Euchre Game
Euchre, pronounced YOO-ker, is a trick-taking card game played with a short deck of 24 cards ranked Nine to Ace. Card game for four players in two pairs; includes hands of five cards each, accepting trump of face-up card, going solo, stick the dealer option; online euchre, free euchre Features: live opponents, game rooms, rankings, extensive stats, user profiles, contact lists, private messaging, game records, support for mobile devices.
OBJECTIVE: The goal is to win more tricks than the opposing team.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: special Euchre deck
TYPE OF GAME: Trick-taking game
AUDIENCE: 10+
The Deck Euchre:
To play Euchre, a special Euchre deck should be used, or one can remove all but the Ace – 9 cards of each suit in a standard 52 card deck to make the the deck of 24 cards needed for proper play of the game.
How to deal:
Each player receives five cards, leaving four cards remaining. Turn the top card of the remaining deck over, for everyone to see.
The Rank:
The ace is the highest and the nine is the lowest until a trump suit is established. Here is where Euchre is unique, the card rankings change for the trump suit. For example, if diamonds become the trump suit then the jack of diamonds becomes the highest ranking card and the opposite jack of the same color, in this scenario that would be the jack of hearts, becomes the second highest ranking card. The cards of the trump suit will out rank all other remaining cards.
How to establish trump:
The player to the left of the dealer has the first option to establish a trump suit. The first potential trump suit is the suit of the card that was flipped over on the remaining deck after the deal. Let’s say for this example, that the flipped over card is the queen of spades. Each player, starting with the player to the left of the dealer, can either declare spades the trump suit or pass. If all players pass on declaring spades as the trump suit, then the option returns to the player to dealer left, and they can choose any other suit other than the one that was previously passed on.
If the trump card is established as the one that was flipped up on the deck, the dealer gets to take that card into his hand and replace it with another card in his hand that he’d like to discard. The discard is placed face down. If the suit that was face up on the deck is passed on, no discard is made.
How to play:
For this scenario we will say that hearts are the trump card. The player to dealer left gets to play first. The goal is to win as many tricks as possible, so leading provides a good opportunity to discard your highest card in hopes of taking that trick. Each player is required to play a card of the same suit if possible. Who ever played the highest ranking card wins, Ace being the highest. The winner of the trick leads the next round. If one does not have a card in the suit led, then they are eligible to play a trump card, or any card of their choosing.
For this example lets say hearts are trumps. If the jack of hearts is played and the next player has the jack of diamonds in their hand and no hearts, they are required to play the jack of diamonds because that is a trump card and considered to be part of the trump suit.
How to score:
The team that determined the trump suit is considered to be the attacker. If they win three or four tricks then they will receive only one point for winning those tricks. If they win all five tricks they will receive two points.
The team that did not determine the trump is referred to as the defender, and they win two points for winning three of four tricks and four points for winning all five tricks. When the defending team wins three or more tricks in a hand it’s known as a Euchre.
If a player plays alone, they will receive one point for winning three or four tricks and four points for winning all five tricks.
The first team to 10 points wins!
Playing alone:
The player who determines trump, has the option to play the hand without their partner. In this situation, the players partner will put his or her cards face down on the board and the round would be played the same as described above.
Whiteknucklecards about Euchre http://whiteknucklecards.com/games/euchre.html
What is Euchre?
Euchre is a classic trick-taking card game originating from the Pennsylvanian settlements in the United States. This game is commonly cited as the reason for the existence of Joker cards in modern sets. One might find similarities with the French card game of Écarté in Euchre. Other common ways of spelling the name are: Yuker, Uker, and Euker.
How to Play Euchre?
Euchre is designed to be played by 4 players split into 2 teams of two. All you need to play Euchre is a standard 52-card deck. To form the standard Euchre deck, all cards of rank 2-8 are removed, leaving the 24 cards of ranks 9 to Aces.
Dealing and Shuffling
Each team’s players sit opposite to each other.
The dealer will deal 5 cards to each player in clockwise order. The remaining 4 cards are set aside, and the top card of the remaining 4 is flipped over, revealing the card’s rank and suit.
Turn order then begins with the player to the left of the dealer, proceeding in clockwise order.
Determining Trump Suit
Before the main game begins, the trump suit is determined. Following turn order, each player gets to call the revealed top card’s suit as the trump suit.
For example, if the revealed top card is 9♣, the trump suit is ♣ if called.
Each player can either call or pass the revealed suit. Once a player calls the trump suit, the game begins. The dealer then takes the revealed top card and replaces one card from their hand with the top card.
If all players pass on the revealed top card’s suit, the top card is removed from the game, and each player can choose to call a suit of their choosing as the trump suit. At this stage, the card replacement phase is skipped.
If all players pass, the dealer, last in turn order, must choose a trump suit.
The team calling the trump suit then becomes the attackers, whereas the other team becomes the defenders for the round.
Card Ranks
Card ranks in the Euchre card game for all suits follow standard ranks, with Aces being the highest card and 9s being the lowest card.
For the trump suit, the Jack becomes the highest ranked card, and the off-suit Jack (Jack of the same color as the trump suit) becomes the second highest ranked card.
For example, if the trump suit is ♣, the ♣ suit’s card rankings are: J ♣, J ♤, A ♣, K ♣, Q ♣, 10 ♣, 9 ♣.
Note that for the round, the J ♤ is considered to be a ♣-suited card.
Trick-taking
The game begins with the player to the left of the dealer leading the first trick. Each player must follow suit if possible, and can only play cards from other suits (including cards from the trump suit) if they are unable to follow suit.
If no cards of the trump suit are played, the player with the highest ranked card wins the trick.
If a trump suited cards are played, the player with the highest trump suited card wins the trick.
An example of a trick is shown in the Example Plays section of the guide.
The player who wins each trick leads the next.
How to Win?
Each round ends when 5 tricks have been played out. This is called a “march.” The goal is to win as many tricks as possible, or at least three. Failing to get three tricks is also know as being “euchred.” The first team to reach 10 points wins the game.
Scoring is visualized more precisely in the scoring section of the guide.
Euchre Going Under
When a player calls the trump suit before the round begins, they can choose to play the round without his/her partner by going under.
Euchre Game Online
The round plays out as usual, but with 3 players instead. Going alone results in a potential point increase if the team manages to win all tricks despite the disadvantage.
Farmer’s Hand
If a player gets a hand consisting solely of 9s and 10s, they can show their hand. This forces a reshuffling of the deck as a misdeal.
Euchre Game Origin
Rules
The Euchre rules and instructions are:
- Each player is dealt 5 cards each, the remaining 4 cards are set aside and the top card is flipped up.
- Trump suits are determined to either be the top card or a suit of the players’ choosing.
- The team calling the trump suit becomes the attackers, and the other team becomes the defenders for the round.
- The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick. The player winning each trick leads the next.
- Each player must follow the lead suit if possible during tricks.
- Each round ends once all 5 tricks are played out.
Scoring Point System
Euchre scoring is based on the number of tricks taken and on the team’s status. The Euchre point system is shown in the table below:
| 3-4 Tricks Won | 5 Tricks Won | |
|---|---|---|
| Attackers | 1 | 2 |
| Defenders | 2 | 4 |
| Attackers (Going Under) | 1 | 4 |
| Defenders (Going Under) | 2 | 4 |
The Play
The following is an example round of Euchre, with Players A and C being the attackers, and Players B and D being the defenders.
In this round, Hearts are trump. Player A leads the trick.
Euchre Game Theory
Player A: J♥ 10♥ Q♦ 9♦
Player B: K♥ J♦ 10♣ 9♣
Player C: 9♥ K♦ 10♦ J♣
Player D: J♤ 10♦ 9♦ Q♣
Player A obviously wants to win the trick, so he plays the J♥.
Player B must follow suit, and plays the K♥.
Player C must follow suit, and plays 9♥.
Player D cannot follow suit, and plays 9♦.
Player A wins the trick, and leads the next trick with 10♥.
Player B must follow suit, and plays the off-trump-suit J♦.
Player C cannot follow suit, and plays the 10♦.
Player D cannot follow suit, and plays the 10♦.
Player B wins the trick and leads the next.
Strategy & Tips
The following are some Euchre strategy tips:
- Control the attacker/defender title.
- Calling a trump suit is risky if you can’t judge your teammate’s cards.
- Going Under is very risky, and is rarely done during play.
- Play low cards when possible if your teammate has the guaranteed win.
- Remember that tricks taken are counted as a team.
- Play low cards if you know you can’t win the round.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does go under mean in Euchre?
Going under means the attackers play with only 1 team member, potentially getting a higher score if they win all tricks.
Where does Euchre originate from?
Euchre originates from the German settlers in Pennsylvania in the late 1800s.
Can you play Euchre online for free?
Euchre Games
Yes. There are online simulators for Euchre, available for PC, Android and iOS, and allow for play with other people across the globe.
Can you play the game with 3 people?
Euchre cannot be played with 3 people except when the attackers go alone. If you want to play a related card game with three, Skat could a good alternative.