Euchre
You and Partner against West and East. First to 10. .
You and Partner against West and East. First to 10. .
Euchre has one idea that trips up every newcomer, and until it lands the game makes no sense at all.
The right bower is the jack of the trump suit. It is the highest card in the deck. Fine.
The left bower is the jack of the same colour as trump — and here is the part that breaks people: it becomes a trump. If spades are trump, the jack of clubs stops being a club. It is a spade now. It ranks second only to the jack of spades, above the ace.
Which means: if clubs are led and the jack of clubs is the only "club" in your hand, you are void in clubs and may throw anything you like. And if spades are led, you must play it, because it's a spade.
This table enforces that properly — the trump cards in your hand are outlined in brass, including the left bower, so you can see it has changed sides.
| # | Card | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | J♠ | Right bower — the best card in the game |
| 2 | J♣ | Left bower — a spade now, beats the ace |
| 3 | A♠ | |
| 4 | K♠ | |
| 5 | Q♠ | |
| 6 | 10♠, then 9♠ | The lowest trumps still beat every off-suit card |
It counts. When bidding, it scores its hand for every possible trump suit — weighting the bowers heavily, adding for off-suit aces, and adding again for being short in a side suit, because a void means you can trump it. It only orders up with a genuine hand, and it only goes alone with something close to unbeatable.
In play, it won't waste a trump on a trick you are already winning. That single habit is the difference between a partner and a liability, and it's the first thing that annoys people about free euchre sites.
The rules and strategy shelf — including how to count a cribbage hand and why more discs in Reversi means you're losing.
The two most powerful cards in the game, and the reason euchre confuses newcomers. The RIGHT BOWER is the jack of the trump suit — the highest card in the deck. The LEFT BOWER is the jack of the SAME COLOUR as trump, and it is the second-highest — and crucially, it BECOMES a trump. If spades are trump, the jack of clubs stops being a club altogether and becomes a spade. It ranks above the ace of spades.
No — and this is the rule that catches everybody. Your jack of clubs is not a club any more; it's a spade. So if clubs are led and the jack of clubs is your only 'club', you are VOID in clubs and may play whatever you like. Conversely, if SPADES are led, you must play that jack, because it is a spade now.
The team that names trump are the 'makers' and must take at least 3 of the 5 tricks. Take 3 or 4 and you score 1 point. Take all 5 — a march — and you score 2. Fail to take 3 and you are EUCHRED: the other team scores 2. Going alone and taking all 5 is worth 4 points, which is how games are won in a hurry.
The player who named trump can choose to play without their partner, who sits the hand out entirely. It's harder — you're one player against two — but a march alone is worth 4 points instead of 2. You want both bowers and the ace of trump before you try it, or something very close.
If everybody passes twice, the dealer is not allowed to pass — they must name a trump suit, however dreadful their hand. It stops the game stalling in an endless loop of redeals, and it produces some wonderfully desperate calls. This table plays with it on.
Nine, ten, jack, queen, king and ace of each suit — everything below the nine is removed. It makes for a fast, high-card game where every trick matters, and it's why a hand of five cards can be decided so decisively by the two bowers.