Euchre Rules

Objective

Euchre is a trick-taking game for four players in two fixed partnerships. One suit becomes trump for the hand; the partnership that names trump (the makers) tries to win at least three of the five tricks. The first partnership to 10 points wins. Ten is the standard game; 5, 7 and 15 are played in places.

Deck, teams, and the deal

• Deck: 24 cards — 9, 10, J, Q, K, A in every suit.
• Teams: 4 players in 2 partnerships; partners sit opposite each other.
• Deal: 5 cards to each player, dealt in packets of 2 and 3.
• Up-card: the next card is turned face-up; its suit is the candidate for trump in the first bidding round. The rest form the undealt "kitty".

The bowers (card ranking)

Trump beats all other suits, and two Jacks are special:

• Right bower — the Jack of the trump suit — is the highest card in the game.
• Left bower — the Jack of the other suit of the same color — becomes a trump and ranks second, just below the right bower.

So if hearts are trump, the trump suit ranks, high to low: J♥ (right), J♦ (left), A♥, K♥, Q♥, 10♥, 9♥. Remember the left bower is no longer a diamond for the rest of the hand. In non-trump suits, cards rank normally A down to 9.

Bidding (naming trump)

Round one — starting to the dealer's left, each player may:

• Accept the up-card — make its suit trump. The dealer adds the card to their hand and discards one face down. The word depends on the seat: an opponent of the dealer orders it up, the dealer's partner assists, and the dealer picks it up. Or
• Pass.

Round two — if all four pass, the up-card is turned down. Now each player, again from the dealer's left, may name any other suit as trump, or pass. (The up-card's suit may not be chosen in this round.) If nobody names a suit, the hand is thrown in and the deal passes to the left, unless the table plays stick the dealer (see the variations below; CardCouch always does).

Going alone

The player who names trump may declare they are going alone. Their partner turns their cards face-down and sits out the hand. Winning all five tricks alone scores 4 points — the biggest swing in the game.

Playing the tricks

1. The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick, unless that player is the maker's partner sitting out a lone hand, in which case the next player to the left leads.
2. You must follow the suit led if you can. Remember the left bower counts as trump, not its printed suit.
3. If you can't follow suit, play any card, including a trump.
4. The highest trump wins the trick; if none is played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
5. The winner leads the next trick. Five tricks are played per hand.

Scoring

• Makers win 3 or 4 tricks → 1 point.
• Makers win all 5 (a march) → 2 points.
• Going alone and winning all 5 → 4 points.
• Going alone and winning 3 or 4 → 1 point.
• Makers euchred (fewer than 3) → opponents score 2 points, alone or not.

First partnership to 10 wins. See the Euchre scoring guide for examples.

Common variations

• Stick the dealer: if the three other players pass twice and the dealer once, the dealer must name trump instead of throwing the hand in (always on at CardCouch).
• Going under / farmer's hand: a player dealt three (at some tables all five) 9s and 10s may exchange them for the three face-down kitty cards under the up-card. Calling a misdeal on an "ace no face" hand is a separate house rule. CardCouch uses neither.
• No trump: some groups allow a no-trump call in round two, with no bowers.
• Defending alone: a defender may also go alone against a loner, and euchring the lone maker then scores 4. Not offered on CardCouch.
• Three-handed, two-handed, bid euchre, buck euchre, the benny: covered in the Euchre variations guide.

Frequently asked questions