Easy Euchre Rules for A Fun Game Night
Euchre is the cousin of Bridge – one of the world’s most beloved card games. Both are trick and trump-based games, but euchre is played at a faster pace and is much more exciting.
The game is widely played across North America and Canada. For some reason, Torontonians are particularly in love with this game. However, the Euchre rules in Canada are slightly different than those of other countries.
Keep reading to learn more!
How to Play Euchre?
Considering the fact that the euchre is played throughout the world, it implies that rules may differ from country to country. For example, the euchre rules in Canada are slightly different from the British version. Euchre can be played with 32, 25, or 24 cards, and depending on the country, some are still using the Joker card.
The Canadian version is played with 24 cards using the four suits of 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A, while the Joker card is left out of the game. The euchre game is a trick-catching based game and is usually played with four players paired in two, with the paired partners sitting opposite each other.
Each player is dealt five cards, and pairs are supposed to win most of the tricks to win the game. There are also three handed euchre and two handed euchre versions, both played in the same fashion as the standard version. The only difference is instead of competing in pairs, single players compete against each other.
Related article: How Many Cards are There in a Deck?
Now, let’s take a detailed look at the rules of this fan-favourite game!
The Objective of the Game
The game’s main objective is for pairs to score at least three tricks or take all five tricks. If the team that set a trump fails to score three tricks, they’re euchred. The pair that makes all five tricks wins, and the act of winning is called a march.
Setup
Before you start to play euchre, divide into two teams of 2 players. Then, sit opposite your partner, so your opponent team sits on your left and right.
It’s good to have at least one player on board who already knows how to play euchre. It will make things much easier for the rest of the participants.
It would be best if you had a euchre deck containing 24 cards from nines through Aces, without the Joker card. You may take the fives but put them aside as they will serve you for counting points.
Next, decide who is dealing cards. The dealer can either be randomly chosen or by flipping over the cards and seeing who gets the jack first.
Card Rankings
The cards in euchre are ranked according to the standard ranking order. To put it simply, the aces are high in each suit, with the values decreasing to the low 9s.
As already explained, the Canadian version of the euchre deck consists of four suits (9s to Aces), leaving out the Joker. There are seven trump cards, and the rankings go from the lowest to the highest. The Nine of the trumps suit is the lowest, next is the 10, the Queen, the King, and the Ace.
The right bower (the Jack of the trump suit) is the highest-ranking card, followed by the Jack of the same colour, called the left bower. The remaining cards are ranked as usual, with nines being the lowest and Aces being the highest.
You might be interested in Poker Hand Rankings: What’s the Best Hand to Play?
Dealing
Whether you choose the dealer randomly or flip over cards until one of the players pulls the jack, the cards are always dealt clockwise, starting from the person to the dealer’s left.
The dealer may deal one card at a time to each player or in a set of two rounds. In the first round, cards can be dealt in the following order:
- Two to the player on the dealer’s left
- Three, two and three for the dealer
The second time is the other way around. So the person on the left receives three, the next person gets two cards and so on.
After the deal is finished, the dealer places the four remaining cards in a pile faced-down called “kitty” while leaving the top card face-up. The top card determines the trump suit.
Bidding
Once the cards are dealt, and the card of the trump suit is set, players start to bid by passing or accepting the trump suit.
If the lead player (the one to the left of the dealer) passes, the dealer’s partner may pass or accept the trump suit by saying, “I assist.” In that case, no other player is allowed to bid.
Contrastingly, if the lead player claims the flipped card, they must say, “I order it up,” and all other players stop the bidding.
If the first three players pass the trump suit, it’s the dealer’s turn to decide if they pass or accept. Should the dealer accept, they must say “I accept,” then take the flipped card and discard another from their hands.
The new card becomes the suit of trump. This applies to any player that decides to accept the trump card.
In case all players pass during the first round of bidding, they continue with the same process or can choose their suit of trump.
Gameplay
The game begins when the face-up card is accepted as the trump suit. The player that takes the trump must discard another card set to be the new trump suit. The next player must follow the lead card. They can play another card if they don’t have a matching card.
The player who plays the highest card takes all the cards and wins the trick. Remember, the trump card beats all the other cards.
The team that made the trump is called the makers, and the opponents are called defenders.
If the pair who won the tricks is the same pair who chose the trump card, they score one point. On the other hand, if the team that initially chose the trump card loses the trick, then they are euchred by the winning pair.
The player who makes trump can decide to “go alone,” meaning they go through one round without their partner and compete against the other pair. But if the dealer’s partner makes the trump, they must go alone for one round.
Euchre is played until one of the teams wins all five tricks and earns 10 points.
If you’re a fan of card games, then check out this article: 10 Best Playing Cards To Spice Up Your Game Night.
Scoring
When you play euchre, you aim to win at least three tricks or all five and score points accordingly.
Makers score 1 point for winning 3+ tricks and 2 points for winning five tricks.
If one of the makers decides to go alone and wins five tricks, the team gets 4 points. But if the maker’s team fails to win three tricks, the pair is euchred, and the defenders earn 2 points instead.
If the defenders’ team wins 3+ tricks, they earn 2 points. But if the defender goes alone and wins five tricks, the pair gets 4 points.
Ending the Game
The rounds in euchre last for five turns. In each game, players place one card at a time down on the table. Teams compete in who wins the most tricks and scores the max points.
The game ends when one of the teams scores ten euchre points and wins the game.
Conclusion
If you have never played euchre before and this game caught your eye, it’s about time to jump on the bandwagon. It might seem perplexing at first, but once you understand the rules, that’s when the fun starts.
Now, you can invite your friends to a board game night to play Euchre.
FAQ
The same rules apply when playing two handed euchre. The first euchre deck is dealt to the opposite player, who is also the game’s leader. Each player follows the suit of the led card or places any other card if they don’t have a matching card. The player that wins the most tricks and scores 10 points is the winner.
The origin of the euchre game is still up for debate. Some historians say that it was originally played in the 19th century in North America. From a linguistic perspective, it is said that Euchre originates from the Alsatian game called Juckerspiel and was introduced to America by German immigrants. Some historians even argue that the name originated from a French game called “écarté”.
In slang, the term euchre translates to cheating or tricking something or someone.
Most recommendations on how to play euchre advise using a singleton off-suit ace as a card lead. It is considered to be a strong lead in case you don’t have any of the cards being played on the table.
Each makers’ pair gets one point for winning three or four tricks and gets 2 points for winning 5 tricks. If the maker goes alone and wins five tricks, the pair scores four points.
The defenders score two points for winning three or four tricks, and if a defender goes alone, the team gets four euchre points.
While in some countries, euchre is played with the Joker card, as per Canadian euchre rules, the joker is not included in the cards deck.
ABOUT AUTHOR
Toni always had an appetite for learning new things and random facts about almost everything, which is why when he got offered the job to work as a content writer he took it without hesitation. Writing daily took his love for words and research to a whole new level, and made him realize that this is a career he would love to pursue. Although he spends most of his time researching his next piece, you can also find him on the football court, in the gym, or at home with a book in his hand.
