What Card Should I Discard?
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Some Terminology Used:
- Going Alone (Loner/ Lone Call) - "opting to play without your partner on a particular hand." **see endnote #1.
- Green (Green Suits) - "either of the two suits that are the opposite color of trump." **see endnote #2.
- Next - the other suit of the SAME color as trump. ie: If CLUBS are trump, then the "next" suit is SPADES.
- Order up - declaring the trump suit.
- Side Ace (Off-Suit Ace) - any ace that is not in the trump suit.
- Singleton - you are holding only ONE card in a particular suit.
- Up-card (Turn-card) - the top card from the kitty which has been turned face-up. The up-card is offered as the trump suit in the 1st round of bidding. If the up-card is ordered up, it goes to the dealer and he discards one card.
- Void - having no cards in a particular suit.
Discarding When You Are the Dealer:
You must discard one card if the up-card is ordered up to you (in the 1st round of bidding.) *Note: You do not get to discard a card if the trump suit is ordered up in the 2nd round of bidding.
- Do not discard a trump suit card if you can help it.
- Do not discard a side ace if you can help it.
- Discard to create a void in a suit if you can.
- Discard when you only have one card in a side suit (discard it as long as it's not a side ace.)
- 1st choice is to create a void in a "green" suit (the suits opposite in color to trump.) **see endnotes #3 & #4.
- 2nd choice is to create a void in the "next" suit (the other suit of the same color as trump.) **see endnote #3.
- "Your last priority should be to eliminate the lowest card." **see endnote #3.
- Discard when you only have one card in a side suit (discard it as long as it's not a side ace.)
Example:
- You are the dealer.
- Your left hand opponent ordered you to pick up the 10 of Spades.
- You hold:
- Diamonds - A, 9
- Hearts - Q
- Clubs - 10
- Spades - 9
- Discard the Queen of Hearts (instead of the 10 of Clubs.) It's a higher priority to void yourself in a "green" suit than it is to keep a Queen vs. a 10. **see endnote #3.
Some Things To Keep In Mind:
- If opponents catch on to the fact that you are consistently discarding a "green" suit, then mix it up and discard the "next" suit. Becoming predictable to your opponents could be setting your team up for a euchre or be preventing your team from euchring your opponents.
- When you are the dealer and you are "going alone"/ attempting a "loner", sometimes it does make sense to discard a side ace. "When you are holding three trump and making a lone bid, if you have to choose between holding two Aces or keeping an Ace-King combination, discarding the single Ace tends to be the better choice. This limits the opponents' opportunities to trump or overtrump a suit." **see endnote #4.
- You are the dealer.
- You order the up-card, a King of Clubs, to yourself.
- You declare a loner.
- You hold:
- Clubs - J
- Spades - J
- Diamonds - A
- Hearts - A, K
- Discarding the singleton Ace of Diamonds (vs. the King of Hearts) "tends to be the better choice. This limits the opponents' opportunities to trump...a suit." **see endnote #4. You now have only ONE suit they can trump instead of TWO.
endnotes:
- OhioEuchre.com - see "Euchre Terminology" section - Going Alone
- OhioEuchre.com - see "Euchre Terminology" section - Green Suits
- Euchre Strategy - "Euchre Quiz - What Should You Discard?" - the 'Answer' section - last paragraph. *If the page doesn't load click here.
- OhioEuchre.com - "Learn how to play Euchre - Lesson 4. Let's learn about the proper discard." see paragraph #7.