Euchre
Objective
Be the first team to reach 10 points. Points are scored by winning tricks after your team calls trump.
The Basics
Euchre is a partnership trick-taking game for exactly 4 players in 2 fixed teams (partners sit across from each other). It uses a 24-card deck — the 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of each of the four suits. Suits, tricks, and the bidding mechanic called "ordering up" define each hand.
The Deck and Card Ranking
Trump suit ranking (highest to lowest): Right Bower (Jack of trump), Left Bower (Jack of the same color as trump), Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9. Note: the Left Bower technically belongs to the trump suit for all purposes — it can be led and followed as trump even though it's a different suit's Jack.
Non-trump suit ranking: Ace, King, Queen, Jack (if not the Left Bower), 10, 9.
Setup and Deal
One player deals. Shuffle and deal 5 cards to each player in two rounds (typically 3 then 2, or 2 then 3 — the dealer must be consistent). Place the remaining 4 cards face-down with the top card turned face-up. That card's suit is the proposed trump for Round 1 bidding.
Bidding — Round 1
Starting with the player left of the dealer and going clockwise, each player either:
- Accepts the proposed trump ("I order it up" / "Pick it up" / similar) — the dealer then takes the face-up card into their hand and discards one card face-down.
- Passes ("I pass").
If a player accepts, bidding ends and the hand is played. The team that accepts trump is called the Makers; the other team is the Defenders.
Dealer's option: If all three other players pass, the dealer may "pick it up" (accept the proposed trump) or "turn it down" by sliding the face-up card face-down under the deck.
Bidding — Round 2
If all four players pass in Round 1, the face-up card is turned down and its suit cannot be called as trump. A second round of bidding begins from the player left of the dealer. Each player may now name any of the three remaining suits as trump, or pass. The dealer must name a suit if everyone else passes — this is called being "stuck."
Going Alone
At any point when a player calls trump, they may declare they are "going alone." Their partner sits out and the player plays 1v2 against both opponents. Scoring is different (see below).
Playing Tricks
The player left of the dealer leads the first trick (or the Maker's partner in a non-alone hand). Players must follow the suit led if possible. If they cannot, they may play any card, including trump.
- Winning a trick: The highest trump card wins; if no trump was played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
- The winner of each trick leads the next.
- 5 tricks are played per hand.
Scoring
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Makers win 3 or 4 tricks | 1 point for Makers |
| Makers win all 5 tricks (March) | 2 points for Makers |
| Makers win 0–2 tricks (Euchred) | 2 points for Defenders |
| Lone hand wins 3 or 4 tricks | 1 point |
| Lone hand wins all 5 tricks | 4 points |
First team to 10 points wins.
Key Rules
- The Left Bower belongs to the trump suit for all purposes — it follows trump leads, not its printed suit.
- The dealer always has the option to pick up in Round 1, even if all others pass.
- If you are euchred (fail to win 3 tricks after calling trump), the opponents score — not you.
- A renege (failing to follow suit when able) is a serious penalty: the innocent side scores 2 points.
At the Table
Don't order up (call trump) without holding at least the Right Bower or 2–3 strong trump cards. If your partner calls trump, lead your best trump immediately to help them. Lone hand bids are high-risk: only attempt if your hand can win 5 tricks without partner's help.