Euchre rules

The rules of euchre in order, from the 24 card deck through dealing, bidding, following suit, renege penalties and winning the game.

Last updated 2026-09-06

This is the rule set, written to be looked up rather than read start to finish. If you are learning the game, start with how to play euchre instead.

The deck

Twenty four cards: 9, 10, J, Q, K, A in spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs.

Players and partners

Four players in two fixed partnerships. Partners sit opposite one another. Play and dealing move clockwise.

Card ranking

In the trump suit, high to low: right bower (jack of trump), left bower (other jack of the same color), ace, king, queen, ten, nine.

In every other suit, high to low: ace, king, queen, jack, ten, nine.

The left bower belongs to the trump suit for the entire hand. Its printed suit is irrelevant for following suit, for leading, and for winning tricks. The suit that lost its jack has only five cards that hand.

The deal

1. Choose a first dealer by any method. Dealing passes clockwise after each hand.
2. Deal five cards to each player, clockwise, in two rounds of two and three (or three and two). Deal in packets, not one at a time.
3. Place the remaining four cards face down. This is the kitty.
4. Turn the top card of the kitty face up.

Bidding

Round one. Starting to the dealer's left, each player in turn either passes or orders up the face up card, making its suit trump. If ordered up, the dealer adds that card to their hand and discards one card face down. Bidding ends immediately.

Round two. If all four pass, the face up card is turned down and its suit may not be named this hand. Starting again to the dealer's left, each player either passes or names one of the other three suits as trump. The dealer does not exchange any card in this round.

All pass twice. Standard rules: the hand is dead, cards are collected and the next player deals. Under the near universal house rule stick the dealer, the dealer may not pass in round two and must name a suit.

The player who names trump, and their partner, are the makers. The other team are the defenders.

Going alone

The maker may declare going alone before the first card is led. Their partner's hand is placed face down and takes no part in the hand. Only the maker's team can go alone in the standard game.

Play of the hand

1. The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick. If the maker's partner is sitting out and would have led, the lead passes to the next active player clockwise.
2. Play proceeds clockwise, one card each.
3. Following suit is compulsory. A player holding a card of the led suit must play one.
4. A player with no card of the led suit may play any card, including trump.
5. The trick is won by the highest trump played, or, if none was played, by the highest card of the led suit.
6. The winner of a trick leads the next.

Reneging

Failing to follow suit when able is a renege (also called a revoke). The standard penalty: if the offending player was on the makers' team, the defenders score two points; if the offending player was defending, the makers score two points. The hand ends there.

Online, following suit is enforced automatically and a renege cannot happen.

Scoring

The defenders never score for taking three or four tricks as such. They score only by euchring the makers.

Full detail and edge cases: euchre scoring.

Winning

First team to 10 points. Playing to 11 is a common variation. Playing best of three games is common in tournaments.

Table talk

Standard tournament rules forbid signalling your hand to your partner in any way: no comments on your cards, no gestures, no coded language before or during the hand. Kitchen table euchre is looser about this and much louder.

Common house rules

These are not standard, but they are so widespread that you should agree on them before the first deal:

• Stick the dealer, the dealer must call in round two
• Farmer's hand, a player dealt a hopeless hand may swap cards or force a redeal
• No trump / going under, a hand with no ace and no face card may be thrown in
• Screw the dealer variants and regional dealing rules, covered in euchre variations

FAQ

Do you have to follow suit in euchre?

Yes. If you hold a card of the suit that was led, you must play one. The only exception people trip over is the left bower, which counts as trump and not as its printed suit.

What happens if you cannot follow suit?

You may play any card, including a trump card. Playing trump when you cannot follow suit is called trumping in or ruffing, and it wins the trick unless someone plays a higher trump.

Can the defending team go alone in euchre?

Not under standard rules. Some house rules allow a defender to go alone against a lone maker, sometimes called a defensive loner, worth four points if they take three or more tricks. Agree on it before you play.

What is the penalty for reneging in euchre?

Two points to the other team, and the hand ends immediately.

How many tricks do you need to win in euchre?

The makers need three of the five tricks to score. Fewer than three and they are euchred, which gives two points to the other team.