What Is Euchre?
Euchre is the beloved Midwestern American card game — fast, social, and brilliantly designed around one clever twist. Four players form two partnerships. Each hand, players bid to name the trump suit. The team that wins the bid must win at least three of the five tricks played. The key mechanic that sets Euchre apart: the Jack of the trump suit is the single most powerful card in the game, and the Jack of the same-color suit becomes the second-most powerful trump card. These two special Jacks are called the Bowers.
What You Need
- A 24-card deck — take a standard 52-card deck and remove all 2s through 8s. Keep only 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace in all four suits.
- Four players in two partnerships — partners sit across from each other
The Bowers — The Most Important Rule in Euchre
When a trump suit is named, the normal card rankings change dramatically for that suit. The two most powerful cards are the Jacks:
- Right Bower: The Jack of the named trump suit. This is the highest card in the entire game — it beats everything.
- Left Bower: The Jack of the other suit that shares the same color as trump. This card becomes the second-highest trump and is temporarily considered part of the trump suit — not its original suit.
Example: Spades are named trump. The Jack of Spades is the Right Bower — highest card. The Jack of Clubs (also black, same color as Spades) is the Left Bower — second highest trump, and counts as a Spade for this hand.
Full trump ranking from highest to lowest: Right Bower, Left Bower, Ace of trump, King of trump, Queen of trump, 10 of trump, 9 of trump.
Setting Up the Game
- Partners sit across from each other.
- Deal five cards to each player in batches of 2 then 3, or 3 then 2.
- Place the remaining four cards face-down. Flip the top card face-up — its suit is the first candidate for trump.
Naming Trump — Two Rounds
Round 1 — Order Up or Pass
Starting left of the dealer and going clockwise, each player looks at their hand and decides whether the face-up card’s suit should be trump. They say either:
- Order Up: Tell the dealer to take the face-up card into their hand, making its suit trump. The dealer picks up the card and discards one card face-down. The team that ordered is now the Makers and must win at least 3 tricks.
- Pass: Decline. The next player decides.
If all four players pass, the face-up card is turned face-down.
Round 2 — Name Any Other Suit
Starting left of the dealer again, each player may name any suit OTHER than the turned-down suit as trump, or pass. The dealer must name a suit if everyone else passes — this rule is called Stick the Dealer. Whoever names trump joins their partner as the Makers.
Going Alone
Any Maker may announce they are going alone before the first card is led. Their partner sits out and does not play. If the lone Maker wins all five tricks, they score 4 points. If they win three or four, they score 1 point. Going alone is a high-risk, high-reward gamble.
Playing the Hand
- The player to the left of the dealer leads the first card — any card from their hand.
- Going clockwise, each player must follow suit if they have a card of the led suit. The Left Bower counts as trump — if trump is led, the Left Bower must be played if the player has no other trump.
- If you have no cards of the led suit, play any card including trump.
- The highest trump wins any trick where trump was played. If no trump was played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
- The winner of each trick leads the next one. Play all five tricks.
Scoring
- Makers win 3 or 4 tricks: 1 point for the Makers
- Makers win all 5 tricks (March): 2 points for the Makers
- Going alone and winning all 5: 4 points
- Euchre — Defenders hold Makers to fewer than 3 tricks: 2 points for the Defenders
Winning
First team to reach 10 points wins.
Tips for New Players
- Count your trump cards before ordering up. Three or more trump cards — including any combination of the Bowers — is usually enough to commit to making trump.
- The Right Bower is your most powerful card. If you hold it, you are guaranteed at least one trick.
- Getting Euchred costs the other team 2 points — a huge swing. Don’t order up with a weak hand just to be bold.