What Card Should I Discard?  

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Some Terminology Used:

1. Going Alone (Loner/ Lone Call) - "opting to play without your partner on a particular hand." **see endnote #1.
2. Green (Green Suits) - "either of the two suits that are the opposite color of trump." **see endnote #2.
3. Next - the other suit of the SAME color as trump. ie: If CLUBS are trump, then the "next" suit is SPADES.
4. Order up - declaring the trump suit.
5. Side Ace (Off-Suit Ace) - any ace that is not in the trump suit.
6. Singleton - you are holding only ONE card in a particular suit.
7. 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.
8. 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.

1. Do not discard a trump suit card if you can help it.
2. Do not discard a side ace if you can help it.
3. 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.)​

i. 1st choice is to create a void in a "green" suit (the suits opposite in color to trump.) **see endnotes #3 & #4.

ii. 2nd choice is to create a void in the "next" suit (the other suit of the same color as trump.) **see endnote #3.

iii. "Your last priority should be to eliminate the lowest card." **see endnote #3.

• 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.

Example: (You declare a loner)

• 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:

1. OhioEuchre.com - see "Euchre Terminology" section - Going Alone
2. OhioEuchre.com - see "Euchre Terminology" section - Green Suits
3. Euchre Strategy - "Euchre Quiz - What Should You Discard?" - the 'Answer' section - last paragraph. *If the page doesn't load click here.
4. OhioEuchre.com - "Learn how to play Euchre - Lesson 4. Let's learn about the proper discard." see paragraph #7.