Three-Handed Euchre Rules: Cutthroat Euchre for 3 Players

Deal and bidding

If you know the four-player rules, you already know most of this. The cards rank the same way, with the right and left bowers on top of the trump suit.

Deal five cards to each player, in batches of two and three. Nine cards remain. Turn the top one face-up; the other eight stay face-down and take no part in the hand.
Round one: starting at the dealer's left, each player may order up the turned card or pass. If anyone orders it up, including the dealer, that suit is trump, the dealer takes the card and discards one face-down.
Round two: if all three pass, the card is turned down and each player in turn may name a different suit or pass.
If everyone passes again the deal moves on, unless you play stick the dealer, in which case the dealer has to name a suit. Most three-player groups do, because thrown-in hands are common with only three bidders.

The play: one against two

The player who ordered up or named trump is the maker. The other two are defenders and work together until the hand is over. Note that the dealer is not automatically the maker: if another player orders the card up, the dealer still picks it up but plays as a defender, with a trump they did not ask for.

The player to the dealer's left leads. You must follow suit if you can, the highest trump wins the trick, otherwise the highest card of the suit led, and the winner leads next. The maker needs three of the five tricks. The defenders need three between them, and it does not matter which of the two wins them.

Scoring compared with four-handed Euchre

Result	Three-handed	Four-handed
Maker takes 3 or 4 tricks	Maker scores 1	Makers score 1
Maker takes all 5 (march)	Maker scores 3	Makers score 2, or 4 alone
Maker takes fewer than 3 (euchred)	Each defender scores 2	Defending side scores 2
Game	First player to 10	First side to 10

A euchre is doubly expensive here: both opponents gain 2, so the maker falls 2 behind two people at once. The value of a march is the number most likely to differ from table to table, so confirm it before the first deal. For the standard table in full, see Euchre scoring.

How to bid when you have no partner

Count three tricks in your own hand. In the four-player game you can call with two likely tricks and hope your partner brings one. Here nobody is bringing anything. A sound call is usually three trumps including a bower, or two high trumps and an off-suit Ace.
Remember the buried cards. Eight cards are face-down in the kitty. From your seat there are 18 cards you cannot see, and eight of them are out of play, so any particular missing card, the right bower included, is buried a little under half the time. In the four-player game only three cards are buried. Middling trumps win more often than you expect.
The dealer's edge is bigger. The dealer adds the turned card and makes a void with the discard, and no partner is sitting across the table to share the risk. Ordering a bower into the dealer's hand is rarely right: you become the maker and hand an opponent the best card in the deck.
Watch the scores, not just the cards. A euchre pays both defenders. If your temporary partner is on 8 or 9, setting the maker hands them the game, so you may prefer the maker to scrape a point. If a euchre would carry both defenders to 10 together, agree beforehand how to settle it; playing one more hand is the simple answer.

On defense, play as partners do: do not trump a trick your temporary partner is already winning, and do not lead trump, which only helps the maker draw yours. The leading guide and defending a loner both apply, because every cutthroat hand is a defense against a lone player.

Other ways to play with three, or fewer

Buck Euchre is the other popular three-player game: no partners at all, scores count down, and players may drop out of a hand. It is often played with the dirty clubs rule. With two players, see two-handed Euchre; the variations guide covers the rest.

CardCouch does not offer three-handed Euchre. The game here is the standard four-player one: you and a computer partner against two computer opponents, with stick the dealer on, going alone and game to 10. It is good practice for cutthroat all the same, because every hand you play alone there is one player against two, exactly as in the three-handed game.

Frequently asked questions

Can you play Euchre with 3 players?

Yes. Three-handed Euchre, usually called cutthroat, uses the normal 24-card deck and five-card hands. There are no fixed partners: the player who names trump plays alone against the other two, who team up for that hand only. Everyone keeps their own score and the first to 10 wins.

How do you score three-handed Euchre?

The maker scores 1 point for three or four tricks and 3 points for all five. If the maker takes fewer than three tricks, each of the two defenders scores 2 points. The value of a march is the figure most likely to differ between tables, so confirm it before you start.

Why is it called cutthroat Euchre?

Because nobody has a permanent partner. The player who helped you euchre the maker on one hand is trying to euchre you on the next, and every point either of them scores is a point against you.

How many cards are in the kitty in three-handed Euchre?

Nine. Fifteen of the 24 cards are dealt, five to each player, and nine are left over. The top card of those nine is turned face-up to start the bidding; the other eight stay face-down and are out of play.

Can you go alone in three-handed Euchre?

There is nothing to declare: the maker is always alone. That is why a march is worth 3 points rather than the 2 a partnership scores in the four-player game.

No third player tonight?

Play four-player Euchre against the computer, three difficulty levels. Free, no sign-up.

Play Euchre Free

Three-Handed Euchre Rules

Cutthroat Euchre at a glance