What to Lead in Euchre

Why the lead matters so much

A Euchre hand is five tricks, and the makers need three. There is no time for a long plan; the first lead often settles whether the makers can draw trump before their side cards are ruffed, or whether the defenders get their Aces home first. On CardCouch the player to the dealer's left leads trick one, whoever made trump, so both sides get the opening lead roughly half the time. Know what to do with it.

Leading as the maker

Lead trump to draw trump

When your side named trump, your side cards (off-suit Aces and Kings) are only winners if nobody can trump them. The way to make sure of that is to pull the defenders' trumps out of their hands first. With two or more trumps including a bower, lead trump. Each player must follow suit if they can, so a round of trump often pulls a trump from each defender, though it takes one of your partner's as well. Lead trump again while the defenders still hold some, stop once they are out, then cash your Aces.

Lead the right bower first if you hold it. It cannot lose, and it forces out the left bower or the trump Ace if a defender is unlucky enough to hold one singleton. Holding the left but not the right, do not lead the left: it loses only to the right, so keep it and lead a low trump or the trump Ace instead. If the right is out against you, that lead draws it, and your left becomes the top trump in play.

When your partner made trump

Lead trump here too, and a small one is fine. Your partner's strength sits behind the opponents, so a low trump lead lets the defenders commit first and lets your partner win the trick as cheaply as possible while their trumps are drawn. Lead an off-suit Ace instead only when you hold no trump at all.

When not to lead trump

• You hold no trump. Then, and only then, open with an off-suit Ace before it can be ruffed. A single small trump is still the right lead when your partner made trump: its job is to help draw, not to ruff.
• The defenders are out. Once you have counted their trumps gone, another trump lead only draws your partner's. Switch to your winners.
• You need a ruff, not a draw. If your only realistic third trick is ruffing an off-suit lead, leading trump spends the card you need for it. Lead your Ace, keep the trump.

After trump is drawn

Once you have counted enough trump gone, switch to your off-suit Ace. If you have no Ace, lead your longest off-suit from the top; a King is a fine lead when trump is out and the Ace has not shown.

Leading as a defender

Cash your Aces early

An off-suit Ace is at its most valuable on the very first trick. The maker has not yet drawn trump, so every player still holds their full hand and is more likely to have a card of your suit to follow with. Wait two tricks and the maker may be void in that suit and ruff your Ace. Lead the Ace now. Two tricks for the defenders is a euchre, and an Ace plus one trump trick is the commonest way to get there.

If you hold two off-suit Aces, prefer the one of the opposite color to trump ("green"). The same-color suit lent its Jack to trump as the left bower, so it has only five cards and is the suit most likely to be ruffed. Between two green Aces, lead from the suit where you have fewer cards: the shorter your suit, the more likely the others still hold it.

Do not lead trump as a defender, with two exceptions

The maker wants trump led. It draws your side's trumps for free and clears the way for their side cards. As a defender, keep your trumps for ruffing and for beating the maker's small trumps. There are two exceptions. If you hold the right bower, lead it: it cannot lose, and it takes a trump from the maker on your terms. And with a strong trump holding when the maker sits on your left, leading trump through the maker forces them to play their big trumps in front of your partner. Otherwise, an Ace or a low card from a short suit.

Lead low to give your partner a chance

With no Ace to cash, lead a low card from your shortest off-suit. Your partner may hold the Ace, or may be void and able to ruff. Leading a King or Queen without the Ace rarely wins the trick and gives away where the high cards are.

Use the turned-down suit

When trump was named in round two, the up-card's suit was turned down by the dealer. That tells you the dealer is unlikely to hold a bower in it, though a lone Ace or a small holding is entirely possible. Be careful with the obvious conclusion. If the makers called next (the same color as the turned-down card), the turned-down suit lent its Jack to trump, so it now has only five cards and is the suit most likely to be short in someone's hand. A King of that suit is a more ruffable lead, not a safer one. Prefer a green Ace when you have the choice, and remember that the dealer's discard is unknown and may have made them void.

Lead through the maker, not into them

The old whist rule is lead through strength, up to weakness, and it applies cleanly to Euchre where one hand (the maker) is known to be strong.

• Leading through the maker means the maker plays second to your lead, before your partner. The maker has to commit first: ruff or not, Ace or not. Your partner then plays last with full information and can overtrump, cover, or throw a loser. When the maker sits to your left, lead your Aces and your short-suit cards with confidence.
• Leading into the maker means the maker plays last. Whatever you lead, the maker sees three cards before choosing. When the maker sits to your right, prefer safe leads: an Ace you expect to win outright, or a low card that costs nothing.
• Never lead a suit an opponent has shown void in.If the maker's partner ruffed clubs on trick two, a club lead on trick three is a gift. Lead something else, even a weak card.

On CardCouch you sit South with North as your partner, West on your left and East on your right. If West made trump, you lead through the maker every time you have the lead; if East made trump, you lead into the maker and should be more careful.

Trick 1 versus trick 4: count the trump

There are seven trumps in every hand: six cards of the trump suit plus the left bower. Subtract the ones you hold and the ones that have been played, and you know how many are still out. Because only 20 of the 24 cards are dealt, some trumps sit unseen in the kitty, so treat the count as a ceiling rather than a certainty.

• Trick 1: nobody has drawn anything. Makers lead trump; defenders lead Aces. Nothing is safe yet.
• Trick 2 or 3, four or more trumps accounted for:at most three are out among three other players. If you hold the top trump, one more round finishes them. If not, it is time for your Aces before someone ruffs them.
• Trick 4, six trumps accounted for: a single trump may be out. If you hold a trump, lead it to pull the last one and guarantee your fifth-trick winner. If you do not, lead your highest off-suit card and hope.

Worked examples