Trumping. It is seldom right to trump partner’s winning cards, unless he has ordered up the trump, and you think you can lead through the dealer to advantage. In playing against a lone hand, it is sometimes good play to trump your partner’s ace with an unguarded left bower or ace of trumps, as it may prevent the dealer from getting into the lead with a small trump, and may save a King or Queen of trumps in your partner’s hand. If you don’t trump, the dealer will probably get in and swing the right bower, and your trump will be lost.
If your partner has ordered, made, or taken up the trump, and you have only one trump, even a bower, trump with it at the first opportunity. Trump everything second hand, unless it takes the right bower for a doubtful trick, or breaks into the major tenace in trumps.
Discarding. It is best to throw away singletons, unless they are aces. If you have two cards of equal value, but of different colours, one of which must be discarded, it is usual to keep the one of the same colour as the turn-up when playing against the dealer. Discard suits that the adversaries are trumping. If your partner discards a suit in which you have a high card, keep that suit, and discard another. If you have both ace and King of a plain suit, discard the ace, to show partner that you can win a trick in the suit. It is very often important to discard correctly when playing against a lone hand, especially if the lone player leads trumps for the fourth trick. It is a common practice for modern players to signal in the discard if they have a certain trick in a suit. This is done by discarding two cards in another suit, the higher before the lower. For instance: You have two aces, spades and diamonds. The dealer plays alone on hearts, and trumps your spade ace the first time. If you have two clubs, such as King and ten, discard the King first, and then the ten, and your partner will know you can stop the diamond suit. This should advise him to keep his clubs.
CUT-THROAT EUCHRE.
The chief element in the three-handed game is playing to the score. The player with the strong hand must always be kind to the under dog, and partnerships are always formed against the man with the high score. Suppose A, B, and C are playing, and that A has 3 points to his adversaries’ nothing on B’s deal. It is to the interest of A to euchre B; but it is to the interest of C to let B make his point because if B is euchred, A wins the game. B having made his point, C deals, and it is then to the interest of B to let C make his point. Suppose C makes a march, 3 points, which puts him on a level with A. On A’s deal it is C’s game to euchre him, but B must let A make his point; so that instead of being opposed by both B and C, as he was a moment ago, A finds a friend in B, and the two who were helping each other to beat A, are now cutting each other’s throats. On B’s deal, A does not want to euchre him, for although that would win the game for both A and C, A, who now has 4 points up, does not wish to divide the pool with C while he has such a good chance to win it all himself. Suppose B makes his point. A will do all he can to euchre C, but B will oppose the scheme, because his only chance for the game is that A will not be able to take up the trump on his own deal, and that B will make a march.
SET-BACK EUCHRE.
This is simply a reversal of the ordinary method of scoring, the players starting with a certain number of points, usually ten, and deducting what they make on each deal. The peculiarity which gives the game its name is that if a player is euchred he is set back two points, his adversaries counting nothing. The revoke penalty is settled in the same way. The game is usually counted with chips, each player starting with ten, and placing in the centre of the table those that he is entitled to score.
BLIND EUCHRE.
Each player is for himself and a widow of two cards is dealt. The player who takes the widow practically orders up the trump and must play against all the others after discarding two cards. If no one will take the widow, the deal is void.