4:28 this example of “no trump three aces” potential bid is a perfect example of players being incorrectly stuck on “next” as ALWAYS being the best option. This is a club bid or spade bid, but played exactly as one would if they had bid next on a similarly weak hand: lead the queen or ten respectively hoping to draw bowers to make your ace Trump high and your two green aces more likely to be effective. A pass here is also not terrible, as having three aces is decent for potential euchre or assist on your partners best suit bid. Edit: adding comment: 5:58 your protected left diagram is incorrect, should be 10h not 10d
At 6:16, that advice really depends on knowing your partner. I play with some very strong players, and we often make trump on very lean hands. As a result, I rarely lead trump to my partner in this circumstance because it causes us to play two trumps on the same trick. If I can lead an off ace, I'll do that in the hopes of bagging trick early on without burning any trump. Assuming I can take that first trick with an off ace, I'll most definitely lead the same suit for my second trick hoping my opponents have more of that suit and that my partner can trump in. This is especially effective if trumps is in the "next" suit and my first and second leads are cross-color, which opponents are likely to be full of since they turned down the up card in the first place. But again, my partners and I are well seasoned in this game, and we tend to play quite aggressively--so no to your advice on leading trumps to my partner in this case.
How lean are we talking here? What is the weakest hand you or your partner would call on in this situation? The rule is to always lead Trump into the third seat. Why? If your partner calls Trump, he should have a good Trump hand, either three trump or the Right Bower plus one other Trump. The idea is that you will be stripping the Trump out of your opponent's hands which only strengthens your chances. Even if you habitually make thin calls, you should have a stronger than normal hand (for you) when calling from the third seat. When your team calls and you have an off Ace, you should really lead Trump at that point to increase its chances of winning a trick. Let's say that Hearts are Trump, and you have the Ace of Spades and one low heart. One of your two opponents could be void in Spades and have a lone heart. If you lead the heart out first, you are stripping their Trump, making your Ace good. I can't tell you how many times I have seen an Ace get needlessly Trumped because the person in the first seat didn't lead out a Trump card first. Double leading when your partner called (the same suit twice in a row) is also a bad idea as well. This puts your partner in a predicament. Does he trump high or low? I can't tell you how many times I have seen a partner get overtrumped in this position. Chances are that he will have to use a high Trump to take that offsuit lead. I only recommend double leading if the person to your left called or against a dealer that picked up on the Kitty, and you are hoping that they have two of the led suit in hand.
@@kingrex1931 "The rule" is your advice. Let's be clear about that. There certainly is no rule in the rulebook about which card to lead, so it's a judgment call. I've played many a hand where my partner and I have had three trumps between us and we get our point because we haven't bled each other out of trumps. Your advice is fine, especially for novices or when you have a good sense of how unaggressively your partner calls trump. Especially if it's a jack that was turned down, you need to remember that there is one fewer trump card in circulation for that hand, so three trumps between us is reasonable to take a point--but not if we waste two of our three trumps on the same trick. So my point is there are different styles and different strategies. Yours is perfectly valid for many circumstances, and in other scenarios my strategies have served me well, too.
@@ajs11201 You said: "I play with some very strong players, and we often make trump on very lean hands." How "lean" are the hands you calling from the THIRD seat? This is a very important thing to know. Your whole comment seems to be based upon this. You said: "I've played many a hand where my partner and I have had three trumps between us, and we get our point because we haven't bled each other out of trumps." Just because something has worked a few times it doesn't mean that it is a smart play. Were these hands called from the THIRD seat? I have made a point all by myself with only two Trump cards several times, even Right with either a nine or ten and an offsuit Ace. You said: "Especially if it's a jack that was turned down, you need to remember that there is one fewer trump card in circulation for that hand" Calling next should be done by the first seat, not the third seat, so I cover calling when a Jack is turned down already. Remember, this is how to play when your partner calls from the THIRD seat. Go into any Euchre forum and they will give you the same advice that I have here. If leading Trump causes your partner to get euchred because they made a bad call, that is on them.
@@kingrex1931 Try decaf. I'm offering another perspective. Clearly, it doesn't fit your narrative. Fine--you do you and lead trump to your partner. If that works for you, then that's great. More power to you.
@@ajs11201 What is the minimum you call on from the third seat? You still haven't answered this rather easy question. Are you calling with two low Trump and bad offsuit?
