Hobbies Card Games

Tutorials and Strategies for Playing Euchre

By
Erik Arneson
Erik Arneson

Erik Arneson is a highly respected board game expert, sharing his 20 years of knowledge on gaming strategies. He's the author of the book, "17 Games You Can Play Right Now," has been a featured speaker at the American International Toy Fair, and is the former Vice President of the Strategy Gaming Society.

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Updated on 11/20/19
friends playing cards

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Some believe that euchre was introduced to the United States in the 1800s by German settlers in Pennsylvania. Others say the game was an offshoot of Juckerspiel, a game that became widely popular throughout Europe during the Napoleonic era. 

Despite its ambiguous origins, it became one of the most popular card games in the U.S. in the 1900s. It remains very popular in the midwest United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Ontario, Canada, although it is played all over the world. Take a look at the rules and tips for how to play euchre to become a better player.

  • 01 of 06

    Euchre Rules

    The rules of euchre are relatively simple: four people play, you are paired with a partner, you win rounds, and you aim to be the first team to score 10 points.

    To play euchre, you can use a modified deck of standard cards. If you use a standard deck, you would only need the ace, king, queen, 10, and 9 of all the suits. Or, you can also buy a customized euchre deck.

    There are five rounds of play. In every round, each player plays a card. The object in each round is to win the "trick" or that round. A trump suit is selected by the group. The cards rank in the following order of importance: jack of trump suit, jack same color. The most valuable card, the jack of the trump suit, is also called the "right bower." The other jack of the same color is called the "left bower."

  • 02 of 06

    How to Bid in Euchre

    Euchre is subject to some of the same strategies as other trick-taking games, but the limited number of tricks you can get per round and luck of the draw changes euchre strategy quite a bit. Learning how to bid in euchre is vital to becoming a better player.

  • 03 of 06

    What Card to Lead in Euchre

    There are a few different schools of thought on what card to lead with in euchre. Regardless of what you end up leading with, trump is what you ultimately want. In euchre, there are no more than seven trump cards in the deck. If you hold three trump cards, you know that at least four more exist in the other hands.

  • 04 of 06

    How to Cheat at Euchre

    Euchre is unique in that cheating is considered a normal and legal part of play in most cases. But, before you start, make sure the group agrees and establishes the house rules. Some potential ways to cheat may include stealing a card from the deck or dealing an extra card for yourself.

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  • 05 of 06

    Three-Handed Euchre

    Three-handed euchre is a version of the card game for three players. In this game, also known as cutthroat, there are no permanent partnerships. Players win or lose on their own.

  • 06 of 06

    Railroad Euchre

    Railroad euchre is a variant based on standard euchre with rules that make the game quicker. It was dubbed "railroad euchre" since the ruleset was developed by commuters who played on a train.