The Object: To be the first team to score ten points.
The Deck: A partial deck of 24 cards is formed from the standard deck using A, K, Q, J, 10, 9 of each suit.
Understanding Tricks: A trick results when each player plays a card — the player who plays the highest card of the suit first played or the highest trump card collects the cards and takes the trick. Players must always follow suit, when possible, by playing a card of the same suit as the first one played. If a player’s hand does not contain that suit, he may play any card in his hand including trump. If a player does not follow suit when able, it is called a Renege, and his team will be penalized by adding two points to his opponents’ score — four points during a loner hand.
Strategy Tip: You should generally take a trick when able by playing the highest card of the suit led or a trump card. However, you should always pay attention to the cards played and never trump when your partner is winning the trick, especially when partner has led an non-trump Ace.
Understanding the Rank: The suits are ranked A, K, Q, J, 10, 9 with the Ace being high — except for the trump suit which is ranked J, J, A, K, Q, 10, 9 with the Jack of the trump suit (Right Bower) being high and the Jack of the next suit (Left Bower) ranking second. The trump suit only contains seven cards and the next suit contains only five. Example: if the trump suit is Spades, the trump cards will be ranked J, J Clubs, A, K, Q, 10, 9. The Club suit will be ranked A, K, Q, 10, 9 with no Jack in the suit for the hand. The red suits will follow normal Ace-high ranking.
The Deal: Partners sit across from each other. A random player picks up the deck, shuffles, and deals one card face-up to each player beginning with the player to his left. The first player to receive a Jack of any suit wins the first deal of the game. The winner of the deal then reshuffles and deals five cards to each player in two rounds of dealing — usually dealing two or three cards to each player at a time. Four cards will remain; these are called the kitty. The kitty is placed in the center of the table and the top card is turned up, called the turn-up card.
The Play: Each hand consists of five tricks. The goal is to win three of the five tricks in the hand with an underlying goal of taking all five tricks to score additional points. A trump suit will be decided during bidding prior to each hand. The team members who call the trump suit are referred to as the “makers;” their opponents are called the “defenders.”
The Bidding: Players bid only the suit that they would like to establish as trump for the hand — not a number of tricks or points — and whether they choose to play with their partner or alone. The first player to name a trump suit wins the bid. Bidding begins with the player to the left of the dealer and continues clockwise around the table in two rounds if necessary. Round 1: During the first round only the suit of the turn-up card is eligible to be named trump. Players can either pass or name trump by ordering the dealer to pick up the turn-up card and add it to his hand. The dealer then discards another card from his hand and play commences. Round 2: If no player chooses the suit of the turn-up card as trump, the dealer turns the card over and a second round of bidding begins. Each player now has the opportunity to bid any suit as trump except the suit rejected during the first round. If everyone passes, the hand is thrown in and a new hand is dealt by the player to the left of the previous dealer.
Strategy Tip: A general rule of thumb is to always count on your partner for one trick. If a particular trump suit will allow you to claim two definite or two probable tricks and a possible third, it is usually wise to bid that suit as trump. Your partner will often be able to provide the help you need.
Strategy Tip: When your opponent has passed by turning the turn-up card down, strongly consider calling “next.” Odds are that the opponent’s hand favors the opposite suit color. Likewise, when your partner turns the turn-up card down, strongly consider naming trump in the opposite color hoping to match your partner’s hand.
Strategy Tip: When adding the turn-up card to your hand, it is usually wise to void your hand of a suit if possible. Fewer suits in your hand will give you more opportunity to use your trump cards. When unable to short-suit your hand, discarding your lowest non-trump card is usually best.
Playing Alone: When a player’s hand is so strong that he feels certain of winning three tricks by himself with a reasonable possibility of taking all five, he may choose to bid his suit alone. Example: During the bidding he will declare, “Spades Alone.” His partner will then place his cards face down on the table and sit out the hand. The player now has an opportunity to earn additional points for his team, but could suffer more severe consequences for not making his bid.
Strategy Tip: A few hands to consider playing alone include: any five trump, any four trump including a bower, three high trump with non-trump aces or only two suits in the hand, and the top three trump with reasonably high non-trump cards.
The Lead: The player to the left of the dealer always makes the opening lead. The player who wins the first trick will lead to the second, and so on until all five tricks have been played out.
Strategy Tip: Makers should generally lead a high trump card to remove trump from the defenders’ hands and win the trick. However, it may be best to lead a high non-trump card when the hand contains a weak trump suit.
Strategy Tip: Defenders should generally not lead trump. A high non-trump card is usually a good lead.
Scoring the Hand: The makers score points by winning the majority of the tricks. When the makers fail to win the majority of the tricks, they are said to be “set” or “euchred” and the defenders score points instead. The teams earn points as follows:
- Makers winning 3 or 4 tricks: 1 point
- Makers winning 5 tricks: 2 points
- Makers playing alone winning 3 or 4 tricks: 1 point
- Makers playing alone winning 5 tricks: 4 points
- Defenders winning 3 or more tricks: 2 points
- Defenders winning 3 or more tricks against a lone player: 4 points
Ending the Game: The first team to score 10 or more points wins the game.
Strategy Tip: When playing at the Euchre Club of Chicago, you can score up to 13 points during any single game. Example: Winning all five tricks during a loner call when your score is nine will result in a winning score of 13. These bonus points will greatly improve your overall score for the evening.
