Euchre

Euchre
	A perfect loner hand for spades trump.
Origin	Europe, Canada
Type	Trick-taking
Players	4
Skills	Memory, Tactics, Communication
Cards	24-32
Deck	Anglo-American
Rank (high→low)	J (of trump suit) J (of same color) A K Q 10 9, sometimes 8 7
Play	Clockwise
Playing time	25 min.
Chance	Medium
Related games
	500, Skat

Euchre (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈjuːkər/), also known as eucre, is a trick-taking card game most commonly played with four people in two partnerships with a deck of 24 standard playing cards. It is the game responsible for introducing the joker into modern packs; this was invented around 1860 to act as a top trump or best bower (from the German word Bauer, "farmer", denoting also the jack).^[1] It is believed to be closely related to the French game Écarté that was popularized in the United States by the Cornish and Pennsylvania Dutch,^[2] and to the seventeenth-century game of bad repute Loo. It may be sometimes referred to as Knock Euchre to distinguish it from Bid Euchre.

Origins

Euchre appears to have been introduced into the United States by the early German settlers of the state of Michigan,^[3] and from that state gradually to have been disseminated throughout the nation. It has been more recently theorized that the game and its name derive from an eighteenth-century Alsatian card game named Juckerspiel,^[4] a derivative of Triomphe. Also, it may have been introduced by immigrants from Cornwall, England, where it still remains a popular game. It is also played the neighbouring county of Devon, where one theory is that it was introduced by French or American prisoners of war imprisoned in Dartmoor prison during the early 19th century.

No mention of Euchre is made in the treatise by Samuel Weller Singer, entitled Researches into the History of Playing Cards, 4to., London, 1816; nor in any of the English editions of Hoyle's Games; nor in Captain Crawley's Handy Book of Games for Gentlemen, 12mo., London, 1860. No notice of the game is to be found in the long and learned array of articles on the various games of cards in the Album des Jeux, 12mo., Paris, 1847, a careful collection of modern games of cards by M. Van-Tenac, and its name is legion in the extended Dictionnaire des Jeux of the Encyclopedic Methodique.

In the United States the only teaching of the game, except a few paragraphs in the late American editions of Hoyle's Games, and of Bonn's New Hand-Book of Games, is contained in The Game of Euchre; with its Laws, 32rno., Philadelphia, 1850, pp. 32, attributed to a late learned jurist.^[5]

The game has declined in popularity since the 19th century, when it was widely regarded as the national card game, but it retains a strong following in some regions like the Midwest, especially Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and western New York. In recent years, it has regained some popularity in the Eastern United States in the form of Bacon. It is played differently from region to region and even within regions. In Canada, the game is still very popular in Ontario, and the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand all have large followings of the game.

Dealing

Conventional euchre is a four-player trump game, wherein the players are paired to form two partnerships. Partners face each other from across the table so that the play of the cards in conventional clockwise order alternates between the two partnerships.

Conventional euchre uses a deck of 24 standard playing cards consisting of A, K, Q, J, 10, and 9 of each of the four suits. A standard 52-card deck can be used, omitting the cards from 2 to 8, or a Pinochle deck may be divided in half to form two euchre decks. In some countries, the common 32-card piquet or skat deck is used, which includes the 7s and 8s.

To determine the first deal, many players use a first Jack deals or first black Jack deals rule. Using the euchre deck, one player will distribute the cards, one at a time, face up in front of each player. The player dealt the first (black) jack becomes the dealer for the first hand. In subsequent hands, the deal is rotated clockwise. Out of courtesy, a cut should be offered by the dealer to the player on the dealer's right after shuffling and immediately before dealing. In some regions, a cut may be required but in other regions it is a dealer option. Typically, in cut optional regions, a cut may be requested by the other team if the request is made before the lay of the first cards.

Each player is dealt five cards (or seven if using the 32-card deck) in clockwise order, in groups of two or three cards each. The dealer may alternate, first giving two cards to the player to his left, three cards to his partner, two cards to the player on his right and three cards to himself. The dealer then repeats, this time giving three cards to the player on his left, two cards to his partner and so on, to give each player the requisite five cards. This method of dealing is the most common, however, any sequence is legal as long as the dealer goes around the table twice.

The remaining four cards are called the kitty, but are sometimes referred to as the kit, the widow, the blind, the dead hand, the grave, buried, or the shit pile and are placed face down in front of the dealer toward the center on the table. The top card of the kitty, sometimes referred to as the deck head, or the up card is then turned face up, and bidding begins. The dealer asks each of the other players in turn if they would like the suit of the top card to be trump, which they indicate saying "pick it up" and the top card becomes part of the dealer's hand, who then discards face down to return his hand to five cards. If no one orders up the top card, each player is given the opportunity in turn to call a different suit as trump. If no trump is selected, it is a misdeal, and the deal is passed clockwise unless it was agreed upon to play stick the dealer, an option that involves forcing the dealer to choose a trump (see the Bidding section in Euchre variations).

When a suit is named trump, any card of that suit outranks any card of a non-trump suit. The highest ranking card in traditional euchre is the Jack of the selected suit (right bower or right), then the other Jack of the same color (left bower). In descending order thereafter it is A, K, Q, 10, and 9.

In non-trump suits (except for the next suit), the jacks are not special, and the cards of those suits rank from high to low as A, K, Q, J, 10, and 9.

Example

Assume a hand is dealt and that spades are named as trump. In this event, the trump cards are as follows, from highest ranking to lowest:

Jack of spades (right bower)
Jack of clubs (left bower)
Ace of spades
King of spades
Queen of spades
10 of spades
9 of spades

For the purpose of play, the jack of clubs becomes a spade during the playing of this hand. This expands the trump suit to the seven cards named above and reduces the suit of the same color (sometimes referred to as the next suit) by one card (the jack is loaned to the trump suit). The same principles are observed for whatever suit is named trump. Remembering this temporary transfer of the next suit's jack is one of the principal difficulties newcomers have with the game of euchre (See Cheating: Renege, below).

Once the above hand is finished, the jack of clubs ceases to be a spade and becomes a club again unless spades are again named as trump during the playing of the subsequent hand.

Play

Objective and scoring

In euchre, naming trump is sometimes referred to as making, calling, or declaring trump. When naming a suit, a player asserts that his or her partnership intends to win the majority of tricks in the hand (3 of 5 with a 24-card deck, 4 of 7 with 32 cards). A single point is scored when the bid succeeds, and two points are scored if the team that declared trump takes all five tricks. A failure of the calling partnership to win three tricks is referred to as being euchred (also called getting set or getting bumped, again depending on geographical location) and is penalized by giving the opposing partnership two points. A caller with exceptionally good cards can go alone, or take a loner hand, in which case he or she seeks to win all five tricks without a partner. The partner of a caller in a 'go alone' hand does not play, and if all five tricks are won by the caller the winning team scores four points. If only three or four of the tricks are taken while going alone, then only one point is scored. If euchred while playing alone, the opposing team still only receives two points. (In some places, a euchred lone player is worth 3 points.) There is a recognised option to defend alone, i.e. to attempt to euchre the player going alone by a single player - while difficult, successfully done this is an 8 point hand and will virtually guarantee a win.

The primary rule to remember when playing euchre is that one is never required to trump, but one is required to follow suit if possible to do so: if diamonds are led, a player with diamonds is required to play a diamond. This differs from games such as pinochle.

Calling Round (Naming trump)

Once the cards are dealt and the top card in the kitty is turned over, the upturned card's suit is offered as trump to the players in clockwise order beginning with the player to the left of the dealer. If a player wishes the proposed suit to be named trump, he orders up the dealer and the dealer must add that card to his hand. If all other players pass, the dealer can opt to pick up the card, declaring trump. If the dealer is ordered up or picks up the card, he must discard a card face down in order to return his hand to the appropriate number of cards.

If each player passes in this round, the top card is turned face down and that suit may no longer be chosen as trump. Trump selection proceeds clockwise beginning with the player to the left of the dealer. The dealer is not ordered up in this round. If no suit is chosen in this round, the cards are reshuffled and the deal passes to the player on the dealer's left.

The team that selects trump is known as the makers for the remainder of the hand. The opposing team is known as the "defenders" for the remainder of the hand. The makers must take at least three of the five tricks in the hand in order to avoid being euchred.

Winning tricks

The player to the dealer's left begins play by leading a card. (In some variations, if any player is going alone, the player to that person's left will lead.)

Play continues in clockwise order; each player must follow suit if they have a card of the suit led. The left bower is considered a member of the trump suit and not a member of its native suit.

The player who played the highest trump wins the trick. If no trump were played, the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. Players who play neither the suit led nor trump cannot win the trick. The player that won the trick collects the played cards from the table and then leads the next trick.

After all five tricks have been played, the hand is scored. The player to the left of the previous dealer then deals the next hand, and the deal moves clockwise around the table until one partnership scores 10 points and wins the game.

Trump can be called as long as the player has one of the trump suit in their hands, this includes only having the left/or the right bower/both Jacks of said suit.

Going alone (Going solo)

If the player bidding (making trump) has an exceptionally good hand, or if his or her partnership is in danger of losing the game unless they are able to score points quickly, the player making trump has the option of playing without his or her partner. If the bidder playing alone wins all five tricks in the hand, the team scores four points.

"Going alone",^[6]"Going Solo", "going all for one," or "playing alone hand" is initiated at the time the bidder orders the upturned card on the kitty to the dealer (on the first round of bidding) or names a suit (during the second round of bidding). The bidder signifies his desire to play alone by stating "alone" or (for example) "clubs alone" or "clubs solo" after bidding. If the dealer selects the top card, he may also declare a loner hand by sliding his discard to her partner. The bidder must make this call before play begins. During a loner, the bidder's partner discards his or her cards, and does not participate in play of the hand.

Another regional variation, especially popular in Canada, and therefore sometimes referred to as 'Canadian Rules', is that if the partner of the dealer orders him/her up (forcing the dealer to pick up the turned card) during the initial bidding, then the dealer is automatically forced out, and the dealer's partner plays a lone hand. This variation is also popular in Croydon, Australia and is referred to as 'bonchre'.

Depending on regional rules, the lead on the first trick will either remain with the player to the left of the dealer, or switch to the player to the left of the bidder.

The odds of success of a loner bid depend on the lay of the cards and the inactive cards held by the bidder's partner. Nine cards out of twenty-four do not participate in play, making the hand less predictable than otherwise. A hand consisting of the top five cards of the trump suit is mathematically unbeatable from any position; this is sometimes referred to as a lay-down, as a player with such a hand may often simply lay all five cards on the table at once.

The rules of an individual game may state that a player who sweeps, or wins all 5 tricks while going alone/solo gets 4 points, 2 for sweeping and 2 for going alone.

One of the opponents of the lone bidder may say "I defend alone," and his partner must stay out. The lone defender will play alone. Scoring is similar in such a case to a loner hand. Any set or euchre by a single defender going alone is worth 4 points to the defending partnership, or 3 in some regions.

Scoring

Scoring in Euchre	Points
Bidding partnership (makers) wins 3 or 4 tricks	1
Bidding partnership (makers) wins 5 tricks	2
Bidder goes alone and wins 5 tricks	4
Bidder goes alone before seeing hand and wins 3 or 4 tricks^†	1 ^†
Bidder goes alone before seeing hand, wins 5 tricks (blind loner)^†	8 ^†
Bidder goes alone and wins 3 or 4 tricks	1
Defenders win 3 or 4 tricks	2
Defenders win 5 tricks	4 ^†
Lone defender wins 3 or more tricks	6 ^†
Lone defender (vs. lone bidder) wins 3 or more tricks	8 ^†
^† regional variation

The first team to score 10 (sometimes 5, 7, 11, or 15) points wins the game (sometimes called a round). Some players choose to play win by two where there is no winner until a team has more than 10 points and 2 points more than the other team (e.g. 11-9). While score can be kept by using a tally sheet, most euchre players traditionally use the pair of 5 cards for one member of each partnership to keep score. In Western New York and parts of Ohio, it is traditional to use 2 and 3 cards, crossing them to show scores higher than 5. Some euchre players, especially in Indiana and Ohio, use a 6 and a 4. In Australia and New Zealand, where playing to 11 points is common, 5 and 6 cards are used. In all cases, one card is used to cover the other so as to expose the number of pips corresponding to the team's score.

An alternative scoring system removes the point system entirely.

Instead of points, only euchres are counted. These are when the defenders fail to earn a single trick, or when the makers fail to get three tricks (or two tricks if trump was forced). A match can be the first to 3 or 5 euchres. This simplicity can enhance the enjoyment of play. The all-or-nothing element of this system may enhance the game's drama.

Score Keeping

Scores are kept by each team by using two cards—the four card and six card of any suit, with one team choosing a red suit and the other a black suit. Scoring begins using the four card (face up), covered by the six card (face down). Upon winning one, two or four points, the six card (face down) is moved to reveal the appropriate number of suit symbols on the four card (face up). After four points, the four card is placed face down to cover the six card, but revealing five or six suit symbols, depending on the score of that team. After six points are scored, the four card is placed face up over the six card, revealing the total score. If the score moves from four points to six points, the coveted "four/six flip" is announced by the team's score keeper, where the four card is placed faced down and the six card is placed face up.

Sprouting

In score keeping, sometimes a portion of the spades, diamonds, hearts or clubs symbols on the score cards are revealed, in addition to the symbols fully revealed to indicate the score. These partially revealed symbols, which are not included in the total score, are called "sprouts." The purpose of revealing "sprouts" is superstitious and believed to give good fortune to the scoring team. In some regions, such as the Midwestern US, "sprouting" is tolerated. In other regions, such as the South (Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and Mississippi), "Sprouting" is considered poor taste and not allowed.

Betting

Betting in euchre can be done on a per trick basis. An additional bet may be based on a per bump basis. What constitutes a bump can be determined on a house rules. In general a bump occurs when the calling team fails to attain three tricks but for betting purposes a bump can also be assigned by: failure to sweep a lone hand, committing table talk, or by being caught reneging. Getting euchred on a lone hand may constitute two bumps. Bumps can be tracked with chits such as pennies piled next to the score cards. In a euchre game where bets are placed the table may agree on "a buck a trick and a buck a bump" for instance. Bets are settled at the end of each game. It is also a common betting practice to bet by points - e.g. "a buck a point." At the end of the game (which depends on the variation; some games end at the first team to reach 10 or 12 points, etc.), the losing team owes the winning team the difference in points based on the monetary value set per point.

Skunking

If one team beats the other without the losing team winning any rounds (10-0), the winning team is said to have skunked the other team.

Strategy or Cheating?

Stealing-the-deal

When you steal the deal the other team automatically gets two points in some regions, in others it is simply allowed and does not constitute cheating. To steal the deal, the partner of the previous dealer collects the cards, shuffles and deals as normal. If the opponent team does not notice that they have been skipped before dealing is finished then game play proceeds as normal. If the opponent team notices, they must say something which indicates this, and the deal is returned to the player who would normally deal next in the rotation. Normally there is no penalty for attempting to steal the deal, successful or not.

Cross-Boarding

Unscrupulous partners are known to increase their chances of winning tricks by cooperative communication which is not allowed in play. Outright verbal cross-boarding is commonly known as "table talk" or "kibbitzing." This can take the form of:

Innocuous code words to tell what cards are in the player's own hand or to query what cards are in the partner's hand or what trump to declare. E.g. "You look so LOVELY tonight." Translation: I have a lot of hearts in my hand. Call hearts as trump.
Secret gestures. Some examples: loud cough means partner should pass; scratching the right side of your face tells your partner you have the right bower (similar for left side); placing your cards face down during bidding is an invitation for your partner to go alone; discussing golf indicates that clubs should be called; twisting your ring or ring finger usually means your partner should call diamonds.

If crossboarding is called, depending on local rules, points may be given to the team calling out the infraction, or the hand may be simply disqualified and re-dealt by the next player in order. The player accused of cheating may or may not be given a chance to refute the charge. Some variations allow (or at least accept the inevitability of) the following form of non-verbal communication: A player may gratuitously hesitate before passing to signal to his partner that his cards are helpful to the offered trump, but are not sufficient to guarantee a win. This adds an additional element of strategy in that players may bluff hesitation to discourage the opponent from calling the offered trump. In some regions, overt table talk is allowed as both teams have equal opportunity to benefit from the information.

Inspecting the kitty

Under no circumstances may any player look at the cards in the kitty, also known as the "down pile." The hand is immediately declared dead and the other team is awarded 2 points. However, in some regions, playing "bottoms/farmers/kitty" is allowed. When trump is being called, a player can ask for "bottoms/farmers/kitty." The player must show that three of the cards in his hand are 9s or 10s, and he then trades his dealt cards for the 3 downturned kitty cards. He also forfeits any right to call trump. Playing bottoms/farmers/kitty is announced at the beginning of the game, along with "stick the dealer." Another variation popular in Michigan is "Ace no face" where a player may take the bottoms when they have a single ace and no face cards.

Renege

If a player does not follow suit when he is able to (most commonly by playing a trump card instead), it is considered a renege, and the opposing team is rewarded two points if it is caught in later tricks of the same hand. A variation on calling out a renege is that if more than one card of the reneged suit is played afterward, the infraction may only be called on the first instance; if it is not called until the second instance it does not count. A cheating or strategic player often reneges purposely in order to win a trick if they think the opposing team will not catch the renege. However reneges can also be unintentional, where a player misreads some of his/her cards, usually by misinterpreting the left bower as being of its native suit, but are still callable by opponents as reneging. If a player reneges when the opposing player is going alone, that team may be awarded 4 points instead of 2, depending upon region. In those areas, purposely reneging when the opposing player is going alone to prevent them from getting the full 4 points is explicitly allowed but considered somewhat underhanded, akin to stealing the deal.

Variations in play

For more detail and many more variations, see Euchre game variations.

Euchre is a game with a large number of variant versions and alternate rules. They include versions for two to six players, as well as changes in cards used, bidding, play, and scoring.

Many of these variations are specific to a particular region. In the US, one popular variation is Stick the Dealer (also called Screw the Dealer), where the dealer is forced to call trump if no suit is chosen after the second round of bidding. Another popular variation is Farmer's Hand, or No Ace No Face No Trump where a player with a bad hand can force a re-deal or exchange his low cards for the kitty. In Australia and New Zealand, playing to 11 rather than 10 points is common. In southwestern England and Guernsey, variations with a joker as highest trump are played. In southern Ontario after the dealer turns up the top card on the kitty if the first player to the left passes and the dealer's partner would like to order up the dealer, the dealer's partner must play alone.

Change of rules

Six players

Use a deck of three red suits and three black suits. The players divide into three teams of two players. Teammates should be sitting directly across the table from each other (there should be two players between partners on either side).

There will be three bowers: one right and two left. In both suits of the same color as trump, the jack is a left bower; the first one played outranks the second. Otherwise the rank of cards is as in normal play.

Scoring

If a team calls trump and wins the hand (with 3 or 4 tricks), they get 1 point.
If a team calls trump and ties another team (each with 2 tricks), then both teams get 1 point.
If a team calls trump and does not win the hand, the winner gets 2 points (if both other teams get two tricks they are both awarded 2 points).
If a team takes all 5 tricks they receive 2 points (whether or not they called trump).
If a person should choose to play the hand ALONE (without their partner), they can get four points by taking all 5 tricks.
If they go alone and take less than 5 tricks, standard scoring applies.

First team to get 10 points wins the game.

Six players - Alternative

Use two standard Euchre decks of A, K, Q, J, 10 and 9 with a total of 48 cards. The players then divide into two teams of three players each. The teammates sit every other seat rotating around the table so teammates don't sit next to each other. The dealer deals out all of the cards, giving every player eight cards in their hand.

Most of the rules are the same as with regular Euchre, except how trump is made and how scoring is done. Both are more like bid Euchre. You bid how many tricks you can get going around the table once. The winning bidder picks the trump. The minimum bid is three, and the loners are Little and Big Shooters. With both you go alone, the only difference is in Little Shooter you get partner's best from both of your teammates. With both shooters, the player must get all tricks or they get set. Another difference is if the same card is played, such as both rights bowers, the first one laid is the winner.

Scoring

Teams get one point for every trick they get, whether they made trump, or not.
If a team doesn't make their bid, then they don't get any points and they lose as many points as their bid.
If a player calls a Little Shooter, and they get every trick then their team is awarded 12 points.
If a player calls a Big Shooter, and they get every trick, then their team is awarded 24 points.

To win, a team has to get 32 points on a turn when they make trump. If the team gets 32 points didn't make trump, then they need 34 points to win.

Going alone six man

If a player goes alone, and they get every trick they are awarded 16 points.
If a player goes alone and does not get all 8, they lose eight points and the other team is awarded their tricks.
For example: going alone positive 16 if won, or 3 tricks for the opposing team and - 8 for going alone, a 11 point swing.

Eight players

The players divide into four teams of two players. Teammates should be sitting directly across the table from each other (there should be three people between partners on either side). There will be 4 bowers, 1 right and 3 left.

The rank of Trump goes as follows:

Bowers: (Jacks of same color as trump)
Right Bower (jack of trump)
1st played (left Bower) jack
2nd played (left Bower) jack
3rd played (left Bower) jack
Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9.

Scoring

If a team calls trump and wins the hand (with 2, 3 or 4 tricks), they get 1 point.
If a team calls trump and ties another team (each with 2 tricks), then both teams get 1 point.
If a team calls trump and does not win the hand, the winner gets 2 points (if 2 other teams get two tricks they are both awarded 2 points).
If a team takes all 5 tricks they receive 2 points (whether or not they called trump). If a person should choose to play the hand alone , they can get four points by taking 4 or 5 tricks.
If they go alone and take less than 4 tricks, standard scoring applies.