| To the uninitiated, the terminology "Playing Alone" implies an individual's (cutthroat) game, or banishment to another table! In Euchre, it is an integral part of the game, and a very strategic move in certain situations. The time to consider "playing alone" occurs during either of these scenarios:
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| In the illustrative hand below, South's team was losing by a score of 7-9 and going alone offered the only hope. The upcard did provide for a good trump suit, and the side Ace of Clubs was another feature. Was there any expectation for the "Sweep" with a losing heart?
”The Pseudo Squeeze”
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UPCARD -  K
The "upcard" is the King of Spades. North/South are in a lot of trouble, on the losing end of a 9-7 score. West, North, and East pass, and South immediately pounces on the upcard. Spades are trump, and the hand should make -- barring a "trump stack." South opts for playing alone, as three tricks are a certainty. The Diamond Ten is discarded to the deck.
West leads the nine of trump (The Jack of Diamonds was much better). East tosses his Club nine. South wins the trump Ace, and leads the Right Bower. It draws West's ten, and nine of Hearts from East. Now, South shifts to the Ace of Clubs. This is a "safety" play, which ensures three tricks for South, barring a massive trump "stack" in the West hand. If instead, South woodenly leads his last trump at trick three, and West DOES hold the Left Bower, and two good Diamonds, the hand will go up in smoke! In actuality, West plays the Club ten, and East tosses the Diamond King. NOW, South leads his last trump at trick # 4. West dumps his useless Diamond, and East squirms.
East is now on the "hot-seat," and must guess which of his two Aces to discard. This is the classic "pseudo-squeeze." (He does not know what card South discarded to the deck.) After much anguish, he selects the Ace of Hearts, and the "Sweep" rolls home with the King of Hearts. The four points is enough to steal the game. There are some sophisticated signaling systems which partners can communicate particular suits to keep or guard toward the end of a hand. The first side suit discard is usually an alert to partner to keep that suit, as the other partner will protect a different suit. East defended poorly, as it was quite obvious that South would not have kept a losing card such as the Diamond Queen. His most likely side card would be the King of Hearts or a good Club -- and there was no stopping the latter combination.
Sometimes games are won by the opponent's errors, and not necessarily by holding massive hands!
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