Mule Report

Tuesday we received the call that Mr. Andy Miller finally was able to get a little Euchre retaliation. Andy called our office, just proud as he could be to let us know his big news!

Andy went on to tell us that the Miller family always have a ‘Monday Night Euchre Marathon’ and wanted to share with us that Billy Hovis and Maddy Miller was given the gift of that dreaded ‘STINKY MULE’ from Andy and his partner Shelly Wineinger on Monday night, August 12, 2024 at the Miller residence.

Miss Maddy and Billy boy, I am attaching a few good practicing tips for you read up on the game of Euchre below. Read up carefully, because it seems that Andy thought maybe you should use a few tips.

Billy, we were told you were an electrician by trade, so maybe you could help the neighbors out and run a little cool air and ventilation to your barn, so that your Mule doesn’t stink quite so badly! Just a thought...

Keep practicing, and Maddi well we hope you also read these tips, and possibly consider a new partner? These tips really seem to help some.

Tips to improve the game of Euchre:

1. Bidding: When playing Euchre, there are potentially 2 rounds of bidding. You have to assess your cards carefully and decide what to do. The first option is to tell the dealer to “pick up” the face-up card, meaning you choose the suit as trump. Remember, the dealer will get that card and add it to his hand. If your partner is the dealer that round, your team will have one more trump card. The second option is to pass.

If there is a second round of bidding, you can name whatever suit you want as trump. When you have 3 high-value cards of the same suit and one Ace from another, it is safe to say that this is a good hand. You can go ahead and call trump.

2. Don’t be afraid to make trump: Your team needs to win at least 3 tricks to score points. So if you got 3 cards in which you are confident, call trump. Even if something happens not according to plan, you still have your partner to rely on.

3. Be careful with the Left Bower: Left Bower is the ‘Jack of the same color as the trump suit’. For example, if hearts are trumps, the Jack of diamonds will be the Left Bower. When you make the trump, always look for it. This is the second card in the rankings. Only the Right Bower has a higher rank. If someone leads with the Left Bower, players have to answer with a card of the trump suit. Don’t forget it when thinking of your strategy for the game.

4. Try to count the cards: The traditional Euchre deck consists of only 24 cards. When playing the game, the cards in use are 20. So it isn’t that hard to pay attention and know which are played and which are not. This can be very helpful with the trump suit, especially when you and your partner are the Makers. There is a chance that not all trumps are in the game.

5. Lead with higher-ranked card: If possible, try to lead with your Aces or other cards that can win the trick. There are only 5 tricks at stake, so you want to capture as much as possible in the early stages of the round. When your partner is the Maker and you don’t have Aces, lead with a trump. Thus 4 trumps will be out of the way early, and there will be less pressure for the later tricks.

6. Go alone when it makes sense: Going alone is not an easy decision. Knowing when to play without a partner is definitely an advanced Euchre strategy. It’s a high-risk, high-reward situation. Sometimes going alone can be logical when trying to score more points and catch up to your opponents.

Keep practicing and reporting those mules! You can call our office at 573-438-5141 or you can email us at: theijnews@gmail.com to report any given Mules from our locals.