How to Deal in Euchre
To deal in Euchre, shuffle the 24-card deck (9 to Ace), have the player on your right cut, and give five cards to each player starting on your left, in two rounds of packets: 2 then 3, or 3 then 2, keeping the same pattern for everyone. Four cards are left; set them face down as the kitty and turn the top one face up. That card proposes the trump suit for the first round of bidding. After the hand, the deal passes to the player on your left.
Play Euchre NowThe Euchre deal at a glance
| Deck | 24 cards: 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace of each suit |
| Shuffle and cut | Dealer shuffles; the player on the dealer's right cuts |
| Cards each | 5, dealt in two rounds of 2 then 3, or 3 then 2 |
| Direction | Start on the dealer's left, go clockwise |
| Kitty | 4 cards left over; the top one is turned face up |
| Next deal | Passes to the player on the dealer's left |
This is the standard four-handed deal. Three- and two-player games deal the same five cards each and leave a bigger kitty.
Choosing the first dealer
Euchre has no governing body, so there is no single rule, but two methods cover almost every table:
- Cut for it. Each player cuts or draws a card; at most tables the high card deals (some play low). Partners are usually fixed beforehand, but some groups let the two highest cards pair up.
- First black Jack. One player deals cards face up around the table; whoever receives the first black Jack is the dealer. The cards are gathered up and shuffled before the real deal.
Once a game is under way the question never comes up again: the deal goes clockwise, one seat to the left after every hand, whoever made trump and whoever scored.
The deal, step by step
- Strip the deck. Remove everything below the 9 from a standard pack (and the jokers). You are left with 24 cards: 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace in each suit.
- Shuffle and offer the cut. The dealer shuffles and the player on the dealer's right cuts. The cut is a courtesy at most tables rather than an enforced rule.
- Deal in packets. Starting with the player on your left and going clockwise, give each player 2 cards, then go round again giving each 3; or 3 first and then 2. The choice is yours, but keep it the same for all four players within each round, so nobody can be handed a stacked packet. Dealing singly is common at kitchen tables; some groups treat it as a misdeal, so ask.
- Make the kitty. Four cards remain. Place them face down in front of you and turn the top one face up. That is the up-card (turn-up), and its suit is the proposed trump for the first round of bidding, which starts with the player on your left.
The three face-down cards under the up-card are out of play. They are only ever touched under the farmer's hand house rule, which CardCouch does not use.
What happens to the up-card
If anyone orders up in round one, the dealer takes the up-card into hand and discards one card face down onto the kitty, so the dealer still holds five. If all four players pass, the dealer turns the card face down and round two begins: any suit except the turned-down one may be named. Under stick the dealer the dealer must name a suit if the other three pass again; without it the hand is thrown in and the deal moves on.
Misdeals
A misdeal is a deal that went wrong mechanically: a player ends up with the wrong number of cards, a card is exposed during the deal, the pack turns out to be short or to contain a stray card, or the wrong player dealt. The usual remedy is simple: gather the cards and the same dealer deals again. Some tables pass the deal to the next player instead, treating the misdeal as a lost turn. Either way nothing is scored.
Two things that are not misdeals, though you will hear them called that: a hand with an Ace and no face cards (“ace no face”), and a hand of three or more 9s and 10s. Letting those be redealt or exchanged is a house kindness, covered on the going under page. Standard play, and CardCouch, keep the hand you were dealt.
Dealing with two, three, five or six
Still five cards each in the two- and three-player games; only the kitty grows (13 cards unused with two, nine with three). Five- and six-player tables use larger or double decks and deal more cards. What each version needs is on how many players Euchre needs. Bid euchre deals the entire deck with no kitty at all.
How CardCouch deals
The online game deals for you from a freshly shuffled 24-card deck. The cards go out one at a time around the table until each of the four players holds five; the twenty-first card is turned up and the last three stay face down and are never used. Packets make no difference to a random shuffle, so the result is the same hand you would get at a table. You deal the first hand of every game, and the deal rotates clockwise through West, North and East. Bidding starts on the dealer's left, the dealer picks up the up-card when it is ordered and you choose your own discard when you are the dealer (it is made for you only when your partner goes alone, because your hand is out of play). Your hand is sorted automatically, and a misdeal cannot happen.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards do you deal in Euchre?
Five to each of the four players, 20 in all, from a 24-card deck of 9s through Aces. The four cards left over are the kitty: the top one is turned face up to propose a trump suit, and the three under it stay face down and are not used in standard play.
Do you deal 2 and 3 or 3 and 2 in Euchre?
Either. The traditional deal is two rounds of packets: the dealer gives each player 2 cards then 3, or 3 then 2, and must keep the same pattern for everyone within a round. Which one to start with is the dealer's choice. Dealing one card at a time is common at informal tables, though some groups call it a misdeal.
Who deals first in Euchre?
There is no single rule. The two common methods are cutting the deck, with the high card dealing at most tables, and dealing cards face up around the table until the first black Jack appears, which makes that player the dealer. After the first hand the deal always passes to the left.
What is a misdeal in Euchre?
A hand where someone has the wrong number of cards, a card was exposed during the deal, the pack turns out to be short, or the wrong player dealt. Most tables simply redeal with the same dealer; some pass the deal to the next player. Calling a misdeal on a weak hand (an Ace with no face cards, or a hand of 9s and 10s) is a separate house rule, not a true misdeal.
How does CardCouch deal?
Automatically, from a freshly shuffled 24-card deck, one card at a time around the table until each player holds five. The next card is turned up and the last three stay face down and unused. You are the first dealer of each game and the deal rotates clockwise through West, North and East. A misdeal cannot happen, and your hand is sorted for you.