All in the mind

Post 44!!

Euchre QOD: “Luck is annoying”

Euchre Haiku:
Looking through rule books
Hoyle is supposed to be boss
But his rules are weird

Euchre Palaver
“Maker” – the player who establishes the trump suit by ordering up in the first round or naming trump in the second round of bidding.

Savvy Strategies
I’m reading a book called the Pleasures of Small Motions and the author spends a lot of time discussing competition and performance. He gives two pretty good tips that I think are applicable when entering a euchre match (or tournament).

1. Get your expectations in line with reality. Euchre is not a game of pure skill but it is also not a game of pure luck either. Some players are better than others and knowing how your skills compare to the competition helps reduce self-imposed pressure and anxiety, making you play the game as best you can. You should have a realistic assessment of your skills. Are you a euchre playing machine that always knows what to do? You should expect to lose to players with more skill and win against inferior ones.

2. Use the competition to figure out your playing status. Competition establishes your playing status, not your preconceived notions. If you go into a match figuring you are the best, you can only be disappointed. If you don’t win you’ll be crushed and if you do win, it was just expected. Use your play and performance to establish how good you are compared to the rest of the group.

Following these guidelines will ensure that you perform your best, given the cards dealt. It won’t guarantee a win, but at least you know you played the cards the best they could be played.

Euchre on the Web
This one is interesting. It is the rules of euchre as published for the 19th century player. I like this line the best. It is generally played by four persons, and owes much of its absorbingness to the fact that you can talk, and drink, and chaw and cheat while the game is advancing

And for those interested in writing their own euchre computer program, here is how this group did it.