Euchre

Players and equipment

Four players in two partnerships, partners sitting across from each other, and a 24-card deck: the nine, ten, jack, queen, king and ace of each suit. Aces are high, except that the trump suit is warped by the bowers. The jack of trumps, called the right bower, is the highest trump, and the other jack of the same colour, the left bower, is the second highest and counts as a trump rather than as a card of its printed suit.

The deal

Five cards each, dealt in twos and threes, going clockwise. The four cards left over are laid face down and the top one is turned face up. That is the up-card, and its suit is the proposed trump for the hand. The deal passes to the left after every hand.

Play

Making trumps comes first. In the first round each player in turn, starting to the dealer's left, either accepts the up-card's suit as trumps or passes. An opponent of the dealer who accepts says order it up; the dealer's partner says assist; the dealer says pick it up. Either way the dealer takes the up-card into hand and discards one card face down, and the hand is played with that suit as trumps. If all four pass, the dealer turns the card face down and a second round begins: each player in turn may name any other suit as trumps, or pass, and the turned-down suit may not be named. If all four pass again, the cards are thrown in and the deal moves on.

The side that made trumps are the makers, and they must take at least three of the five tricks. Whoever makes trumps may, at that moment, declare that they are going alone: their partner lays their hand face down and takes no part, and the maker plays the hand single-handed against both opponents.

The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick; if that player is sitting out a lone hand, the lead passes to the next player round. Follow suit if you can, remembering that the left bower is a trump and not a card of its printed suit; if you cannot follow, play anything. The highest trump in the trick wins it, or the highest card of the suit led if no trump was played. The winner of a trick leads the next.

Scoring

The makers need three of the five tricks:

Three or four tricks

1

The contract made

All five

2

The march

All five, alone

4

The lone hand's reward

Fewer than three

2 to them

Euchred — the defenders score instead

Only one side scores in a hand. A lone hand that takes three or four tricks scores one point, the same as an ordinary contract; the four is for taking every trick alone.

A worked hand

Hearts are turned up. Alice, to the dealer's left, holds the jack of hearts, the jack of diamonds, the ace of hearts, the ace of spades and the nine of clubs. She orders it up and goes alone. The right bower wins the first trick, the left bower the second and the ace of hearts the third, and by now every trump the defenders held has gone. The ace of spades wins the fourth. On the fifth she leads the nine of clubs and Ben takes it with a queen.

Alice, alone

1

Four tricks of five

Had the nine won

4

All five, alone

Four tricks alone is worth exactly what three tricks with a partner is worth: one point. A game to 10 usually runs eight to twelve hands. A typical one: Alice and Cara order up and take three for 1; Ben and Dev make trumps and march for 2; Alice and Cara make and are euchred, 2 to Ben and Dev, who lead 4 to 1; Alice goes alone and marches for 4, and it is 5 to 4; four quiet hands of one point apiece take it to 7 to 6; Ben and Dev euchre a contract for 2 and lead 8 to 7; Alice and Cara march for 2, 9 to 8; Ben and Dev take three tricks for 1, 9 all; Cara goes alone on the last hand and takes all five for 4, and her side finishes on 13. There is no need to land exactly on ten.

Ending

First side to 10 points wins, and a hand that carries a side past 10 wins the game where it stands. Some tables play to 5, 7 or 15, and many keep the score with two spare cards, covering and uncovering the spots to show the count. Keeping score on SquareScores, set the target when you launch and the app ends the game at the line.

Ordering up

Three of five tricks is the whole job, and two sure trumps with an ace on the side is usually enough. Count what you hold in the turned suit, remembering that the other jack of the same colour is a trump too. Bear in mind who gets the up-card: if you order it up as an opponent of the dealer you are handing the dealer a trump, so you want a stronger hand than the dealer's partner needs to assist with. The dealer picks it up on less, gaining a trump and throwing away a weak card.

The second round

When the up-card has been turned down, the suit of the same colour is the one to name; players call this next. The reasoning is simple: the dealer passed on the turned suit, so the dealer probably does not hold that colour's jacks, and one of those jacks is the top trump of its sister suit. As the dealer's partner the opposite thinking applies, and a suit of the other colour is the safer call.

Going alone

Go alone when you can see four tricks in your own hand: both bowers and the ace of trumps with a side ace, or three top trumps and two aces. It is worth four points against two for a march with a partner, so a lone hand that comes off is the biggest swing in the game, and a lone hand that takes only four tricks still scores a point.

Defending

When the other side has made trumps, your job is two tricks. Lead your side aces early, before the makers can trump them, and keep a trump back to take a trick later. If your partner is winning a trick, do not waste a high card on it. Two tricks euchre the makers for two points, which is as good as a march.

Counting

Only twenty-four cards are in play, and four of them are face down under the up-card, so a suit runs out fast. There are seven trumps once the left bower is counted, and after two rounds of trump most of them have gone.

The joker

In Britain, and at some Canadian tables, a joker is added to make a 25-card pack. The joker, called the Benny, is the highest trump of all, above the right bower. If the Benny is turned up as the up-card, the dealer names trumps and the dealer's side are the makers.

Stick the dealer

If everybody passes in both rounds, the dealer may not throw the hand in but must name a trump suit, whatever they hold. Also called screw the dealer. It does away with thrown-in hands.

Farmer's hand

A player dealt three or more nines and tens may declare a farmer's hand before anybody has spoken and swap three of them for the three face-down cards under the up-card. What qualifies varies from table to table, so settle it first.

Three-handed

Three players, each for themselves; whoever makes trumps plays alone against the other two, who join forces for that hand. The maker scores 1 for three or four tricks and 3 for all five; if euchred, each of the two defenders scores 2. Game is still 10.

Bid Euchre

Instead of turning a card, each player bids the number of tricks they will take and names a trump suit, and the highest bid plays. It is a family rather than a single game, often played six-handed with a double pack, and the scoring varies with the table.

Game to five

The old game, still common in some places: first to 5 wins, with the same points for a contract, a march, a lone march and a euchre. Games are short and a single lone hand can decide one.

What are the bowers in Euchre?

The two top trumps. The right bower is the jack of the trump suit; the left bower is the other jack of the same colour, the jack of diamonds when hearts are trumps or the jack of clubs when spades are. The left bower counts as a trump for every purpose: it follows a trump lead and may not be played as a card of its own suit. Below them the trumps run ace, king, queen, ten, nine.

What happens if everyone passes in Euchre?

The dealer turns the up-card face down and each player, in turn, may name any other suit as trumps. If all four pass again the hand is thrown in and the next player deals. Under the stick-the-dealer rule the dealer must name a suit in that second round rather than pass.

What does going alone mean in Euchre?

The player who made trumps chooses to play the hand without their partner, who lays their cards face down and sits out. Taking all five tricks alone scores 4 rather than the 2 for a march; taking three or four scores the ordinary 1; being euchred gives the other side 2 as usual.

What does euchred mean?

The side that made trumps took fewer than three of the five tricks. The defenders score 2 points for it, as much as a march, and the makers score nothing. Being euchred is the risk in ordering up on a thin hand.

Do you have to follow suit in Euchre?

Yes, if you can. The one trap is the left bower: it is a trump, so it must be played to a trump lead if it is your only trump, and it cannot be played to a lead of its printed suit as if it were an ordinary jack. Only when you have no card of the suit led may you trump or throw off.

Can you play Euchre with three or six players?

Three can play cutthroat, the maker against the other two together. Six play bid euchre with a double pack. Two-handed versions exist, but the game is built for four in partnerships and plays best that way.