Euchre is a fun social trick-taking card game where subtle calculation and a little luck can determine the winner. Euchre is played by four people in two partnerships sitting directly across from each other. The objective of the game is to be the first partnership to score 10 points.

Always call/order if you have 3 trump, no matter what they are (unless it's a bower or ace to the opposing team). If the other team does not order up a bower or ace, call the complementary suit (same color) as trump if you have two trump or 1 trump and a few high cards. Don't order a bower to your partner. You're stealing their loner.

The Euchre Deck

Euchre uses a deck of 24 playing cards consisting of Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, and 9 in all four suits.

Players

Four players playing in a fixed partnership.

Objective

The goal is to win at least three tricks per hand. If the side that fixed the trump fails to get three tricks, it is said to be “euchred.” Be the first partnership to score 10 points wins the match.

The idea of calling next has been around for as long as the game of euchre itself. Even the earliest books on euchre talk about it, this article will help you understand the how and whys of the next call strategy. Click Here to learn more about next The 'No Trump' Next Call. Euchre Playing Strategy - EuchreUniverse.blogspot.com Euchre Columns - Natty Bumppo Euchre Point Systems - (for determining whether or not to declare trump order up by totaling the point value of each card in your hand).

Trump Suit and Card Rank

The highest trump is the jack of the trump suit, called the “right bower.” The second-highest trump is the jack of the other suit of the same color called the “left bower.” For example (see table), if spades are trump, the right bower is Jack of spades and left bower is Jack of clubs. The remaining trumps, and also the plain suits, rank as follows: Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9.

The Euchre Table and Setup

Partners sit directly across from each other. In the diagram, North and South are playing against East and West. Euchre players traditionally keep score by using some of the remaining cards from the deck, typically the 6’s and 4’s. Each pip represents a point, and one card is used to cover the other so as to expose the number of pips corresponding to the team’s score. The scorecards are placed at the corners of the table, and one partner is assigned to keep track of the score.

Picking a Dealer

Players may randomly select a person to be the first dealer. In subsequent hands, the deal is rotated clockwise. After shuffling the cards, the dealer must offer the player to the right an opportunity to cut the deck. If the dealer fails to offer a cut to the player, the opposing team may call a misdeal as long as the cards are still being dealt or no play on the hand has been made.

The Deal

After a dealer has been selected, five cards will be dealt face-down to each player. The dealer will deal clockwise until all the players received their five cards. Traditionally, the cards are dealt in pairs of twos and threes. For example:

The four remaining cards will be placed face-down in front the dealer, this is referred to as the “kitty,” and the top card is turned face up. The card turned face-up is called the upcard.

First Round of Bidding and Making Trump

Play starts to the person sitting to the left of the dealer, and the upcard determines the trump suit for the first round of bidding. Each player will either “pass” or accept the trump suit by telling the dealer to pick up the card. The dealer can turn the card face down signifying that the dealer has passed, or the dealer can pick up the card by accepting the trump suit. If the dealer picks up the card, he will then discard one card from his hand.

If all four players pass, the second Round of Bidding will begin.

Second Round of Bidding

Each player, in turn, can name trump or pass. The suit named to be trump must be different than the suit of the upcard. As soon as a trump is named, the play will begin with the person sitting to the dealers left.

If all four players pass in the second round of bidding, then it is a misdeal, and the deal is passed clockwise. In some games, players enforce “screw the dealer” or “stick the dealer”, where the dealer cannot pass and must name a trump suit.

Going Alone

The player who chooses the trump suit by either accepting the upcard or declaring the suit in the second round of bidding may call “Going Alone” in order to score more points. This means that their partner sits out of the hand and play continues with only three players.

The Play

Once trump is made, the player to the dealer’s left begins play by leading a card. Any card may be led, and each player in clockwise order must follow suit. If a player cannot follow suit, then that player may play any card from their hand. The trick is won by the highest card in the suit led, or by the highest trump played. Please be aware, the left bower is considered a member of the trump suit and not a member of its native suit.

The player that wins the trick collects the played cards from the table and then leads the next trick. After all five tricks have been played, the hand is scored. The deal moves clockwise around the table.

Scoring in Euchre

The team that makes trump must take three tricks to earn a point. Failure to take at least three tricks is known as getting “euchred”, which earns two points for the defenders. The first partnership to score 10 points wins the game.

Keeping Score in Euchre

Euchre players traditionally keep score by using some of the remaining cards from the deck, typically the 6′s and 4′s. Each pip represents a point, and one card is used to cover the other so as to expose the number of pips corresponding to the team’s score. The scorecards are placed at the corners of the table, and one partner is assigned to keep track of the score.

Another popular method is to use the 2’s and 3’s to keep score. Scores zero through 5 are rather self-explanatory. Point tallies for five or greater will be placed in the form of a “V” to represent the Roman numeral five. In any case, it doesn’t really matter how the scores are kept, as long as they are visible for everyone to see.

Variants

Stick the Dealer or Screw the Dealer

Stick the Dealer is a popular variation for euchre players. If all players pass during the second round of bidding, the dealer must name a suit trump. In some variations, the dealer may have the option to bid no-trump.
This variation is intended to speed up the game and encourage players to name call trump during the bidding process.

No-Trump

In this rule variation, a player, during the second round of bidding, may call No-trump. It is an option in which no suit is made trump, and the cards are ranked Ace high to nine. The player with the highest ranking card of the suit led wins the trick. In some variations, this option is only available for the dealer if the table agreed to invoke stick the dealer.

Farmer’s Hand

If a player is dealt a hand which contains three nines or three tens, that play may call out “Farmer’s Hand.” That player is then allowed to show the three cards in question and exchange them for the three unexposed cards in the kitty. If more than one player calls out Farmer’s Hand then the hand is declared a misdeal.

The purpose of this variation is to ensure a fair deal. Many euchre enthusiasts do not endorse this variation, because it takes away from the game. This variation is used as a major deterrent for stacking of the deck and other card cheats.

Ace-No-Face

If a player is dealt a hand which contains an Ace and no face cards, that player has the option to call a misdeal. The deal is then passed clockwise.

The purpose of this variation is to ensure a fair deal. Many euchre enthusiasts do not endorse this variation, because it takes away from the game. This variation is used as a major deterrent for stacking of the deck and other card cheats.

The definitive guide
to American Euchre
rules, tactics and variants

Euchre is popular across a wide area of Canada (from Nova Scotia to the Midwest) and in the USA (especially in the North-East and Midwest), and also in the United States Navy. It is played in parts of Britain (especially Devon, Cornwall, Kent and the Channel Islands), New Zealand, Australia, and maybe other places (please let us know).

The main description below is based on the version of the game played in Cornwall, England. Some variations played there and in other places are described afterwards.

British Euchre

Players and Object

Euchre is a plain-trick game for four players in fixed partnerships, partners sitting opposite.

Just 5 cards are dealt to each player and the object is to win at least three of the five tricks - with an extra bonus for winning all five.

Rank of Cards

A pack of 25 cards is used consisting of A K Q J 10 9 in each of the four suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades, plus a joker. If your pack of cards has no joker, the two of spades can be used as a substitute.

The trump suit has 8 cards ranking from highest to lowest as follows:

Benny, or Best Bower (the joker or two of spades)
Right Bower (the jack of the trump suit)
Left Bower (the other jack of the same colour as the trump suit)
Ace
King
Queen
Ten
Nine

The other suits have 6 or 5 cards ranking as normal: AKQ (J) 109.

Note that Benny and Left count for all purposes as belonging to the trump suit. For example if hearts are trumps, the jack of diamonds is a heart not a diamond. It can be played to a heart lead and if it is led, hearts must be followed.

The word Bower comes from the German Bauer, which means farmer or peasant and is also a word for Jack.

The Deal

The first dealer is selected at random. The turn to deal then rotates clockwise throughout the game. The dealer shuffles and the player to dealer's left may either cut or 'bump' - that is, knock the cards to indicate that they should be dealt as they are, without cutting.

Five cards are dealt to each player in two rounds. The dealer deals clockwise, giving each player a packet of two or three cards in any order - any player who was dealt two in the first round gets three in the second and vice versa.

The dealer then turns the next card in the pack face up. This up-card is used as a basis for selecting the trump suit. The remaining four cards are left face-down and are not used.

Making trump

This process determines the trump suit and which team are the makers - that is the team which undertakes to win three tricks. First each player in turn, beginning with the player to the dealer's left, has the option of accepting up-card's suit as the trump suit or passing. Specifically:

• The player to dealer's left may either pass or say 'I order it up'
• If the first player passes, the dealer's partner may either pass or say 'I turn it down'
• If the first two players pass, the player to dealer's right may either pass or say 'I order it up'
• If all three other players pass, the dealer may either take up the up-card, saying 'I take it up', or pass by saying 'over' and turning the up-card face-down.

If either of the dealer's opponents order it up or if dealer decides to take it up, the suit of the up-card becomes trump; the dealer adds the up-card to her hand and discards a card face-down. Note that (at least in this version of Euchre), the dealer's partner cannot make trumps and play with a partner. The dealer's partner can only make the turned up suit trumps by playing alone. In Britain this is done by saying 'I turn it down', in which case the dealer's cards are placed face-down on the table and dealer's partner plays alone, with the turned suit as trump.

If all four players pass, the up-card is turned face-down, and there is a second round in which players have the option to make any suit trump, other than the suit of the up-card. Again the player to dealer's left speaks first and may either pass again or name a suit. If the first player passes the second may name a suit or pass, and so on. If all four players pass a second time the cards are thrown in and the next player deals.

Note that the trump making process ends as soon as someone accepts or makes trump (rather than passing). That player's side are the makers and the other side are the defenders.

If the Benny is turned up then the dealer's team are automatically the makers - no one else gets an opportunity. The dealer must choose a trump suit without looking at her cards. She then picks up her five cards and the Benny and discards one.

Going Alone

After trump has been made, but before the first lead, any player may announce that they are playing alone. The partner of a lone player puts her cards face-down and takes no part in the play.

Either a member of the makers side or a defender may play alone. It is even possible that a maker and a defender choose to play alone, in which case there will be only two active players.

The Play

If all four players are in the game, the play begins with the player to the dealer's left leading to the first trick. If one player is playing alone, the person to that player's left leads first. If two players are playing alone, the defender leads.

Any card may be led, and each player in clockwise order must follow suit by playing a card of the same suit as the card led if possible. A player who cannot follow suit may play any card.

Remember that, for purposes of following suit, Benny and the Left Bower are considered to belong to the trump suit and not to any other suit.

The trick is won by whoever played the highest card of the suit led, unless a trump was played in which case the highest trump wins. The winner of each trick leads to the next one.

Scoring

If all four players are playing then the scores are as follows:

• If the makers win 3 or 4 tricks they score one point.
• If the makers win all 5 tricks they score two points.
• If the makers take fewer than three tricks they are said to be euchred, and the defenders score two points.

If a member of the makers' team is playing alone and wins all 5 tricks, the team scores 4 points instead of 2 - otherwise the scores are as above.

If a member of the defenders' team is playing alone and succeeds in winning at least 3 tricks, thereby euchring the makers, the defenders score 4 points instead of 2 - otherwise the scores are as above.

The game is normally played to 11 points - that is, the team who first reach 11 or more points over several deals win the game. It is usual for each team to keep score using a spare 5 and 6 from the pack (as these cards are not used in the game). The cards are arranged on the table so that the number of pips showing shows the team's current score. Sometimes people play to 15 points (using a 7 and an 8 to keep score) or to 10 points.

Variant

Some play that a player who has passed in the round in which trumps were made is not allowed to play alone. This prevents a player from 'trapping' an opponent by passing with a good hand and then playing alone against them to score 4 points for a euchre.

Six Player Euchre

In Cornwall, England, this is played between two teams of three, sitting alternately. Either adds the sevens and eights to the pack, making 33 cards (the 8 and 7 are then the lowest cards of each suit, below the 9), or play with a double 25 card pack - 50 cards in all.

When playing with a double pack, if two equally high cards are played to a trick, the second to be played beats the first. If the two Bennies are red and black, the one which is the same colour as the trump suit beats the other one. If they both look the same, then the second one played beats the other, as with other cards.

If a player wants to play alone, both of the player's partners discard their hands face down, but the lone player can ask one of them for a card. The partner asked gives a card of his choice to the lone player, without consultation and without showing it to the others, and the lone player discards a card face-down in return.

The score for winning all the tricks or euchring the makers is 3 points instead of 2. If the winner is playing alone the score is 6 points instead of 4.

North American Euchre

In Canada and the USA, Euchre is played without a joker, so that there are just 24 cards in the deck, and the right bower is the highest trump. The target score is 10 points (not 11). The score is indicated by using two low cards overlapped - some use a six and a four, some use two fives, and some use a two and a three like this:

Euchre Strategy Hoyle

In the USA any player, including the dealer's partner, is allowed to order up the up-card and play with a partner. In other places - Australia, England and Canada - if the dealer's partner orders the card up, he/she must play alone; therefore the dealer's cards are laid face-down and the dealer does not play the hand.

Some people do not allow a defender to play alone - only the maker is allowed to play alone. Some only allow a defender to play alone against a lone maker.

In Canada it is not usual for the cards to be cut before dealing, and in many groups the cards are dealt one at a time, rather than in twos and threes..

A common method of choosing the first dealer is to deal the cards around until a black jack appears.

Stick the Dealer (also known as 'Screw the dealer'). In this variation the dealer cannot pass a second time when naming the trump suit. On the second round, if the first three players pass, the dealer must name a suit. This variation is often played when playing time is constrained.

The Super-Euchre A 'Super-Euchre' occurs when the making team takes zero tricks. Some play that the defending team then scores 4 points.

Railroading. This is a variation in which, if your partner is going to play alone, you may pass your partner a card (your best card) face down. Before looking at this card partner must choose whether to discard a card from hand and take the card offered in exchange, or to discard the offered card.

Some people play that if the first three players pass, the dealer is only allowed to take up the turned trump if already holding at least one trump in hand. For this purpose, the left bower is not counted as a trump.

Variations

Buck Euchre (Cut-Throat Euchre)

This game for three or four players, playing as individuals, is described on a separate page.

32 card Euchre

In some places the 8s and 7s are included in the pack as the lowest cards in each suit, making a pack of 32 or 33 cards. This makes it more uncertain whether the high cards are in play. I am told that 32 card Euchre is the usual version in New Zealand. Also there are a few people in the USA who still play this way.

Six Hand Almonte Euchre

Mike Lunney contributed the following variation, which is played in Almonte, in eastern Ontario, Canada.

Rules are the same as six player Euchre above, but with the following variations:

There are 6 players (3 per team) using a 30 card deck consisting of 8-9-10-Q-K-A-J in each suit, plus three jokers, represented by the 2,3,and 4 of spades (4 is the highest trump, followed by 3, 2, right bower, left bower, A, K, Q, 10, 9).

The dealer distributes 5 cards to each of the 6 players and then turns over the last one (i.e. no hidden cards). If the card turned up is a joker, then dealer calls the trump before looking in his or her hand.

Scoring is the same as for British six player Euchre described above, but play is up to fifteen. Or in euchre leagues, players play twice around the table (i.e. 12 hands) before moving to another table.

There is a version in which, if a joker is turned up, the dealer cannot turn it over at the end of the first round of bidding, but must take it into his or her hand and become the maker, assuming the other 5 players have passed on the called trump.

A four-hand variation is played with 21 cards: the Q-K-A-J of clubs and diamonds, the 10-Q-K-A-J of hearts and spades, plus the 3 jokers; scoring is the same as in six-hand.

Bid Euchre

There are many varieties of this. See the Bid Euchre page.

Terminology and Sayings

From England

have an eye

have a score of at least one

whitewashed

beaten without score (i.e. 11-0)

dockyard play or playing policeman

opponents of dealer who do not order up with good cards, in the hope of euchring the dealer's team

From North America

Bill Le May contributed the following sayings:

Don't send a boy to the mill

said when you trump a suit trick with something like a 9 or 10 and the other opponent takes it with something higher.

Crossing the creek

when the top card is turned down and someone makes trump of the opposite color.

Dutchman's Point

is the point you win when you're holding both bowers and the ace of trump. (In the USA, where the joker is not used, these are the highest three trumps).

Bushing or Waiting in the bushes

is passing when you hold enough cards to make trump, hoping instead to euchre the opponent who picks up.

Having a dog from every county

means your five cards comprise all four suits, usually low cards.

Some sayings from Indiana, USA, contributed by Chris Carter and Chris Patterson:

to be set

to be euchred

Sweep or March

winning all the tricks

In the barn

one point away from victory (usu. 9 points)

To get cut

to lead an ace that gets trumped by the first opponent

Loner

a hand suitable for playing alone

Lay-down loner

a loner consisting of unbeatable cards (for example, if you have the first lead: right, left, trump ace, another trump, any off ace). [Of course this is not laydown if the lone player does not have the first lead. In some places, a variation is played in which if you play a loner you never get the lead. If the player to your right leads first you would need five trumps including the top three for a lay-down loner. If the player to the left of the loner leads, then five trumps including two bowers is enough.]

Walk

a low card is led and takes the trick (usually expressed in amazement or disgust: 'The ^#$@&^*(@! queen walked!'

Next

After the up-card is turned down, the player to the dealer's left may call 'next' to indicate that the same-color suit as the turned-down card is to be named the trump suit.

Historical Note

Euchre was probably derived from the game Jucker which was formerly played in Alsace. Euchre reached the USA in the early nineteenth century and was the original game for which the Joker was introduced into the playing-card pack in the 1850s (to serve as the highest trump). It has already been mentioned that Euchre is popular in the US Navy, and it may be through this maritime connection that it travelled in the later nineteenth century from America to other English speaking parts of the world. Certainly in Britain it is mainly found in regions where there has been a strong Naval influence.

Other Euchre Web Sites

• Archive copy of Matt Schemmel and Erin O'Neil's Semi-Official Euchre Home Page with rules, advice and printable tournament scorecards.
• Harvey Lapp's Euchrelinks.com site has rules of the American game, tips for improving you play, advice on protecting yourself from players who cheat, and a shop for Euchre equipment.
• John Hay's Euchre page
• Alan Gilfoy's Euchre page
• Rules of Euchre are available on the Card Game Heaven site.
• Ralph Sprovier's Euchre Info website has a collection of recommended documents and links on Euchre strategy and terminology.
• The Euchre page of the White Knuckle Playing Cards site, which describes the Australian game with 32 cards.
• Archive copy of Dave Barker's former Euchre page
• Brad Wilson's Card Games pages include several Euchre and Bid Euchre variants.
• Achive copies of Bram Kivenko's pages on Euchre probabilities, strategies and a glossary.
• On the island of Guernsey, in the English Channel, Euchre (played with 33 cards including a joker) is the national game. This archive copy of the Guernsey United Euchre League site has details of league rules, matches and results.
• Perry's Euchre Universe Blog discusses Euchre strategy and other Euchre-related topics.
• The EuchreFun blog features printable rotations and score sheets for tournaments, information on Euchre events in the in the Metro Detroit Area (USA) and other Euchre related posts.
• Natty Bumppo has invented a Euchre Solitaire game.
• Joe Chellman has published a page on Euchre for Two Players.

Euchre tournaments, books and equipment

Natty Bumppo's Columbus Book of Euchre gives not only rules but also plenty of discussion of tactics, local traditions and sayings from Columbus, Indiana, USA. On the web site you can see extracts from the book, and an appendix containing additional material. There are also Reviews of other books on Euchre. You can order The Columbus Book of Euchre from amazon.com.

The book The Complete Win at Euchre by Joe Andrews is available from amazon.com.

Ohio Euchre provides a collection of Euchre resources, including information about Euchre tournaments in Ohio, USA.

At the Euchre Pad site you can print score cards for Euchre tournaments of various sizes played either as teams (keep partner and play each game against a different team) or progressive (change partner for each game). The service is free but donations are welcome.

The CardsTourney website by Duke Euker provides a tournament scheduling service: you enter the names of up to 40 players a printable score card for each player showing partner and opponenmts for each round.

Josh Falter's Euchre Tournament is a free, open source program that can be used to help organise a Euchre tournament. It keeps score, calculates player ranking and can be used to print scorecards for each player that tell who their partner is, what table they play at, and who their opponents are each round. It currently supports tournaments of 4, 8, 12 or 16 players.

The Semi-Official Euchre Tournament Page (archive copy) had seating arrangements and scorecards for Euchre tournaments for various numbers of players.

Euchre-Playing Software and Online Servers

Euchre Baron from Great Game Products is available for Windows or iPhone, with strong computer players and configurable American / Canadian rules.

A shareware Windows program for playing both two-handed Euchre and Écarté against your computer or an online opponent can be downloaded from MeggieSoft Games. A free trial version is available.

With Malcolm Bain's shareware program Simply Euchre for Windows, you can play against computer opponents. A free trial version is available.

The collection HOYLE Card Games for Windows or Mac OS X includes a Euchre program.

EuchreHub is a free online Euchre game against computer opponents, offering a wide choice of alternative rule sets.

Euchre Strategy What To Lead

Here is Terry Burlison's page about his Ultimate Euchre program.

Hardwood Euchre from Silver Creek Entertainment is available on iOS (iphone, ipod, ipad) Android, Kindle, Windows and Mac.

Euchre Strategy Advanced

Here is Todd Jeffreys' free Euchre for Windows.

Special K Software has developed software to play the card game of Euchre. This software is available at www.specialksoftware.com.

Games4All has published a free Euchre app for the Android platform.

Mike's Cards includes a Euchre program for Macintosh and Windows computers.

Some more sites where you can play Euchre on-line against live opponents:

Euchre Strategy When To Call

• Mystic Island organises tournaments, leagues and ladders
• Robert Schultz's World of Card Games offers an online Euchre game.
• Gaming Safari
• PlayOK (formerly known as Kurnik)
• Pogo
• AOL games (formerly games.com / Masque publishing)
• Nidink
• Trickster Cards
• Mana Battery publishes online games for the Microsoft Xbox 360, Windows Phone, IOS and Android.
• Tams11 lobby
• Case's Ladder organises online leagues and operates a tournament ranking system.