Chapter 3

REMARKS.--C in the third trick perceived that his queen was useless, unless used to trump his partner's trick and put the lead through A, with the hope that his partner had the left and might be able to get it in. The ace was turned up, and A could have no card _lower_ than the queen, since he had ruffed fourth hand with the ten.

CASE VII.

Refusing to ruff when you hold the high trump.

A

Queen of clubs (turn-up), Right, ace of clubs, King, queen of spades.

D B

Ace, 9 of spades, Knave of spades, King, queen of diamonds, 8 of clubs, Knave of hearts. Ace, 9, 8 of hearts.

C

King, 10, 9 of clubs, 7, 9 of diamonds.

Score, three to one in favor of B and D.

C assists, and A plays alone.

_First Trick._--B leads ace of hearts, D follows with knave, and A ruffs with queen of clubs.

_Second Trick._--A leads the right, B plays the eight, and D the nine, of spades.

_Third Trick._--A leads the king of spades, B refuses to ruff, having the highest trump, thereby euchring A.

The opportunity for this coup of refusing to ruff occurs very frequently.

The following coups, which occurred recently in play, serve to show the possibilities of the game. They are offered here for the inspection of experienced players only, and not for the emulation of beginners.

CASE VIII.

A

9 of diamonds (turn-up), Knave of hearts, Queen of spades, Queen, 9 of hearts.

D B

Ace, queen, 10 of clubs, Ace, king, 10 of diamonds, King of hearts, Ace, 10 of spades. 9 of spades.

C

Queen, 7, 8 of diamonds, Ace, 8 of hearts.

Score, game-all and four-all.

_First Trick._--B very properly orders up, and leads the ace of diamonds; C follows with the seven, D throws the ten of clubs, and A takes with left bower.

_Second Trick._--A leads queen of spades, B covers with the ace, and C wins the trick with the eight of diamonds, D playing the nine of spades.

_Third Trick._--C leads the eight of hearts, D plays king of hearts, A plays nine of hearts, and B throws ten of spades (not a sure winner) on his partner's trick.

_Fourth Trick._--D leads ace of clubs, A ruffs with the nine of diamonds, B covers with the ten, and C wins the trick and scores a euchre with the queen of trumps.

REMARKS.--C makes the coup by leading the eight instead of the ace of hearts. C recognized the fact, after the fall of the cards in the second round, that B must have had three trumps to order with, and they must have been the ace, king, ten; and after he had taken the second trick he must throw the lead into D's hand, thereby making his queen against the king, ten.

CASE IX.

A

Queen of clubs (turn-up), Right and left bowers, Queen, knave of diamonds.

D B

9 of clubs, Ace, king of clubs, 10 of diamonds, Ace, king, 7 of diamonds. King, 7 of spades, 7 of hearts.

C

Score, A C one; B D three; and one game. A plays alone.

_First Trick._--B leads the ace of diamonds, D plays the ten, and A the knave.

_Second Trick._--B leads the seven of diamonds, D trumps with the nine of clubs, and A plays the queen of diamonds.

_Third Trick._--No matter what D leads, A is euchred.

B here makes the coup by recognizing what A must have for a trump-hand, and leads his small and losing diamond, making it imperative for his partner to ruff, thereby putting the lead through A, and establishing the euchre.

[Transcriber's Note: "turn-up" was misprinted "turn up" in Case VI; this typo has been corrected for this electronic edition.]

End of Project Gutenberg's The Laws of Euchre, by H. C. Leeds and James Dwight