Learn by playing
Practice a Euchre Hand
Deal a practice hand and play it against three computer players using Philadelphia Euchre Club house rules. You’ll get a tip after every card you play.
Practice hand
You sit at the bottom. Your partner sits across from you. The dealer is always the player on your right, so you lead the first trick. Cards you can’t play are grayed out. Tap one to see why.
Official club reference
Philadelphia Euchre Club Rules
Use this guide as the standard house reference for club games. Some gameplay restrictions below are Philadelphia Euchre Club house rules rather than universal euchre rules.
1. Setup, Shuffling, and Dealing
- Players: Four players, two teams of two; partners sit opposite each other.
- Deck: 24 cards: Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, 10s, and 9s of each suit.
- Objective: First team to reach 10 points wins.
- Cutting the deck: Before dealing, the dealer must offer the deck to the player on their right. That player may cut, tap to pass, or decline to cut.
- Two-round deal: Deal clockwise starting to the dealer’s left. Each player receives five cards over exactly two rounds. Deal 2 or 3 cards to each player in the first round, alternating the amounts around the table; deal the remaining cards in round two. Example: Round 1 = 3-2-3-2; Round 2 = 2-3-2-3.
- Kitty: The remaining four cards go face-down in the center; turn the top card face-up.
2. The “Stealing the Deal” Rule
- Stealing allowed: If a hand ends and the team that just dealt manages to shuffle, have the opposing team cut, and begin dealing the next hand without being noticed, they have legally stolen the deal.
- No lying: Players may not lie about whose turn it is. If the team whose deal it actually is speaks up, the deck must immediately be handed over to them.
3. Card Hierarchy
Trump cards outrank all non-trump cards.
- Right Bower: Jack of the trump suit.
- Left Bower: Jack of the same color as trump; it is treated as trump, not its printed suit.
- Ace of trump.
- King of trump.
- Queen of trump.
- 10 of trump.
- 9 of trump.
Non-trump ranking, highest to lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack (unless it is the Left Bower), 10, 9.
Example: If Hearts is trump, Jack of Hearts is the Right Bower and Jack of Diamonds is the Left Bower.
4. Bidding and Selecting Trump
- Round 1: Players, starting to the dealer’s left and moving clockwise, order up or pass on the face-up card’s suit. If ordered up, the dealer picks up that card and discards one card face-down.
- Round 2: If everyone passes, turn the face-up card face-down. Players may call any suit except the suit that was turned down.
- Makers and Defenders: The team that names trump are the Makers; the opposing team are the Defenders.
5. House Gameplay Rules
- Following suit: Players must follow the suit led if they have a card of that suit. The Left Bower counts as trump, not its printed suit.
- Breaking trump: You cannot play a trump card unless trump has already been played in a previous trick or is led in the current trick. If you are void in the led suit before trump has been broken, you must discard a non-trump card. If every card in your hand is trump, you may play trump.
- Leading trump: You cannot lead trump, including either Bower, until trump has been played in an earlier trick, unless every card in your hand is trump.
- Farmer’s Hand (“Going Under”): Before bidding, a player dealt no Aces or face cards (only 9s and 10s) may declare a Farmer’s Hand. They reveal their hand, then exchange three cards face-down with the three face-down cards underneath the kitty. The face-up card stays in place, and bidding proceeds normally.
6. Official Scoring and Scorekeeping
The first team to reach 10 points wins.
| Win 3 | Win 5 | Alone 3 | Alone 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Defend | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Use this club scoring grid for the club’s scorekeeping format.
Open the printable 2.5 × 3.5 inch scorecard · Download the print-ready PDF
Card scorekeeping
Teams may track points on the table with two low cards, such as two 5s or a 4 and a 6.
- Using two 5s: Place one 5 face-down over the other. As points are scored, slide the top card to reveal the suit symbols on the bottom card.
- At 5 points: Display one entire 5 face-up.
- At 6–9 points: Use the second 5 to cover and gradually reveal additional suit symbols until reaching 10.
7. Gameplay Examples
Example A: Following suit and the Left Bower
Trump: Spades. Your hand: Jack of Clubs (Left Bower), Ace of Diamonds, 10 of Clubs, 9 of Hearts. If a player leads the 10 of Clubs, you must follow suit with your 10 of Clubs. The Jack of Clubs is treated as a Spade, so it does not count as a Club.
Example B: Void in the led suit before trump is broken
Trump: Hearts; trump has not been played yet. Your hand: 9 of Hearts, 10 of Clubs, King of Diamonds. If a player leads the Ace of Spades and you have no Spades, you cannot play the 9 of Hearts under this house rule. You must discard the 10 of Clubs or King of Diamonds.
Example C: Leading before trump is broken
Trump: Clubs; trump has not been played yet. Your hand: Jack of Spades (Left Bower), Ace of Hearts, 9 of Diamonds. You won the last trick, so you lead. You cannot lead the Jack of Spades, because it counts as trump. Lead the Ace of Hearts or the 9 of Diamonds.