Introduction
Euchre is a game for four players, who play in partnerships.
Object is to take at least three out of five tricks, with a bonus when a partnership
takes all five tricks. Euchre is a trick-taking game, which means that all players play
one card to the table, and whoever plays the best card, takes the trick.
Euchre is a fast and exciting game, for which memorization, solid bidding and playing strategy and a bit of luck are the keys to success.
Partnership
Here at CardGames.CLUB you form a
team with a solid player, simply named “Partner”. She will adapt to your game
smoothly and will keep you out of trouble whenever that is required. Your
opponents are named “Opponents”, a tricky lot, that will not allow you to lose
your concentration for a sec.
Rank of Cards
A pack of 24 cards is used. The trump
suit has 8 cards, ranking from (highest) Right Bower (Jack of trump suit), Left Bower
(Jack of same color suit), Ace, King, Queen, Ten to Nine (lowest). The other suits have
6 or 5 cards ranking from Ace (highest) to Nine (lowest).
E.g. when Spades is trump, Spades rank as follows: J♠, J♣, A♠, K♠, Q♠, T♠, 9♠.
Note: The Left Bower can be confusing for players that start with Euchre, because it doesn’t look like a trump card.
The Deal
Only for the first round the dealer is chosen
randomly, then the dealer changes clockwise. She deals 5 cards to each player and then
turns the top card of the four remaining cards, “the kitty”, face up in the middle of
the table. This last card is named the upcard, and proposes the trump suit.
Bidding
The player left of the dealer is the first one
who decides if she wants to “order up” the upcard or wants to “pass”. “Ordering up” means
that she assumes she and her partner can win at least three tricks, with the upcard suit
being trump. After a pass, it’s up to the next player to decide etc. If one of the players
decides to “order up”, the upcard suit becomes trump and play starts, but not before the
upcard is added to the dealer’s hand and the dealer has discarded one of her other cards.
If all players, including the dealer pass, the dealer turns the upcard face down and a
second round of bidding starts.
During the second round of bidding, players can declare any of the three remaining suits to be trump. If the first three players all pass, the dealer is forced to declare trump.
Makers vs. Defenders
The player that has selected trump,
and her partner are known as “Makers” and have to win at least three tricks to score points
and avoid being “euchred”. The players in the other partnership are known as “Defenders”.
Going Alone
If a player, who has “ordered up” or
declared trump, has a hand she thinks, is strong enough to win at least three tricks by
herself, she can “Go Alone”. The player’s partner discards her cards and does not participate
in the play of the hand. There are bonus points for making the bid.
Playing
The player to the dealer's left leads to the
first trick with any card in her hand. Play continues clockwise. Players must follow suit
if possible. If a player can’t follow suit, she may play any card, including a trump card.
The trick is won by the highest card of the opening suit, unless a trump is played, in which
case the highest trump wins. The winner of the trick leads the next one.
Scoring
The first partnership to score 10 points wins the game.
1) Aggression pays off: don’t pass a hand that’s worth a bid.
2) Count on your partner for at least one trick.
3) “Go Alone” whenever you are reasonably certain you can take three tricks.
4) Don’t “Go Alone” when your team has eight or nine points.
1) Pay close attention to the cards that are played.
2) Do not trump your partner’s Ace if it can be avoided.
3) Trump your partner’s King.
4) If you or your partner declared trump (or ordered it up), you should lead trump.
5) If your opponent declared trump, you should NOT lead trump.
6) Don’t let a run of bad deals put you down.