Euchre

What you need & setup

1. Build a 24-card deck: 9, 10, jack, queen, king, and ace of each suit. Set the rest of the pack aside.
2. Form two partnerships; partners sit across from each other.
3. Deal 5 cards to each player (traditionally in packets of 2 and 3).
4. Place the remaining 4 cards face down, and turn the top card face up — this is the upcard that starts trump selection.
5. Starting left of the dealer, players decide whether to accept the upcard's suit as trump, as described in the rules.

Turn sequence

1. First round of trump-making: each player in turn may tell the dealer to "pick it up" (making the upcard's suit trump) or pass.
2. If someone orders it up, the dealer adds the upcard to their hand and discards one card face down.
3. If all four pass, the upcard is turned down and each player may name any other suit as trump, or pass again; if everyone passes twice, the hand is thrown in and redealt (unless playing stick-the-dealer).
4. The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick.
5. Each player must follow suit if able — and remember the left bower counts as a trump, not as its printed suit.
6. The highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the led suit if no trump was played; the winner leads next.
7. After all five tricks, score the hand and pass the deal to the left.

The Bowers: Euchre's Signature Twist

Once trump is chosen, the jack of the trump suit becomes the highest card in the game. It is called the right bower.

The jack of the other suit of the same color becomes the second-highest trump, the left bower. If hearts are trump, the J♥ is the right bower and the J♦ is the left bower — and that J♦ counts as a heart for every purpose.

After the two bowers, trump ranks A, K, Q, 10, 9. The non-trump suits rank normally from ace down, but the suit that lost its jack to the left bower has only five cards.

Making Trump

The face-up card on the kitty proposes a trump suit. Going clockwise from the dealer's left, each player may accept it or pass. Accepting is called ordering it up; the dealer then takes the upcard into hand and discards.

If all four players pass, the upcard is flipped face down and a second round begins: now each player may name any suit except the turned-down one, or pass.

The player (or dealer's team) who makes trump becomes the makers; the other side are the defenders. The makers are promising to win at least three of the five tricks.

A maker who is confident can declare they are "going alone." Their partner sits out the hand face down, and the lone player tries to win tricks solo for a bigger reward.

Following Suit

You must follow the led suit if you can. If spades are led and you hold the 10♠, you must play it or another spade.

The left bower is the trickiest case: it belongs to the trump suit, not its printed suit. If clubs are trump and spades are led, you may not play the J♠ to follow suit — it is a club now.

When void in the led suit you may play anything, including a trump. Trumping a trick you cannot follow is called ruffing.

Winning Tricks

If any trump was played to the trick, the highest trump wins — with the right bower beating the left bower beating the ace of trump.

If no trump appears, the highest card of the led suit takes the trick.

The winner of each trick leads the next. There are only five tricks per hand, so every card counts.

Scoring

If the makers take 3 or 4 tricks, they score 1 point. If they sweep all 5 tricks (a march), they score 2 points.

If the makers take fewer than 3 tricks, they are euchred, and the defenders score 2 points.

A lone maker who wins all 5 tricks scores 4 points; a lone maker who takes 3 or 4 still scores just 1.

The first partnership to reach 10 points wins the game. Many players keep score with a spare 6 and 4 (or two 5s) from the unused cards.

Scoring & how the game ends

• Makers win 3 or 4 tricks: 1 point.
• Makers win all 5 tricks (march): 2 points.
• Lone maker wins all 5 tricks: 4 points.
• Makers win fewer than 3 tricks (euchred): defenders score 2 points.
• First team to 10 points wins.

Winning: Be the first partnership to reach 10 points.

Common variations

These are genuine regional and house-rule differences — none of them is “the one true way” to play. Agree with your table before starting.

• Stick the dealer

  If all players pass twice, the dealer must name a trump suit rather than throwing the hand in. This eliminates redeals and forces action.

  Common: Very common in the American Midwest.

• Farmer's hand

  A player dealt an extremely weak hand (such as all 9s and 10s) may exchange some cards with the unused kitty cards before play.

  Common: A house rule in some regions.

• Canadian loner (defending alone)

  A defender may also go alone against a lone maker, scoring 4 points if the defense euchres them.

  Common: Played in parts of Canada.

• British 25-card euchre

  A joker called the Benny is added as the very highest trump, above the right bower.

  Common: Common in England, especially the West Country.

• Railroading / partner's best

  A player going alone may pass a card to (or receive the best card from) their partner before the hand, strengthening lone attempts.

  Common: House rule in some casual groups.

A little history

Euchre's exact origin is debated, but it is generally traced to European ancestors (the Alsatian game Juckerspiel is often cited) and it became hugely popular in North America.

It remains a regional favorite, especially in the American Midwest and in Canada.