Good euchre comes down to a few questions asked on every hand: How many tricks can my team take? Who has the bowers? What does my partner's bid tell me?
Count to seven
There are seven trump cards. Track how many have been played. If you've seen five fall and you hold one, there's at most one left out there. Counting trump is the single habit that improves your game fastest.
Remember too that only 20 of the 24 cards are in play. The four in the kitty are dead, so a card you haven't seen may not be in anyone's hand.
Bidding: what makes a good hand
You need three tricks with your partner's help. As a rough guide, order up or name trump when you hold:
- Three trump including a bower, or
- Two strong trump (a bower plus the ace) and an off-suit ace, or
- Any four trump.
A hand like this, with spades as trump, is a comfortable call: two high trump, a third trump and an ace on the side.
Two trump and nothing else usually isn't enough. You're hoping your partner has two tricks, and if they don't you give away 2 points.
Bidding by seat
First seat (left of the dealer)
Ordering up hands the dealer an extra trump. Be a little stronger to order from this seat. You also lead first, which is an advantage when you're the maker.
Second seat (dealer's partner)
When you assist, the upcard goes to your partner, so it helps your team. You can bid on a bit less here.
Third seat
Ordering up gives the dealer, an opponent, another trump. Hold a solid hand before ordering from this seat.
Dealer
You get the upcard for free, so you can pick up on lighter hands, especially with a bower or ace turned up. If you're stuck with a weak hand late in the game, think about whether passing gives the opponents an easy call.
Calling "next"
When the upcard is turned down, the suit of the same color is called next. A common convention is for the player on the dealer's left to call next with a reasonable hand. The dealer's team passed on that color, which suggests they're short in it. And if the card turned down was the jack, the left bower for next is buried in the kitty, so nobody can hold it against you.
The dealer's partner, who speaks second, more often calls a suit of the other color. That's known as crossing or reverse next.
Leading
- When your team made trump, lead trump. Pull the opponents' trump so your off-suit aces hold up. Lead the right bower first when you have it.
- When the opponents made trump, lead an off-suit ace if you have one, or a card in a suit where your partner might be strong. Leading trump into the makers usually helps them.
- Lead through the maker. If the player on your left made trump, lead so they must play before your partner.
- Don't lead the suit that was turned down early unless you have its ace; someone likely threw the rest of it away.
- When your partner called trump, lead trump to them if you have one to spare. They chose that suit for a reason.
Playing with your partner
- Don't trump your partner's ace. If they've already won the trick, play your lowest card.
- Third hand plays high. When your partner leads and the opponent behind you hasn't played, play your best card to win the trick.
- Last to play, win as cheaply as you can. If you must win the trick, use the lowest card that does it.
- Read the bid. If your partner ordered up, expect them to hold strong trump. If they passed twice, expect a weak hand.
Going alone
A loner scores 4 for all five tricks, so the payoff is big. Go alone when you're confident of all five tricks, typically with:
- Both bowers and the ace of trump, plus a fourth trump or an off-suit ace, or
- Four or five high trump.
A hand like this, with hearts as trump, should go alone. Your partner sitting out costs you nothing, and taking all five is worth 4.
If your partner is likely to take a trick you can't, such as when your hand has a weak card in a suit with an ace out, playing together and taking a sure march for 2 can be the better choice.
The dealer's discard
When you pick up the upcard, discard to make yourself void in a suit: throw away your only card of that suit. Being void lets you trump in when that suit is led. Keep off-suit aces, since they win tricks. If you're choosing between a lone ace and a lone 9 in another suit, throw the 9.
Defense
- You need three tricks to euchre the makers. Hold on to cards that can win tricks late.
- Don't waste trump on a trick your partner is already winning.
- Against a lone hand, save your highest card in the suit most likely to beat them, and keep it to the end.
- When you sit after the maker, you play last on their leads: use that to win cheaply or duck.
Want it all in one list? Read our 10 Commandments of Euchre.