What you need
Four players in two partnerships, partners sitting across from each other, and a 24-card deck: strip a standard deck down to the 9, 10, jack, queen, king and ace of each suit. The leftover 2s to 8s are handy for keeping score, or use our printable sheet.
This page describes the North American game. British Euchre adds a joker (“Benny”) as the top trump and plays to 11; the differences are noted at the end.
Rank of cards
In the trump suit the order is special. From highest: the jack of trumps (right bower), the jack of the other suit of the same colour (left bower), then ace, king, queen, 10, 9. The left bower counts as a trump for every purpose; if hearts are trumps, the jack of diamonds is a heart. The other suits rank ace, king, queen, (jack), 10, 9.
Setup
Pick the first dealer by any method (dealing cards round until a black jack appears is traditional). Deal five cards to each player in two rounds of 3 and 2 or 2 and 3. Turn the next card face up on the remaining pack: this is the up-card.
How to play
Making trump
Starting on the dealer’s left, each player may pass or accept the up-card’s suit as trump. An opponent of the dealer accepts by saying “order it up”; the dealer’s partner says “assist”; the dealer accepts by picking up the up-card and discarding one card face down. If all four pass, the dealer turns the card down and there is a second round in which each player may pass or name any other suit as trump.
If everyone passes twice, throw the hand in and the next player deals. (Many groups play stick the dealer: the dealer must name a suit in the second round.)
The team that chose trump are the makers and must win at least 3 of the 5 tricks.
Going alone
When you make trump you may declare “alone”. Your partner turns their cards face down and you play the hand against both opponents.
The play
The player to the dealer’s left leads (or the next player clockwise if that player’s partner is alone). You must follow suit if you can; otherwise play any card. The highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the suit led if no trump was played. The winner leads next.
Scoring and winning
- Makers win 3 or 4 tricks: 1 point.
- Makers win all 5 tricks (a march): 2 points.
- Makers win fewer than 3 (euchred): the defenders score 2 points.
- A lone maker wins all 5 tricks: 4 points; 3 or 4 tricks: 1 point.
The first team to 10 points wins. Teams traditionally show their score with two low cards, one laid over the other so that the right number of pips is visible.
Common variants
- British Euchre. 25 cards including a joker (or the 2 of spades) as the top trump, game to 11, and the dealer’s partner can only accept the up-card by playing alone.
- Defenders alone. Some let a defender play alone; euchring a lone maker is then worth 4 points.
- Stick the dealer. The dealer may not pass in the second round.
- Super-euchre. If the makers take no tricks, the defenders score 4.
- Game to 5 or 7. Bicycle’s rules offer 5, 7 or 10 as targets; 10 is the usual choice today.
- 32-card Euchre. Keep the 7s and 8s. Common in New Zealand.
Tips for first games
- Count your trumps before ordering up: two bowers or a bower plus two trumps is usually enough with a partner.
- Lead trump when you are the maker to pull trumps from the defenders, then cash your aces.
- As a defender, hold your trumps and wait to trump the maker’s aces.
- Say “alone” when you hold both bowers and the ace of trumps, or any hand where your partner’s cards cannot help.
Frequently asked questions
What is the left bower? The jack of the suit that shares a colour with trumps. If spades are trumps, the jack of clubs is the left bower and is treated as a spade.
Can the dealer’s partner order up the up-card? In North American play, yes, by saying “assist”. In Britain and Australia the dealer’s partner can only take the up-card by going alone.
What does “euchred” mean? The makers failed to win three tricks. The defending team scores 2 points.
How many points is Euchre played to? 10 in the US and Canada, 11 in Britain. Shorter games to 5 or 7 are possible.
Do you have to follow suit with the left bower? Yes, as a trump. The left bower belongs to the trump suit and cannot be played to follow its printed suit.
