Going Alone in Euchre
Send your partner away, take all five tricks, and score double. Or do not, and score one.
Play Euchre freeGoing alone — also called a loner — means playing the hand without your partner, who lays their cards face down and sits it out entirely. You take on all five tricks by yourself against two opponents, and if you take them all you score 4 points instead of 2. In a race to 10, that is close to half a game in one hand.
The rules
- Declare it when you name trump, before the first card is led. You cannot decide halfway through.
- Your partner is out. They lay their hand down and do not play. Only three hands are in play, and only three cards go to each trick.
- You still need all five tricks for the bonus. Taking three or four alone scores the ordinary 1 point — the same as if your partner had helped.
- You can still be euchred. Fail to take three and the defenders take 2, exactly as normal. There is no extra penalty for having been ambitious.
What it scores
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Alone, all 5 tricks | 4 |
| Alone, 3 or 4 tricks | 1 |
| Alone, fewer than 3 — euchred | 2 to the defenders |
| Lone defender euchres the makers | 4 |
| With partner, all 5 — a march | 2 |
That fourth row is the rule most tables forget: a defender can go alone too. If you go alone as a defender and euchre the makers, your side scores 4. It is rare and spectacular, and it requires you to be confident of stopping three tricks by yourself.
Which hands justify it
The arithmetic is simple. A loner risks nothing extra — a failed loner costs the same 2 points as a failed ordinary call — but it forfeits your partner's help. So the question is only: can this hand take five tricks without assistance?
The reliable answer is both bowers plus one more trump, or both bowers plus an off-suit ace. That is roughly the floor.
Go alone: J♠ J♣ A♠ K♠ A♥ (spades trump)
Both bowers, two more trumps, and an off-suit ace. Five tricks is close to certain.
Go alone: J♠ J♣ Q♠ A♦ K♦ (spades trump)
Both bowers, a third trump, and a protected diamond ace. Strong.
Do not go alone: J♠ A♠ K♠ Q♠ A♥ (spades trump)
Four trumps and an ace looks huge — but the left bower is missing. One opponent holds a card
that beats everything you have except the right bower, and your fifth trick is gone.
The missing left bower is the single most common reason a loner fails. Count both bowers before you count anything else.
Going alone to the scoreboard
- At 6–9 points, a loner wins the game outright. Take a thinner one than you normally would — the downside is 2 points you can afford, the upside ends it.
- At 8 or 9 against you, take the risk. If the opponents will win next hand anyway, an ordinary call that scores 1 does not save you.
- Early in a game, be strict. Getting euchred on a loner in the first hand hands over 2 points and the initiative for nothing.
- Never go alone just because the hand is strong. A strong hand with your partner still scores 2 for a march. Going alone only pays if the fifth trick is genuinely safe.
Defending against a loner
You only need one trick to cut the score from 4 to 1. That is the entire defensive goal, and it changes how you play.
- Lead your off-suit ace immediately. Do not wait — the lone player will strip your side suits and you will never get another chance.
- Lead a suit they are likely void in only as a last resort — they will simply trump it.
- Do not save anything. There is no later. Play your best card at the first opportunity.
- Both defenders should play to win separately. With your partner still in, either of you taking one trick is enough.
- Consider going alone yourself if you hold both bowers against their call — euchring them alone is worth 4.
Keep reading
- How to Play Euchre — the complete rules.
- Euchre Terms — bowers, next, cross and stick the dealer.
- Euchre Strategy — calling and leading well.
- Euchre for 3 Players — cutthroat rules and scoring.