed, keep the card of the same suit as your partner's king on the fourth trick.

With an assistance you may play a lone hand with less strength than otherwise.

Should your partner declare to play alone, and you have a fair trump hand with no weakness in lay suits, it is good play to take it from him.

COUPS.

The following cases are offered to illustrate some of the fine points in the game. Opportunities for making some of these plays occur frequently, and every ambitious euchre-player should be familiar with them. The easiest way to follow them is to place the cards on the table as shown below.

A coup is when you depart from the ordinary established rules of play, with certain reasons for each special case. Do not hesitate when attempting a coup. Consider what the play of your adversaries means, as well as that of your partner.

Bear in mind that coups are justified only in exceptional cases.

In all these cases A and C are partners. A is the dealer, and the discard is supposed to have been properly made.

CASE I.

Refusing to over trump.

Score, love-all. A adopts the trump.

First Trick.—B leads knave of diamonds, C plays the seven, D ruffs with the ten of clubs, and A throws away the eight of spades.

Second Trick.—D leads the ace of spades, A ruffs with the nine of clubs, and both B and C follow suit.Third Trick.—A leads the right bower and catches the ace and king from B and D, while his partner throws his small diamond.

Fourth Trick.—in this case A will win whether he leads the ace or king of hearts; but his play should be the king, since his partner cannot help him in any way, and B might hold the left bower and pass the king of hearts, when he would ruff the ace.

Remarks.—If A goes over the ten of trumps with his right in the first trick, he will be euchred. This is the simplest coup, and is in constant use. It is not good euchre to do this when your partner has assisted.

CASE II.

Leading through assistance. When to continue with trumps.

Score, love-all. C assists.

Remarks.—B leads the right through the assisting hand, C plays the ace, D the seven, and A should play the king. If A plays the queen to give information to his partner, B should at once continue with the eight of hearts, and thus effect a euchre. If A plays the king, B's natural play would be to lead the ace of clubs, whereby A and C make their point. Few cases arise when you should conceal information from your partner, but this is one of them.

CASE III.

Ruffing a winning card in order to draw trumps and score two.

Score, four to three in favor of A and C. C assists.

First Trick.—B leads the ten of hearts, C plays the right, D the king, and A the seven.Second Trick.—C leads the ace of clubs, D plays the ten, A the eight of clubs, and B the king.

Third Trick.—C leads the ace of spades, D plays the king, A ruffs with the nine of hearts, and B plays the nine of spades.

Fourth and Fifth Tricks.—A leads the left, thereby drawing all the trumps, and continues with the winning club.

CASE IV.

Leading a trump up to the right.

A adopts the trump. Score, four to one in favor of A and C.

First Trick.—B leads the left, C plays the seven of hearts, D the nine, and A wins with the right.

Second Trick.—A leads the ace of spades, B follows with the nine, C with the ten, and D with the seven.

Third, Fourth, and Fifth Tricks.—No matter what A plays, he is euchred, since B wins the last three tricks.

CASE V.

Under-play in fourth hand with a large tenace.

Score, three-all. A adopts the trump.

First Trick.—B leads ace of hearts, C plays the ten, D the eight, and A the seven.

Second Trick.—B continues with the queen of hearts, C covers, and wins with the king, D throws the ten of spades, and A the nine of hearts.

Third Trick.—C leads the left bower, D throws the queen of spades, A the seven of diamonds, and B refuses to win by playing under with the ten of diamonds, thereby making a certainty of establishing the euchre with the tenace of right and king in the fourth and fifth tricks.

CASE VI.

Trumping your partner's trick to put the lead through the strong hand.

Score three-all. A adopts the trump.

First Trick.—B leads the king of clubs, C follows with the seven of clubs, D with the eight of clubs, and A with the ten of clubs.

Second Trick.—B continues with the queen of clubs, C plays the knave, D the nine, and A wins with the ten of diamonds.Third Trick.—A leads the king of spades, B covers with the ace, C plays the queen, and D trumps, and wins with the queen of diamonds.

Fourth Trick.—D leads the king of hearts, A ruffs with the ace, and is euchred by B's left bower.

Remarks.—C in the third trick perceived that his queen was useless, unless used to trump his partner's trick and put the lead through A, with the hope that his partner had the left and might be able to get it in. The ace was turned up, and A could have no card lower than the queen, since he had ruffed fourth hand with the ten.

CASE VII.

Refusing to ruff when you hold the high trump.

Score, three to one in favor of B and D.

C assists, and A plays alone.

First Trick.—B leads ace of hearts, D follows with knave, and A ruffs with queen of clubs.

Second Trick.—A leads the right, B plays the eight, and D the nine, of spades.

Third Trick.—A leads the king of spades, B refuses to ruff, having the highest trump, thereby euchring A.The opportunity for this coup of refusing to ruff occurs very frequently.

The following coups, which occurred recently in play, serve to show the possibilities of the game. They are offered here for the inspection of experienced players only, and not for the emulation of beginners.

CASE VIII.

Score, game-all and four-all.

First Trick.—B very properly orders up, and leads the ace of diamonds; C follows with the seven, D throws the ten of clubs, and A takes with left bower.

Second Trick.—A leads queen of spades, B covers with the ace, and C wins the trick with the eight of diamonds, D playing the nine of spades.

Third Trick.—C leads the eight of hearts, D plays king of hearts, A plays nine of hearts, and B throws ten of spades (not a sure winner) on his partner's trick.

Fourth Trick.—D leads ace of clubs, A ruffs with the nine of diamonds, B covers with the ten, and C wins the trick and scores a euchre with the queen of trumps.

Remarks.—C makes the coup by leading the eight instead of the ace of hearts. C recognized the fact, after the fall of the cards in the second round, that B must have had three trumps to order with, and they must have been the ace, king, ten; and after he had taken the second trick he must throw the lead into D's hand, thereby making his queen against the king, ten.

CASE IX.

Score, A C one; B D three; and one game. A plays alone.

First Trick.—B leads the ace of diamonds, D plays the ten, and A the knave.

Second Trick.—B leads the seven of diamonds, D trumps with the nine of clubs, and A plays the queen of diamonds.

Third Trick.—No matter what D leads, A is euchred.B here makes the coup by recognizing what A must have for a trump-hand, and leads his small and losing diamond, making it imperative for his partner to ruff, thereby putting the lead through A, and establishing the euchre.