Euchre for all seasons

Euchre QOD: “You can fool some of the people some of the time and usually that’s enough”

Euchre Haiku:
A new season starts
Perfect play is possible
But will still need luck

Euchre Update:
Tonight starts the next euchre league. We’ve been out of it for the whole summer but my partner and I are back. Since our last match I’ve learned a few things about euchre and hope to convince my partner to employ some of the winning strategies. For example, she’s never been much of a “next” caller. I’d like to see her start playing that way. I haven’t been much of one either, but as we saw in this previous post on ordering next, that is the best way to go. I’ll keep you posted as to how we do.

Euchre Universe:
And remember next weekend is the big World Series of Euchre! Unfortunately, this editor will not be able to attend as I am traveling to St. Louis for work and I have my big marathon joggling event the next weekend. That's a lot of traveling. But we may have a report from one of our key affiliates who is going to try his hand at the event. Good luck Harv!

Euchre on the Web:
As a follow-up to the post of the Top Ten Euchre Tells, I found this cool article at Euchre Links. It contains some online euchre tells that weren’t considered. Check it out. It’s even funny.

4 more euchre gambits for fun and profit

Euchre is a funny game. You can play your cards perfect and still lose 30% of the time. Well, it doesn't have to be that way. By taking extra advantage of the opportunities your opponents afford you, you can push your edge just a little higher. And while some of these ploys and gambits might feel a little unethical, this is euchre for chrissake. A game that has acceptable cheating written into its rule book. Ever hear of steal the deal?

Here are four more euchre gambits to get your winning percentage a little higher. Note, most of these are effective in live games. We'll put together an online version soon.

1. Pay attention to your opponent's cards. Early on in the Euchre Universe we discussed the topic of spying your opponents cards. Back then we couldn't decide whether it was right or wrong. Well, now we don't see any problem with it. If you are next to some bafoon who can't keep his cards out of site of his opponents then he should expect that an opponent will use the information against him. Sure you could be polite and tell him to "vest his cards", but don't bother. Casually spy his cards and adjust your play accordingly.

2. Distracting conversation. My partner is great but she just cannot play cards and listen to a conversation at the same time. This is true of all but the best euchre players. When they are listening to a story it's extremely hard to play excellent cards. So, when you're playing your next euchre game throw out some distracting conversation. The key is to find a topic your opponents will be passionate about, then express a contrary opinion. Politics is an excellent choice. Religion, the existence of God, abortion, gay marriage, Iraq war, all great choices. Figure out which one will really spark your foe, find out what they think and then give them the opposing opinion. Nothing kills card playing like emotional upheaval.

3. Book worm ploy. The key to a good gambit is to affect the way your opponents feel. This one is designed to make them feel a little bit inferior. While playing the game casually use euchre terms that your opponents may or may not know. Check out the euchre glossary for a great starting list. But if your opponents know all the terms you bring up, start making up some of your own. Use these new terms as if anyone who plays euchre should know. When someone questions a term, give them a condesending look and tell them what it means. Then say something like, "I'm surprised you don't know that, everyone who plays euchre knows that." They'll be so busy trying to convince themselves that you don't know what you're talking about they won't notice you stealing the deal.

4. The mathematical gambit. People who play euchre with me often will hear the probabilities of everything. "There was only a 6% chance that queen would win that trick." "You know the odds of us winning is 70%?" "The chances that I'd get dealt 5 trump is 1 in 2100." After a game or so they get to calling me Mr Wizard. This lulls them into an expectation of losing. It's like playing poker against a pro. You never feel bad when you lose because you expect it. Speak of probabilities and odds and you too can make your opponents expect to lose.

Euchre book list

Euchre QOD: “Play with a plan”

Euchre Books
While we haven’t reviewed all of the following books here at the Euchre Universe, we thought we would make a list of the ones we will eventually review.

1. Columbus Book of Euchre – Bumppo, Natty. One of the best. See our book review.

2. The Complete Win at Euchre – Andrews, Joe.

3. Win at Euchre – Gallagher, Tom. A guy with another point system for hand evaluation.

4. Euchre the Grandpa Lou Way – Ellis, John.

5. Euchre for Dummies - Gameland Sports. Comes complete with a deck of cards.

We'll post more book reviews as we get the books and have a chance to read them. Someday we'll have enough in the Euchre Universe vault to actually purchase some of these.

Euchre Literature. Where is it mentioned?
"It came out of the night and invaded the room. George said, "Anybody like to play a little euchre?" "I'll play out a few with you," said Whit. They took places opposite each other at the table under the ..."

Of Mice and Men – Steinbeck, J. p. 46.

Weekend euchre tournament recap

So, we finished the tournament and didn't win. It was a field of about 20 teams. We made it through the first two rounds and lost in the third. While it was a double elimination tournament, my wife and I were tired of being there and decided to just forefit our remaining match. The way things were going, the team that was going to win it would be there until nearly midnight! That was just too long.

Overall, it was a decent tournament. My wife and I played together pretty well. There were times that she didn't call for "Next" like I would've liked but for the most part, we really gelled. The waitress was attentive and the bar atmosphere was fine. There were some temperature issues as I froze my ass off with the air conditioner blowing on me the whole time. It reminded me of being in Vegas. For some reason it is always so cold in those casinos.

The worst part about the tournament however, was how long it took. We were there from 1:00 pm until 7:00 pm and played only 3 matches. That put us in the elite eight. We still would've had another 2 matches to play (4 more hours) if we had kept winning. You cannot run a euchre tournament, play "best of 5" matches and make it double elimination. It just takes too long!

Oh well, we had a good time for the first 4 hours. Next time they should do either single elimination (best of 5) or double elimination in a best of 3 format.

Does anyone out there have a better idea on how to run a 24 to 32 team tournament in a reasonable amount of time?

Weekend euchre tournament

Euchre QOD: “All wins should be appreciated.”

Euchre Haiku:
You sign yourself up
Get good cards and play them right
You too can be champ.

Euchre Palaver
“Hole card” – This is just another way to say upcard. Personally, the folks here at the Euchre Universe prefer upcard.

Euchre Universe Update
This weekend is the big Merkle’s Euchre Tournament. My wife and I will be playing as partners and trying to win it all. I can’t wait. It’ll be more fun than the 20 miles of joggling that I’ll be doing that morning. It’s been a long time since I’ve played tournament euchre. I think I’ve learned a fair amount about playing the game and my wife is really pretty good. If the cards don’t turn against us, we have a great chance for winning. I don’t know what the prizes are but it doesn’t matter. Anytime you can win anything you should feel fortunate. At least I do. I’ll keep you posted as to how it went.

Euchre on the Web
If you’re looking for a free euchre program here is one from DreamQuest software. I haven’t tried it out yet but you can’t beat the price.

A questionable euchre lead - What should you play?

Skewed Euchre Jargon (from the urban dictionary):
Eucharist: A large box of bed sheets.

Skewed Euchre QOD:
“I went to the store to buy a eucharist.”

Euchre Strategy:
I was testing out a euchre simulator today and came upon the following hand when I was in seat 1.

The upcard was the Queen of hearts and the dealer’s partner (seat 2) ordered it up.

This brings to mind a question. What should you lead? Let’s look at the case for each.

Left Bower (Jack of Diamonds):
If you believe that the person in seat 2 is ordering with a weak hand, a trump lead might be good. You could be pulling out the dealer’s only trump and you would be setting up your Ace of clubs to win. The Left might even be the highest trump out so you’d be winning that trick too. However, you will likely be pulling out your partner’s trump and you’ve only got 1 other winner. I don’t like this lead.

9 of diamonds:
This is the “lead a loser” philosophy. Not a bad one when you are on offense but on defense, forget it. Sure your partner might have the ace of diamonds or might be able to trump it but the odds are not good. I’d stay away from this lead.

Ace of Clubs:
With three clubs, the ace of clubs doesn’t have a great chance of winning. (Somewhere around 50%) However, it’s not a bad choice. I like the King a little better however.

King of Clubs:
This one has just as good a chance of winning as the Ace of Clubs since you know they can’t both be played on the trick. However, you have the added chance that your partner will trump it, forcing the next player to trump higher if they’ve got it. Of all the cards, this one to me is the best option.

10 of Clubs:
This card is almost a certain loser and only makes your Ace of clubs less likely to win later. Of all the cards, I’d say that leading the 10 of clubs is the worst choice.

Euchring the opponents with this hand is not too likely. But you can improve your chances if you just lead the right card. According to the leading scientific research at the Euchre Universe, we say the King of Clubs is the best lead, followed closely by the Ace of Clubs.

I’m sure everyone in the rest of the euchre universe would agree.

4 euchre gambits to outwit your opponents

Let's face it, euchre is a game with a lot of luck. When you happen to be going through one of those really unlucky phases is there anything you can do to turn things around? Well, we've searched the expansive Euchre Universe and came up with the following four gambits. Employ these at the right times and you may NEVER lose a game of euchre.

The key to winning euchre is to distract your opponents.

1. Ask your opponents if they forgot someting. Euchre requires a little concentration so if the opponents are thinking about something else, you'll have a big edge. To work this ploy begin a story about a rash of car thefts in the neighborhood. Then casually ask something like, "Did you remember to lock your car?" They'll be thinking and worrying about their car the rest of the night while you'll be euchring them and pulling loners.

2. Distract with decor. If you're hosting the euchre match be sure to make the surroundings suitably distraction. For example, employ the services of a "busty" French maid to serve drinks. Or if you've got the girls over turn on HGTV. They'll be watching the latest redecorating efforts while you score point after point.

3. The fagile seat. When a euchre player is comfortable, they will play better. So, you should do your best to make them as uncomfortable as possible. A simple way to accomplish this is to make them sit in a chair that is particularly wobbly or otherwise uncomfortable. In the league I play in, I make it a point to always find the least comfortable chair and arrange to have my opponent sitting in it. They'll be distracted all night and you'll be winning the game.

4. Slow play ploy. When someone is losing they want to get to the next hand as fast as possible. So if you are winning and you want to keep winning, just slow down. Take a little longer to throw your cards. Instead of three quick shuffles, do 10 or even 20 before you deal. Make your losing opponents wallow in their losing streak while you revel in your lead. The slow play ploy is particularly effective against good players who hate it when "inferior" players are beating them. Control the game speed and you control the game.

When we find more gambits/ploys we'll share them. In the meantime, what are some of your favorites?

On vacation

The Euchre Universe editors were on vacation the last week and an internet connection wasn't readily available. Look for some new posts starting starting tonight. (I've got my regular job to go today).

In the meantime, enjoy this picture of the chicken.

This table talk is not tolerable

Here’s the scenario. The opponent on your right leads the King of Clubs. You play the Ace of Clubs and the left-hand opponent plays the 9 of Clubs. Your partner has been watching the Fear Factor contestants chow down on giant Fijian long-horned beetles and isn’t sure about who played what card.


Is it acceptable for you to say to your partner, “I have it with the Ace of Clubs?”

While this happens all the time in our Euchre league, it is technically unacceptable table talk. It is true that you are just stating what happened, but the motivation to tell your partner that you have the trick won is so they don’t over-trump your Ace, pulling down a trick you already have. Was there a reason you didn’t tell your partner what the opponents played? Probably because that wouldn’t have communicated the message that you didn’t want her to waste a trump on a trick you already won.

Your partner should be sharp enough to ask who played what cards if they don’t know. It is fine to respond to the question “Who played the Ace?” But offering information that isn’t asked is akin to telling your partner what she should or shouldn’t play. This is just not right.

Bottom line: Avoid any table talk that would prevent your partner from making a mistake. And play euchre in a setting that doesn’t have tvs showing beetle mastication.

Playing euchre with less than 4 players

One of the problems with euchre is that you need 4 players to play the game. Well, if your friends are lame and you can’t scare up enough to play a regular game of euchre, what are you going to do? Play computer euchre? Go online and play? Well, those are options, but here are some better, live-play options for playing euchre when you don’t have the “right” amount of people.

Options for playing euchre with a variety number of players.

One Player: Play euchre solitaire. I believe it is a Natty Bumpo invention. It works out pretty well and can even improve your euchre play.

Two Players: Play euchre for two as outlined by Joe Chellman. This is an interesting variation that requires you to win 7 of 12 tricks instead of the standard 3 of 5. A game is played to 31 and you get 12 points for euchring an opponent.

Three Players: Play Buck Euchre as described at Pagat. This is a bit different than regular euchre but you can add the extra incentive of gambling if you like.

Four Players: Play regular euchre of course.

Five Players: Play regular euchre with four and have the fifth player rub wrecking balm on everyone's tattoos to help remove the memories of foul euchre games of years gone by. Or that person could always try joggling.

The slowing the euchre universe

While the actual universe seems to be accelerating, we’ve hit a bit of a gravity well here at the Euchre Universe because it seems like we’re slowing down.

Fret not. We’ll get back in focus. Other blogs such as Just Your Average Joggler have been cutting into the dedicated staff’s time and the Euchre Universe is getting shorted. But we will endeavor to continue. ‘Nuff Said.

Euchre QOD: Don’t despair, but if you do keep playing anyway.

Euchre Haiku:
On defense you don’t
But on offense you better
Trump leads are tricky

Euchre Palaver:
Offense – The team who has ordered up trump and is endeavoring to make their contract.
Defense – The team who is trying to stop the offense by euchring them.

Euchre on the Web
Here’s an interesting site about a group of people who started the Euchre Federation. There are some interesting stories in the Euchre Chronicles section but the site seems to have gone the way of the Vegas Valley Leopard Frog. It hasn’t been updated since 2003. I hope it never happens to the Euchre Universe.

And here’s a story of one person’s obsession with euchre. You quite possibly have one yourself if you’re frequenting this site. That’s a good thing by the way.

Random euchre web sites

Euchre on the web

Just a few interesting sites related to euchre that I've come across recently.

1. Euchre definition on the Urban Dictionary. Funny..."A card game fully understood when you're drunk"

2. Over at Realbeer.com there is a discussion of the rules of euchre.

3. I just downloaded a book over at Audiobooksforfree.com which is supposed to be about euchre. I haven't listened to it yet but it was free. You can get it at that website too if you like but you'll have to signup.

More tomorrow.

Euchre variations - When the regular game gets dull

Alright Euchre Universe faithful. I haven’t done a post on alternative euchre games in a while so I thought I throw out some now. I found this article about different euchre variations that you might find interesting. I’ll recap the most interesting ones here.

1. Black Only. A Player May Only Bid Spades Or Clubs As A Suit.
Clubs has always been my favorite suit.

2. Blood Before Death. All red cards (Blood) must be played from your hand before any black cards (Death) are played, with the exception of being forced to "follow suit".
This one would work well on Halloween

3. Handcuffed. Only the 1st & 4th (Dealer) seats may call trump. They may also choose to go "Alone". The 2nd and 3rd seats (1st seat & Dealer's partners) are "Handcuffed" and may not call trump nor choose "Alone". The 2nd & 3rd seats only have the option of "Pass". This rule rotates with each hand.
This might be more interesting if the handcuff was on the 1st and 4th seats. Ordering from 2nd and 3rd seat is harder.

4. Haters. Any Suit May Be Called As Trump Other Than Hearts.
A fun one to play on Valentine’s day.

5. Red / Black Suicide
If the UP Card is RED (Diamonds/Heart) the DEALING TEAM MUST Take up,
If the UP Card is BLACK (Spades/Clubs) the NON-Dealing TEAM MUST Order it up.
This would be hard to defend.

6. Solitaire. One pard from each team MUST bid/defend alone in every hand, You are allowed to pass and pick trump, but you must go alone. Basically, this is a one-on-one game.
It is a bit like playing two-handed euchre.

They had a bunch of other variations but these were the ones I found most interesting. Anyone out there in the Euchre Universe have favorite variations?

Euchre news - Computers use game theory to win and you should too

It seems scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have created a computer program named GS1 that plays poker (Texas Hold ‘em) better than the best computer players in the world. The remarkable thing is that the program is based strictly on game theory, and does not use input from the “best” human players. The program does it by using probabilities to make its betting decisions.

This is reminiscent of the computer program used to create the euchre point system strategy that is the heart of the Euchre Universe advice.

I’ve always believed that you could take a game like euchre and break it down to a matter of probabilities. There is always a “best” play to make and that is dictated by the probability that it will win or not. Hunches, beliefs and superstitions about euchre all succumb to the great god of game theory.

Now, this computer program hasn’t been put to the test against the greatest human players, but it will be interesting to see if GS1 can take all of Phil Ivey’s money someday. Maybe when they’re done with a boring game like poker, they’ll reprogram it to play euchre. Will the talking heads over at euchre science be ready for high quality computer opponents? They’re coming.

Questions about euchre playing cards

Without cards there would be no euchre. And without euchre, the universe would cease to exist. You’ve used the plucky pasteboards all these years, but have you ever wondered where they come from or why they look the way they do? Well, author John McLeod did and he went out to find the answers. You can find his answers at his frequently asked questions about playing cards site.

Here is just a sampling of what you’ll learn.

1. How to turn your design idea into a real pack of cards.


2. Who was Hoyle.


3. Who was the inspiration for the people on the face cards?


4. Why is the Ace worth more than the King? Rebellious peasants no doubt.


5. Why does the Ace of spades have a bigger design than the other aces? Taxes.

And finally, did you know that the Joker was invented specifically for the game of euchre? And here I thought it was done as a tribute to joggling.

Euchre Lifestyle - Euchre Longevity

Euchre QOD: “A decision delayed is a decision not made”

Euchre Haiku
Play cards all your life
And your health may be as good
As a lifelong jock


Euchre Lifestyle:
You want to live longer? Forget about physical fitness. Scientists have discovered that productive activities like playing cards are as effective as fitness activities in lowering the chance of death in older people. While joggling takes up my non-euchre playing time, I think this will definitely be good news for most die-hard euchre players.

Euchre Obits:
Sadly, the euchre universe is short one more euchre enthusiast. This poor kid had an infectious love of euchre but was done in by the waters of Lake Michigan.

How to remember the cards that have been played

To be a great euchre player, you have to be able to remember the cards that are played. For euchre where there are only 24 cards, this is not nearly as difficult as it is for a game like bridge where there are 52 cards. But even with 24 cards it is easy to forget “what’s out there”. Here is a (nearly) practical method you can use for remembering the cards that are played. It takes some practice but once you get it, it’ll be much easier and your natural memory skills will improve immensely.

Pictures are easier to remember than cards
The key to memorizing cards is to substitute a memorable picture for each card. Cards themselves are not very memorable but your pictures can be.

The system works like this. Suppose Spades were trump and you wanted to keep track of the Ace of Spades. It’s relatively easy to do if this is the only card you are trying to remember. Essentially, you will just keep paying attention to what is played until you see the Ace of Spades. But if you were trying to remember every spade that was played along with all the off-suit cards, you would soon find it nearly impossible.

That’s where the substitution system comes into play. To use the system you substitute a different word for Ace of Spades and then create a memorable picture about the card when it’s played. A suitable substitute word for Ace of Spades is the word Suit. To remember when something is played, it is useful to picture a destroyed version of you substitute word. For example, when the Ace of Spades is played you picture in your mind’s eye a suit that has been ripped, torn and worn. The more damaged the suit the better. When you wonder whether a card has been played or not you look at the substitute word in your mind and see its condition. If it’s destroyed, the card is played. If not, the card has not been played.

Here is a complete list of substitute pictures you can use for each card. For the system to work you need to memorize these substitute words.

Ace of Spades - Suit
King of Spades - Sing
Queen of Spades - Steam
Jack of Spades - Spade
10 of Spades - Sauce
9 of Spades - Soap

Ace of Clubs - Cat
King of Clubs - King
Queen of Clubs - Cream
Jack of Clubs - Club
10 of Clubs - Case
9 of Clubs - Cob

Ace of Diamonds - Dot
King of Diamonds - Drink
Queen of Diamonds - Dream
Jack of Diamonds - Diamond
10 of Diamonds - Dice
9 of Diamonds - Diaper

Ace of Hearts - Hat
King of Hearts - Hinge
Queen of Hearts - Queen
Jack of Hearts - Heart
10 of Hearts - Hose
9 of Hearts - Hoop

Practice makes perfect.
The way to practice these is to take a euchre deck and shuffle them up. Deal 4 cards face down and keep them separated from the rest of the cards. Next, flip over cards one at a time creating pictures in your mind of the destroyed substitute words. For example, the 10 of diamonds would be crushed dice, the Queen of hearts would be a beaten queen, etc. Don’t move on to the next card until you’ve created a memorable picture in your mind. When you get to the end of the deck try to guess what the four face down cards are.

You should practice this exercise a couple of times a day until it becomes second nature. After that you will need to do it once or twice a week just to keep in practice. And you should use it during a euchre game. At the very least using a system will make you pay more attention to the cards which will automatically make you remember better.

For more information about memorizing things like cards, numbers, faces and other things check out the excellent book by Harry Lorayne, Super Power Memory.

Euchre strategy - Analysis of a euchre hand

There’s a lively debate going on over at the Euchre Science pages. The question is what you should do about the following hand.

Jack of Hearts
Jack of Diamonds
Ace of Diamonds
Jack of Clubs
10 of Clubs

The Ace of Hearts was turned down, and you are sitting in seat 1.

Should you go alone or take your partner along? Should you lead trump or lead the loser? Should the score matter in your decision?

Let’s look at the first question.

Alone or with partner?

In case you don’t much care about all the math, here is the bottom line to this answer first.

Bottom line: Unless your team’s score is 8 points, you should go alone on this hand. If you have 8 points, you should bring your partner along with you, lead 2 trump, and hope for her to have the highest club.

Now the details…
This question is the source of much debate. First, consider all the ways that your partner could possibly help you sweep or march.

A. They have 4 trump and an off-suit winner
B. They have the highest club
C. They are void in clubs and have a trump

Math WARNING!!!

A. They have 4 trump.
There are a total of 8568 possible hands that your partner can have. This is found by taking the total number of cards left unseen (18) and figuring out how many ways they can be sorted into groups of 5. Combination of 18 things taken 5 at a time is 8568.

Of these possible hands only 14 will have 4 trump and only 3 of those will have a guaranteed off-suit winner. That means partner will only have a 4 trump helping hand 0.05% of the time. Those aren’t good odds.

B. They have the highest club.
If your partner has the highest club and you’ve saved one of your winner trumps, you can sweep for 2 points. To keep it simple we’ll consider only hands in which your partner has the Ace of clubs. Of the 8568 possible hands, your partner will have the Ace of clubs 2380 times or 27.8%. You’ll have to lead 2 of your trump first and your partner will have to save the Ace but you will sweep under these conditions nearly 30% of the time. Which also means you won’t sweep 70% of the time.

C. They are void in clubs, have a trump.
Complicated, yes. But a situation like this is not simple. Of the 8568 hands, only 2002 will be void in clubs (23.4%), and 1750 of those will also have a trump. That puts the chances of this sweep at 20%

Unfortunately, none of these situations can occur simultaneously. And the way you play will depend on which of these hand holdings your partner has. Based on the scenarios above, your best play would be option B which gives you a 27.8% chance of a sweep.

However, what are the chances of you making a sweep by going alone?
The chances that the 3 clubs are buried (either in partner's hand or in the talon...er uh kitty) and you make your loner is 6.86%. That was found by the following simple combination equation.

1. Number of unknown cards = 18. (24 - your 5 cards - the turned down card)
2. Number of cards that can foil your loner = 3 (A, K, & Q of clubs)
3. Number of possible opponent distribution of unknown cards = 43,758 (combination of 18 things taken 10 at a time)

4. Number of possible opponent distributions that don't contain any of the cards that can foil you = 3003 (combination of 15 things taken 10 at a time)

5. 3003 / 43,758 = 6.86%

Now, I believe we can also add in the times when the opponents have a lone Queen of clubs because after you've played your 3 trumps they probably dumped the lone Queen in favor of other cards. This improves your chances as follows.

6. Number of possible opponent distributions that are either void of clubs or could contain the lone Queen of Clubs = 8008. (combination of 16 things taken 10 at a time)

7. 8008 / 43,758 = 18.3%

So you should expect to make a loner with this hand a little more than 1 out of every 6 times.

Game theory comparison.
Expectation alone = 4 * 18.3% + 1 * 81.7% = 1.55 points
Expectation with partner = 2 * 27.8% + 1 * 72.2% = 1.28 points

Over the long run, going alone will get you more points and that’s what you should play.

Euchre Gambitry - More on euchre tells

Last week’s post on euchre tells prompted a good deal of response from the euchre universe. Here are some additional tells you can use to help improve your overall euchre game.

11. Listen to an opponent’s table talk.
Sword_4_hire suggests that you listen for when an opponent says “I need you partner” or words similar to that. This usually means that they are weak and provides a good opportunity to lead trump. It is especially good to lead trump if the opponent in the second seat ordered it up.

12. Staring at your cards.
Sithlord78 says you should only look at your cards when you need to. You can pick up a lot of information from someone’s reaction to their cards when they are looking at them. If you are not looking at your own cards it not only prevents you from giving off information about your hand but it allows you to look at other people and see how they like their own hand.

13. Rearranging their cards.
Sithlord78 also reminds us of the advice that you shouldn’t rearrange your cards. Look for people who rearrange their cards. This will give you a great idea of the distribution of their suits. When rearranging, they will grab cards of the same suit and put them together. If you remember where there cards were when they rearranged them, you can find out how many of the different suits they started with when they play from that part of their hand. I use this kind of information all the time.

14. Taking a long time to order.
Baliddle writes that you can sometimes get information about a player’s hand during the ordering process. If they take a long time to decide to order, their hand usually has some weakness. Against most players this is in the off-suits. In these situations you can feel more confident leading your off-suit aces.

15. Hesitation during play
Joeelf points out that some players will hesitate during the playing round. In this particular case it meant that the guy was holding the guarded left bower. This allowed the next player to finesse a lower trump and make the point.

Since euchre is a game that relies heavily on luck, tells are an important extra piece of information that can help you win more often. Learn to look for these and your game will improve immensely.

*Picture : Chicken in South Carolina with Cooper River Bridge in the background

Euchre on television

While I’m not a fan and have never watched the show, it appears that the Fox TV show 24 is produced by some euchre enthusiasts. Consider the following facts.

1. The lead character is named Jack Bauer. – Certainly a reference to euchre n’est pas?
2. The standard euchre deck contains 24 cards – Convenient coincidence.
3. The show involves suspense, intrigue, and high-stakes international terrorist plots – exactly the same as most euchre games.

Wow! This is eerie.