Euchre Variants
Stick the dealer, bid euchre, the British game — the family tree, and what this table plays.
Play Euchre freeEuchre is played from Michigan to Ontario to the west of England, and every region is certain its rules are the real ones. The core never changes — 24 cards, five tricks, two bowers — but the edges move. Here is the map.
The variant family
| Variant | The twist |
|---|---|
| Stick the dealer | If everyone passes twice, the dealer MUST name a suit — no thrown-in hands. Popular in the American Midwest. |
| Farmer's hand | A hand of nines and tens may be exchanged for three cards from the kitty before bidding. |
| 3-hand (cutthroat) | No partners; the maker plays against the other two in temporary alliance. |
| Bid euchre | A bigger deck and numeric bidding — closer to Pedro or 500 than to classic euchre. |
| British euchre | Adds the Benny (a Joker) as the top trump above the right bower; usually played to 11 in pubs, with the 2 of spades as "benny" in some counties. |
| Railroading | A lone caller may swap one card with their partner's best before playing alone. |
What this table plays
- Classic North American euchre — 24 cards (9 to Ace), four players, two partnerships.
- No Joker. The right bower is the highest trump, the left bower second.
- Bidding: the up-card is offered round once, then a suit may be named — except the turned-down suit. If everyone passes twice, the hand is thrown in and redealt.
- Scoring: 3–4 tricks 1; march (all five) 2; lone march 4; euchre 2 to the defenders — 4 if a lone defender does it. First side to 10 wins.
- Going alone is always available to the maker.
Small glossary
- Right bower
- The Jack of trump — the best card in the game.
- Left bower
- The other Jack of the same colour. Counts as trump, not its printed suit.
- March
- Taking all five tricks — 2 points, or 4 alone.
- Euchre
- Setting the makers below three tricks — 2 points to the defence.
- Up-card
- The card turned face up after the deal and offered as trump.
- Thrown in
- A hand abandoned after two rounds of passes, redealt by the next dealer.
Keep reading
- How to Play Euchre — the complete rules.
- Euchre Strategy — calling, bowers and going alone.
- Euchre Terms — bowers, loners and table talk.
- Going Alone in Euchre — loner rules, scoring and defence.
- Euchre for 3 Players — cutthroat rules and scoring.