Five cards each, a turned-up card to bid on, and two Jacks that outrank everything. You and your partner North need three of the five tricks.
How to Play Euchre
Euchre is a trick-taking card game for four players in two partnerships. Each hand, one team chooses the trump suit and tries to win at least three of the five tricks.
Partners and Seats
You play South, with your computer partner North across the table, against West and East. Play moves clockwise: you, West, North, East.
The 24-Card Deck
Euchre uses only the 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of each suit, 24 cards in all.
The Deal and the Turned-Up Card
Each player gets five cards. The other four form the kitty, and its top card is turned face up. East deals first, so you bid first, and the deal moves one seat to the left each hand.
Card Ranking and the Bowers
Any trump beats every card of the other suits. The highest trump is the Jack of the trump suit, the right bower. Next is the other Jack of the same color, the left bower, which counts as a trump for every purpose.
With hearts as trump, the Jack of diamonds becomes the second-highest trump, and diamonds have only five cards.
| Trump, high to low (hearts as trump) | Other suits, high to low |
|---|---|
| Jack of hearts (right bower) | Ace |
| Jack of diamonds (left bower) | King |
| Ace of hearts | Queen |
| King of hearts | Jack, unless it is the left bower |
| Queen of hearts | 10 |
| 10 of hearts | 9 |
| 9 of hearts | — |
Bidding, Round One
Starting on the dealer's left, each player may order up the turned card, making its suit trump, or pass. The player who chooses trump is the maker. Whoever orders it up, the dealer takes the card and discards one card face down. When you deal, tap the card you want to discard.
Bidding, Round Two and Stick the Dealer
If all four pass, the card is turned face down. Starting on the dealer's left again, each player may name any other suit as trump, or pass. This game plays stick the dealer: if the first three pass, the dealer must name a suit.
Going Alone
The maker may go alone, and their partner sits out the hand. Taking all five tricks alone scores 4 points. If the dealer's partner orders up alone, the dealer sits out and does not pick up the card. The computer players go alone only with very strong hands.
Playing the Tricks
The player on the dealer's left leads first, or the next player if that one sits out. You must follow the suit led if you can; otherwise, play any card, including a trump. The highest trump wins the trick, or if none was played, the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.
The left bower belongs to the trump suit. With hearts as trump, if hearts are led and the Jack of diamonds is your only heart, you must play it. If diamonds are led, it doesn't count as a diamond.
How Euchre Scoring Works
Only one team scores each hand. If the makers take fewer than three tricks, they are euchred.
| Result of the hand | Points |
|---|---|
| Makers take 3 or 4 tricks | 1 to the makers |
| Makers take all 5 (a march) | 2 to the makers |
| Lone maker takes all 5 | 4 to the makers |
| Lone maker takes 3 or 4 | 1 to the makers |
| Makers take 0, 1 or 2: euchred | 2 to the defenders |
Say you order up spades. If you and North take three tricks, you score 1. If West and East take three, you are euchred and they score 2.
Winning the Game
The first team to reach 10 points wins.
Euchre Strategy Tips
- Order up when you can count three tricks. Count your likely winners, then add one for your partner. Three trumps including a bower, or two high trumps and a side Ace, is a sound minimum.
- Respect the dealer's advantage. The dealer bids last and, on a pickup, keeps the best five of six cards. Ordering up your partner puts that card on your side, so a slightly weaker hand will do. Ordering up an opponent hands them a trump, so be stronger, and be wary when the card is a Jack: it becomes their right bower.
- As dealer, discard to make a void. Throw away your only card in a side suit, unless it is an Ace. Discard a lone 9 of clubs, and you can trump the first club led.
- Consider next in round two. Next is the suit of the same color as the turned-down card: if a heart is turned down, diamonds is next. A dealer holding either red Jack, a bower in both red suits, would likely have picked up the heart. So the player on the dealer's left can often name next with a fair hand.
- Count trump. There are seven, counting both bowers, though some may sit unseen in the kitty. Once the right bower is gone, the left bower is the highest trump left. A player who can't follow a trump lead has none.
- Lead trump when your side made it. With two or more trumps, lead a high one to draw out the defenders' trumps, so your side Aces can win later. When the other team made trump, lead a side Ace instead.
- Protect your partner's tricks. Don't trump a trick your partner is already winning with an Ace. Throw away your weakest card, and save your trumps for tricks your side would otherwise lose.
- Go alone when your hand can win without help. You want three sure tricks and a real chance at all five. Three or four tricks alone still score 1, and all five score 4. The right bower, left bower and Ace of trump can't be beaten, so with all three you can't be euchred.
Playing Euchre on Solitaire Parlor
Play Euchre online free here against the computer, in any modern browser, with no sign-up and nothing to download.
- Bid with Order up (it reads Pick it up when you are the dealer) or Pass, or tap a suit in round two. Tick Go alone first to play the hand alone.
- Tap or click a card to play it. Cards you can't legally play are dimmed, and tapping one explains why.
- Hint suggests a bid in words, or highlights the card the computer would discard or play for you.
- Restart replays the same deal from the first hand.
- New Game starts a new numbered deal. Add ?deal= and its number to the page address to share it.
- Daily Deal gives everyone the same game each day.
- Stats shows games played and won, win rate, best winning margin and win streaks.
- Settings changes the table color and card backs, turns on four-color suits, and switches sounds on or off.
There is no Undo. Your game and stats save automatically in your own browser. For more trick-taking games, try Spades or Hearts.
A Short History of Euchre
Euchre is usually traced to Juckerspiel, a game from Alsace, the French region on the German border. The word bower comes from the German Bauer, meaning farmer, a name for the Jack. Euchre was widely played in 19th-century America, and the joker first joined the deck as an extra trump for it, called the best bower.
Today it is especially popular in the Midwest, including Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, and in Ontario, Canada. House rules vary: some tables add the joker, let a defender play alone, or throw the hand in when everyone passes twice. This game uses the common rules above.
Euchre FAQ
How many cards are in a Euchre deck?
Twenty-four: the 9 through the Ace of each suit. To make one from a regular deck, take out the 2s through 8s.
What is the left bower in Euchre?
The Jack of the same color as trump. With spades as trump, it is the Jack of clubs: second only to the Jack of spades, and a spade for the whole hand.
What does it mean to get euchred?
The team that chose trump took fewer than three tricks, so the other team scores 2 points.
Do the computer players see my cards?
No. Each one, your partner included, plays only from its own hand and the cards on the table, just as you do.
Can I play Euchre online free without signing up?
Yes, right here in your browser, with no account and nothing to install. Your game and stats are saved in that browser only.