How To Play Euchre

Euchre is a fun and fast paced game that people around the world enjoy. I learned how to play the four-handed version over 20 years ago and have played thousands of hands since then with family and friends.

Euchre Rules - Learn the Rules of Four-Handed Euchre

As you learn how to play Euchre and expand your playing group you are sure to run into many variations and "home" rules. The guidelines on this page are simply that, guidelines. When you learn them you will understand the mechanics of the game and you will improve with practice. However, always make sure everyone understands any special house rules wherever you are playing so that everyone can have a fun game experience.

The only thing you need to play Euchre is a standard deck of playing cards. You don't even need a pad and pencil to keep score, as you will see below, you can keep score with unused cards from the deck.

• From a standard deck of playing cards, separate out all of the nines, tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces. These make up the basic Euchre deck. Also set aside two sixes and two fours, or the four fives. These are used to keep score.
• Choose two teams of two players each. This can be done by mutual agreement before the game or you can shuffle the cards and deal one card face up to each player. The two highest cards are partners. In the event of a tie, deal another card to each of the players who tied.
• Determine who will be the first dealer by dealing one card to each player. The highest card is the dealer for the first round.
• Partners sit opposite from each other. So around the table would be team A player 1, team B player 1, team A player 2 and team B player 2.
• The dealer shuffles the cards (You should have 24 cards. Remember to just use the nines through Aces) and deals five cards to each player. The cards are dealt two or three at a time. For example, the first player to the left of the dealer receives two cards, the next player receives three, the next player two, the dealer three, the first player to the left then receives three, the next player two, etc. Once each player has five cards, the remaining four cards are placed face down in front of the dealer. The top card is then turned face up so everyone may see it.
• Starting with the player to the dealers left, each player has the option to pass or "order up" the exposed card, which is the act of making the suit of the exposed card trump for the round. If the exposed card is made trump, the dealer removes one card from his or her hand and replaces it with the exposed trump. The dealer gets the exposed card, not the person who ordered it up.
• If all three other players pass, the dealer may pick up the exposed card to make it trump or pass by turning it over. If the dealer passes, then the first player to his or her left has the option to name trump any suit that is different than the previously exposed card or pass again. These options continue around the table until someone names a trump suit or the option gets to the dealer. If the other players all pass a second time, the dealer may name trump or pass. In the event of the dealer passing the second time, the cards are all gathered and the deal passes to the dealers left and a new round is started.
• Once a trump suit is chosen, the player to the dealers immediate left leads any one card face up into the center of the table. This card does not have to be trump. Play continues to the left. Each player must follow suit if they are able. If a player does not  have a card of the lead suit, he or she may play any other card in their hand. If the lead card was not trump and another player cannot follow suit, he or she may place a trump card.
• After each of the four players place a card in order, the trick is awarded to the person who placed the highest trump card (See chart below for rank of trumps) or the person who placed the highest card of the lead suit if there were no trumps played. In all suits with the exception of the trump suit, the rank of cards from high to low is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten and Nine.
• Remember that players are working as teams, and each trick counts for the team, so it doesn't matter which player on the team wins a trick.
• The winner of the previous trick leads a card for the next round. They may lead any card in their hand.
• Scoring is based on the team who made trump on the original deal. There are five tricks in each hand. If the team who made trump wins three or four tricks, they are awarded one point. If they win all five tricks, they are awarded two points. If they do not win at least three tricks, the opposing team is awarded two points. This is referred to as "Euchring" the team who made trump. Score is kept on the extra cards mentioned above, usually a six and a four. One card is placed on top of the other to display the number of points that the team has so far. For example, if your team has four points, the four card is placed face down on the face up six with just four of the pips on the six showing.
• Each game is played to ten. (In the old game rules, games were played to five or seven, but today most games are played to ten). The first team to reach ten points wins the match.
• Any player may opt to "go alone" on any hand. If they choose to go alone, their partner does not participate in the hand and the alone player must compete against the other two players. The scoring is the same with the exception that when the alone player takes all five tricks, he or she is awarded four points instead of two.
• Once a hand is completed, the deal is passed to the immediate player to the dealers left for the next round.

The most difficult concept for most new euchre players to grasp is the order of the cards in the trump suit. Whichever suit is determined as trump is assigned seven trump cards. The six cards of the chosen suit plus the jack of the same color suit that wasn't made trump. For example, if Clubs is made trump, the Jack of Spades is considered a trump for the current round. The Jacks of the trump suit are called "Bowers". The high Jack is called the right bower and the off Jack is called the left bower. The order from highest to lowest is as follows, based on the trump suit listed along the top of the table.

Note that the off jack that is used as the second highest trump is no longer considered its original suit. In our example above, the Jack of Spades is considered a Club, not a Spade for the round.