Euchre rules and scoring

• Trump & the bowers
• Bidding
• Playing tricks
• Scoring
• Score sheet

Euchre is a trick-taking game for two teams of two, partners sitting opposite, played with a 24-card deck of 9s through Aces. Each hand, one team calls trump and becomes the makers: they need at least three of the five tricks. Make it and they score; fall short and they're euchred, and the defenders score instead. First team to 10 wins.

Trump and the bowers

Once trump is chosen, the two Jacks of that color become the top two trumps:

Rank	Card
Right bowerThe Jack of the trump suit — the highest card in the game.	1st
Left bowerThe other Jack of the same color. For this hand it is a trump, not a card of its printed suit.	2nd
Then the rest of trumpAce, King, Queen, 10, 9.	3rd–7th

Dealing and bidding

• Deal five cards each, in packets of two and three. Turn the next card face up — the upcard — and set the last three aside.
• Round one: starting left of the dealer, each player either passes or orders up the upcard's suit as trump. The first to accept ends the bidding, and their team are the makers. The dealer picks up the upcard — even if an opponent ordered it — and discards a card face down.
• Round two: if everyone passes, turn the upcard down. Going round again, any player may name one of the other three suits as trump. If all four pass again, the hand is thrown in and the deal moves on.
• Going alone: whoever calls trump may announce they're going alone. Their partner lays their cards face down and sits the hand out.

Playing the tricks

• The player left of the dealer leads the first trick. After that, whoever won the last trick leads.
• You must follow the suit led if you can — remembering the left bower belongs to trump, not its printed suit. If you can't follow, play anything, including a trump.
• The highest trump takes the trick. If no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led wins.

How scoring works

Result	Points
Makers take 3 or 4 tricks	1
Makers take all 5 (a march)	2
Lone hand takes all 5	4
Lone hand takes 3 or 4	1
Makers euchredFewer than three tricks — the defenders score.	2

Only one team scores each hand. The first team to reach 10 points wins — you don't need to land on it exactly.

Common variants

• Stick the dealer: no throw-ins. If the first three players pass in round two, the dealer must name a trump suit.
• Defending alone: some tables let a defender go alone too, and pay 4 if they euchre the makers.
• Cutthroat: three players, each playing for themselves against the maker.

Quick answers

Is the left bower a trump?

Yes. For that hand it's the second-highest trump and belongs to the trump suit — it can't be used to follow its printed suit.

Does the dealer have to pick up the upcard if an opponent orders it?

Yes. Whoever orders it up, the dealer takes the upcard into their hand and discards one.

What does “euchred” mean?

The team that called trump took fewer than three tricks. The other team scores 2.