How to play Euchre

Objective

Choose a trump suit and win at least three of the hand’s five tricks with your partner. If the partnership that chose trump fails, it is euchred and the defenders score instead. The first partnership to 10 points wins.

This page uses North American four-player Euchre with a 24-card deck and no joker. If all four players pass in both rounds of choosing trump, the hand is abandoned and the next dealer redeals. The popular stick-the-dealer rule is a variant.

Setup

Make a 24-card deck using the 9, 10, jack, queen, king and ace of every suit. Partners sit opposite each other. Choose a dealer; the deal moves clockwise after each hand, including a passed-out hand.

Deal five cards to each player, commonly in packets of two and three. Place the four remaining cards in the middle as the kitty and turn its top card face up.

Trump and the bowers

In the trump suit, cards rank from high to low:

1. Right bower: the jack of trump.
2. Left bower: the other jack of the same colour as trump.
3. Ace, king, queen, 10, 9 of trump.

The left bower changes suit for the hand. If hearts are trump, J♥ is highest and J♦ is second-highest; J♦ counts as a heart, not a diamond. In every non-trump suit, cards rank ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, except that the left bower has left its printed suit.

Turns

Choose trump

Starting left of the dealer, players get two rounds to choose trump.

In the first round, each player either passes or orders up the turned suit. If anyone orders it up, that suit becomes trump. The dealer adds the turned card to their hand and discards one card face down to the kitty. The partnership of the player who ordered up becomes the makers.

If everyone passes, turn the card face down. In the second round, each player may name any of the other three suits as trump or pass. If all four pass again, gather the cards without scoring; the player left of the old dealer becomes dealer and deals a new hand. This is the primary passing convention on this page.

A maker declares they will go alone when making trump, before play starts. Their partner places their cards face down and does not play that hand.

Play the tricks

The first active player left of the dealer leads any card; skip the partner sitting out a lone hand. Each active player plays one card clockwise and must follow the suit led if possible. Remember that the left bower belongs to trump for following-suit purposes.

The highest trump wins a trick containing trump. Otherwise, the highest card of the suit led wins. The trick winner leads next. Continue until all five tricks are complete.

Worked example

Hearts are trump. J♥ is the right bower and J♦ is the left bower, so both cards count as hearts and outrank A♥.

If diamonds are led, a player whose only printed diamond is J♦ has no diamond for this hand. They may play another card, including the J♦ as trump. Playing it is not a failure to follow suit because the left bower legally belongs to hearts.

Winning

Score after five tricks:

Result	Points
Makers take 3 or 4 tricks	Makers score 1
Makers take all 5 tricks, called a march	Makers score 2
Lone maker takes 3 or 4 tricks	Makers score 1
Lone maker takes all 5 tricks	Makers score 4
Makers take 0, 1 or 2 tricks and are euchred	Defenders score 2

Move the deal clockwise and play again. The first partnership to reach 10 points after a completed hand wins. If both sides use cards as score markers, keep those cards outside the 24-card playing deck.

Common mistakes

• Ranking the ace above the bowers. The right and left bowers are the two highest trumps.
• Following the printed suit of the left bower. It belongs entirely to the trump suit for that hand.
• Letting the dealer keep six cards. When ordered up, the dealer takes the turned card and discards one.
• Assuming only an opponent can order the dealer up. In this ruleset any player may order up, including the dealer’s partner.
• Leading from the dealer. The first active player left of the dealer leads the first trick, skipping a lone maker’s inactive partner.
• Forcing a second-round choice. Here, four more passes end the hand and move the deal.

Variants

For a two-player trump game, try Briscola. Unlike this Euchre ruleset, its second player may play any card instead of following suit.

Stick the dealer is a house rule that forbids the dealer from passing in the second round, so every deal produces a trump suit. It is not the passing rule above. Agree on it before play.

Some games use 28 or 32 cards by adding lower ranks, and some add a joker as the highest trump. In some circles the dealer’s partner may order up only when going alone, and some tables let a defender offer to defend alone. Agree how any of these score before play.

Targets of 5 or 7 appear alongside the 10-point game. Changing the target does not change a hand’s scoring, but it changes match length. State the target when teams are formed.

Common questions

What is the left bower in Euchre?

It is the jack of the same colour as trump, and it becomes the second-highest trump. If hearts are trump, the jack of diamonds counts as a heart for following suit.

What happens if everyone passes in Euchre?

If everyone passes in both trump-selection rounds, abandon the hand and let the next dealer redeal. Stick-the-dealer is a different variant that forces a trump choice.

How many points is going alone worth in Euchre?

A lone maker who wins all five tricks scores four points. Winning three or four scores one; taking fewer than three gives the defenders two points.