Euchre Strategy

Euchre Strategy
Euchre Strategy Guide
Euchre Strategy What To Lead
Euchre Strategy Guide
Euchre Strategy Tips
Euchre Strategy Advanced Game

Euchre is a card game that is thought to have descended from a popular 16th century game named Triomphe. A hundred years ago in America, it had plenty of devotees and was considered our national card game. Here's how to play:
Number of players: Four in pairs. Partners sit facing each other. There are also two- and three-handed versions.
Object: To score points by winning at least three of five tricks.
The cards: A 32-card deck, 7s through aces for each suit, is used. Special Euchre decks are available, a Bezique deck can be used, or you may simply set aside the 2s through 6s of all suits in a standard deck. Cards rank as follows: A (high)-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7, except in the trump suit. For trump, the jack (called the right bower) is high, and the jack of the same color (the left bower) is the second-highest trump. Euchre is also played with 24 cards (7s and 8s omitted), 28 cards (7s omitted), or with one joker added.

How Scoring Works
Declaring side wins three or four tricks, 1 point
Declaring side wins five tricks (a march), 2 points
If lone hand wins three or four tricks, 1 point
If lone hand wins five tricks, 4 points
Declaring side euchred (wins fewer than three tricks), opponents score, 2 points
Game is played to a predetermined number of points, usually 5, 7, or 10.

Rules of Euchre are available on the Card Game Heaven site. Ralph Sprovier's Euchre Info website has a collection of recommended documents and links on Euchre strategy and terminology. The Euchre page of the White Knuckle Playing Cards site, which describes the Australian game with 32 cards. Archive copy of Dave Barker's former Euchre page. Euchre Point Systems allow players to evaluate various hands. Although no point system is perfect, they do provide guidelines on when to declare trump. The point system below assigns points for each card in trump, the up-card, off-suit aces, and an extra point for being 2 suited. ♦More Advanced Strategy♦ Euchre Tactics ♥ 'Next' for your partner ♥ Trump Pong Euchre Basics ♥ New to Euchre or unsure of the rules? Euchre History ♥ The complete history of Euchre. Ten Commandments of Euchre ♥ A list of comical, yet solid guidelines of Euchre, with commentary. Euchre is a game best played with 4 people divided into teams of 2. Once you have your teams, you’ll need to prepare your cards. Most people prefer to simply buy a ready-made Euchre playing card set to make setting up the game as simple as possible. Alternatively, some people prefer to use a standard 52 card deck that is modified for Euchre.

Dealing: Players draw cards to set pairs and decide the dealer. Only in determining partners is the ace considered low. Those who draw the two highest cards play against the other two players. Lowest card deals first. Those who draw the same rank, draw again. Henceforth, the deal rotates clockwise. Five cards are dealt to each player either in batches of two and three or three and two. After the hands are dealt, the dealer turns up the top card from the stock to begin the task of setting trump.
Setting trump: Action starts with the player to the dealer's left (called the eldest player). Each player, in turn, may accept or pass the suit of the upcard as trump. If the eldest accepts the upcard

Euchre Strategy

as trump, saying, 'I order it up,' the dealer must then accept the upcard as a part of his or her hand and discard one card facedown, placing it into the stock. The dealer keeps the upcard on top of the stock until it is played. If the eldest does not want the upcard to be trump and passes, the dealer's partner can say, 'I assist,' in which case the suit of the upcard becomes trump, and the dealer again must discard. If partner passes, the other opponent can 'order it up.' If that player also passes, however, the dealer can either say, 'I take it up' or 'I turn it down.'
If all players pass, the dealer turns the upcard facedown and puts it under the stock, and the players go through a second round with slightly different rules. The round begins from the dealer's left with no upcard. Instead, each player, in turn, has the choice of naming a suit as trump or passing. The suit rejected in the first round may not be nominated a second time. If no trump is selected during the second round, the cards are shuffled for a new deal.
When you accept or name trump, you may also decide to play alone. At which time, you must declare 'alone,' and your partner's hand is taken out of play. You must then play against both opponents. In this case, the risk is far greater than the reward. Unless you score 'march' (winning five tricks), you get only one bonus point for success, but you lose two points for failing. Some also allow for one defender to decide to play alone against lone declarer, in which case if the declarer is euchred, the defenders score 4 points.

2006 Publications International, Ltd.
If you are the dealer, you will want to accept clubs as trump
because you will have the two highest trumps and probably
a A winner. You will certainly not want to play alone with
two almost certain losers. If you are not the dealer, you will
not want clubs to be trump. Quite likely the J
will take your J, and your ace could be trumped.

Playing: Play always begins with the player to dealer's left. You must follow suit to each lead if possible. Otherwise, play any card. The highest card of the suit led wins the trick unless the trick holds at least one trump. In this instance, the highest trump played wins the trick. Remember the J is not played as a heart when the trump suit is diamonds; this is also true for other jacks of the same color as the trump suit.

Tips: The trump suit has nine cards, but there are only seven cards in the other suit of the same color. The two remaining suits have eight cards each. Since each deal leaves out about a third of the deck, on average only five or six cards of each suit are in play. If you have three cards in the trump suit and your partner can take a trick, you are likely to win the majority of tricks.
When you have three practically certain winning cards in your hand and chances of winning the other cards, it may be wise to play alone. Your nontrump cards, even if not clear winners, may take tricks anyway: Your opponents have only ten cards between them and may fail to hold on to the right cards.
Don't forget that if the upcard is accepted as trumps, it becomes part of the dealer's hand. This may influence your decision to accept that suit as trumps for your side.
The game score may also influence your decision to pass, accept, or play alone. If you have a large lead, it may be a good risk to venture a questionable acceptance of the trump suit if you fear an opponent may score a march (4 points) in a different suit. Even if you're euchred, opponent scores only 2 points.
Variation: Two-Handed Euchre is generally played with a 24-card deck, omitting 7s and 8s as well. Score for a march is 2 points.

Euchre QOD: “Find your finessable honor.”
Euchre Haiku:
A high and low card
The decision comes to you
Which one do you play?

Euchre Strategy Guide

Euchre Palaver

Euchre Strategy What To Lead

“Finesse” – A play in which a card is played that is not the highest ranking but the player hopes that the remaining higher cards are positioned in the other hands favorably such that it wins. More common in bridge but it happens on occasion in euchre.
Savvy Strategies
There are times in a euchre game in which you do not have all the highest cards. For example, suppose you have a hand that contains the Right bower and the Ace of trump. Your partner leads the 9 of trump. The next player plays the 10 of trump. Should you play the Right bower or the Ace of trump?
If the opponent who played the 10 of trump also had the Left bower, than playing your Ace is a winning play. While not technically correct, euchre players often say that the Left bower was “finessed”. If the fourth player has the Left bower than the Ace will be a losing play. In this case, the finesse has failed.
Finesses happen at other times too. Suppose you again have the Right bower and the Ace of trump and a suit is led in which you are void. Should you play the Ace or the Right? It depends on the situation.
So, when should you finesse? Here are some tips to consider.
Don’t do it when…

Euchre Strategy Guide

1. ...trump is lead and you have four trump. The chances that the Left is unguarded are quite high and you should try to win it right there.
2. …you do not need 2 points and your hand is strong. The finesse is often used to help aid a march. If you are “in the barn” and do not need 2 points, don’t bother finessing. Often, the finesse play makes it harder to win a point if it fails.
Do it when…
3. Finesse whenever you know it will work. There are times when the finesse is guaranteed because you know where the missing card is. For example, it could’ve been turned down or picked up by the dealer.

4. Finesse when you think you know it will work. Sometimes you play opponents who have no poker faces at all. You get a hunch that they have the missing card and you think your finesse might be successful. Go ahead and try it. There is some card reading in euchre.

Euchre Strategy Tips

These tips are not the final word on finessing but that should provide a good start to help you win more euchre games.

Euchre Strategy Advanced Game

Euchre on the Web
Thinking of hosting a euchre tournament? Well, check out this site for tips on how to do it. This is more of a solo tournament as the partnerships keep changing. My circle of friends has played this way and it works out pretty well. You have to get lucky to win but it is fun nonetheless.