Euchre for 3 Players
Everyone alone, two against whoever calls — and the alliance changes every hand.
Play Euchre freeThree-handed Euchre — usually called Cutthroat Euchre — keeps the 24-card deck, both bowers and the five-trick hand, and throws out the partnerships. Whoever names trump plays alone against the other two, who become allies for exactly one hand.
Note: this table deals the standard four-player partnership game. The rules below are for playing cutthroat with a physical deck.
Setup and deal
- 24 cards as normal: 9, 10, J, Q, K, A in each suit.
- Deal five cards to each of the three players in packets of two and three.
- Turn the next card face up as the proposed trump. The remaining five cards are the kitty and stay out of play.
- Bidding runs as usual: order it up or pass; if all three pass, the up-card is turned down and a second round allows any other suit to be named.
The temporary alliance
This is the whole character of the game. The player who names trump is the maker and plays alone. The other two are defenders for that hand only — they do not share a score, but they both benefit from euchring the maker, so they co-operate without ever being partners.
The alliance dissolves the moment the hand ends. Next hand the person who helped you may be the maker, and you will be trying to euchre them.
Scoring
| Result | Maker | Each defender |
|---|---|---|
| Maker takes 3 or 4 tricks | 1 | 0 |
| Maker takes all 5 — a march | 3 | 0 |
| Maker takes fewer than 3 — euchred | 0 | 2 each |
Two differences from the partnership game are worth noting. A march scores 3, not 2 — it is harder alone, so it pays more. And being euchred gives 2 points to each defender, which is 4 points of swing against you rather than 2. Cutthroat punishes a thin call much harder.
First to 10 points wins.
How the tactics change
- Call much more conservatively. You need three of five tricks with no partner, against two opponents actively co-operating. Both bowers, or one bower plus two other trumps, is a realistic floor.
- Gang up on the leader. With three individual scores, the trailing two should let the leader's calls fail even at some cost to themselves. This is the defining habit of good cutthroat play.
- Defenders: only one of you needs to stop them. If your ally is clearly winning a trick, do not waste a high card on it.
- Watch the kitty. Five of twenty-four cards are out of play, so a missing ace genuinely may not exist in anyone's hand.
- Going alone is meaningless here — the maker is already alone. Some tables keep a "lone defender" option; agree before you deal.
Common house rules
- Stick the dealer
- If everyone passes twice, the dealer must call. Strongly recommended in cutthroat, where three passes are common.
- Race to 5
- Shortens the game considerably; some tables find 10 too long with three.
- Blind kitty swap
- The maker may exchange one card with the top of the kitty, unseen.
Keep reading
- How to Play Euchre — the four-player rules.
- Euchre Terms — bowers, next, cross and stick the dealer.
- Going Alone in Euchre — the four-player loner.