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The Basics of Euchre

Euchre is a trick-taking card game most commonly played with four people in two partnerships and the play of the cards in conventional clockwise order alternates between the two partnerships.

It is played with a deck of 24 standard playing cards.The highest ranking card is the jack of the trump suit and is referred to as the right bower. The second highest ranking card is the jack of the suit of the same color as the trump suit; this card is called the left bower. Remaining cards of the trump suit rank from high to low as 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.

Bidding (naming trump)

Each player is dealt five cards with a top card turned face up, and bidding begins.

Once the cards are dealt and the top card 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 decides to "call" the up-turned card as trump (which indicates that the bidding team claims they will win at least three tricks), the dealer picks up the top card in the kitty. This is termed picking up or ordering up the top card. In this event, the dealer picks up the top card from the kitty and then selects a card from the hand to discard, face down, so that the dealer only has five cards.

If a player does not want the upturned card's suit to become trump, they pass. The next player to the left may then order up the card or may likewise pass. If the upturned card comes around the table to the dealer without being ordered up by any of the players, the dealer may make a bid by picking up the top card and then discarding.

The dealer may also decline the upturned card's suit and once this suit has been passed by all four players, it may no longer be chosen as trump.

If the upturned card's suit is not chosen by any of the four players, the players are offered the opportunity to name any of the other three suits as trump, beginning with the player to the dealer's left, and proceeding clockwise. In this case, play begins as soon as a suit is named; no cards enter or leave the dealer's hand. A player may pass as previously described, and if the bidding comes around the table to the dealer without the naming of a suit, the dealer may name a suit. If he or she also declines to name a suit, the cards are collected, no points are scored, and the deal is passed to the left.

Objective and scoring

In Euchre, naming trump is sometimes referred to as "bidding," "making," "calling," or "declaring trump". When naming a suit, a player asserts that his or her partnership intends to win at least three of the five tricks in the hand. 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 bidding partnership to win three tricks is referred to as being euchred (also called getting set) and is penalized by giving the opposing partnership two points.

A bidder with exceptionally good cards can go alone, in which case he or she seeks to win all five tricks without a partner. The partner of a bidder in a 'go alone' hand does not play, if all five tricks are won by the bidder, 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.


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. The player that won the trick 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.

Going alone/ 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" 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). If the dealer selects the top card, they may also declare a loner hand.


During a loner, the bidder's partner does not participate in play of the hand. 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.

One of the opponents of the lone bidder may bid "defend alone", and his partner must stay out. The lone defender will play alone.

Scoring


Scoring in Euchre

Bidding partnership (makers) wins 3 or 4 tricks

1 point

Bidding partnership (makers) marches (wins 5 tricks)

2 points

Bidder goes alone and marches

4 points

Bidder goes alone and wins 3 or 4 tricks

1 point

Defenders win 3 or more tricks
(known as a euchre, or setting the bidder)

2 points

Strategy

Many sources for Euchre strategy exist, and one popular and humorous version are the Ten Commandments of Euchre by noted Euchre master Harvey Lapp. The commandments are:

  1. Thou shalt not pass a biddable hand.
  2. Thou shalt counteth upon thy partner for one trick.
  3. Thou shalt not trumpeth thy partner's ace.
  4. Thou shalt trumpeth thy partner's king.
  5. Thou shalt leadeth trump to thy partner's order.
  6. Thou shalt not leadeth trump to thine opponent's order.
  7. When thou hath ordered trump, leadeth thy right bower to smite thy foes.
  8. Ordereth not the right bower unto thy partner's hand unless thou canst go alone.
  9. Goeth alone whenever thou canst, unless thy team hath eight or nine points.
  10. Thou shalt not complaineth about the cards the Lord thy Euchre God hath bestowed upon ye.

Source: wikipedia.

Playing cards

Where to play Euchre