Risk Assessment

One of the things we did while we were visiting with family last week was attempt to teach a few members of the next generation how to play Euchre, which is a four-person card game that is pretty much limited to the Midwest. I think I was something like 13 when I learned to play; it's a pretty quick game.

My brother's girls (age 15 and 14) wanted to learn, so we paired them with adults and began a learn-as-we-go game. Somehow, the Actor got involved, with me as his coach, despite the fact that he really didn't want to learn.

Euchre's a pretty simple trick-counting game; there's no bidding of numbers, just proclaiming trump, with the team that picks the trump suit for that hand obligated to take 3 of the 5 tricks for that hand. Failure to take those tricks results in 'getting Euchred' and the opposing team scoring two points.

In the course of the game, The Actor and his cousin had been Euchred once, but managed to scramble back into the lead. The score was 9 to 7 (10 points wins), and the offered suit had been declined by the his partner and the dealer's partner. The Actor had a passable hand, but I wasn't sure he could take 3 tricks in the offered suit...he was better in the other suit of that color.

'I don't want to risk it,' he said.

I agreed that it would be risky to order up the offered card (the dealer always picks up the card offered, and the dealer was on the other team). If the other team Euchred them again, it would be a tie, with the next team to score winning.

He repeated, 'I don't want to risk it,'...and ordered up the card, which made the offered suit trump.

As it happened, he hit his partner's hand well and they took all five tricks to earn two points...one over what they needed to win.

But it struck me how odd it was that we had two different ideas of what it meant to 'risk' something undesirable.

My idea of 'risking it' was to order the card up...to risk losing, going down in defeat, getting Euchred. My instinct was to play it safe and wait for the better opportunity...which might not come.

His idea of 'risking it' was to be passive and hope he got a chance to call the suit that was actually better in his hand. But he didn't want to be cut out of the action; he wanted to make things that he did count. He didn't want to risk being made ineffective.

Y'know, maybe the kid's gonna turn out ok eventually after all... ;)