Euchre Strategy: When to Call Trump and How to Play

Euchre is decided in two places: the moment trump is chosen, and the first two tricks. Get those right and the rest of the hand often plays itself. These tips start with the basics and build up to the habits of strong players. They are also the ideas behind the Hint button and the computer players in our free Euchre game.

1. Count Your Tricks Before You Call

Your side needs three tricks. A simple way to judge a hand is to count what it will probably win by itself, and then add one trick for your partner. If the total reaches three, calling trump is usually right.

• The right bower is a sure trick. The left bower is nearly as good.
• The ace of trump is a good trick; the king and queen of trump are worth about half a trick each.
• Three trumps are worth more than their cards suggest, because the last trump often wins late in the hand.
• An ace in another suit is worth most of a trick, especially early.
• A suit you have none of (a void) lets you trump when it is led, if you have trumps to spare.

Example. Hearts would be trump and you hold the jack of hearts, the king of hearts, the 9 of hearts, the ace of clubs and the 10 of spades. That is roughly one trick for the bower, one for the three-trump length, almost one for the ace of clubs, plus a trick from your partner: call it.

2. Think About Who Gets the Upcard

In round 1 the upcard always goes to the dealer. That changes the sum. If your partner is dealing, ordering up a jack or an ace puts that card on your side, so you can call a little lighter. If an opponent is dealing, ordering it up hands them a strong trump, so you need a stronger hand. Ordering up a bower to the other side's dealer is one of the most common beginner mistakes.

When you are the dealer, count your hand with the upcard in it and your weakest card already thrown away. A middling hand can turn into a good one.

3. In Round 2, Consider "Next"

When everyone passes the upcard, the other suit of the same colour is called next. If the 10 of diamonds was turned down, next is hearts. The thinking: the dealer could have picked up that colour and chose not to, and the dealer's partner passed on it too, so their side is probably short of it. That makes next a favourite call for the player to the dealer's left. It is a guide, not a law: always count your tricks first.

4. As Maker, Lead Trump

If you called trump and you hold two or more trumps, lead trump early, starting with the right bower if you have it. Every trump you pull from the defenders is one fewer that can beat your aces later. When your partner called trump and you hold a strong trump, leading it helps them in the same way.

5. As a Defender, Lead Aces and Save Trumps

Defenders usually want to win their tricks early, before the makers draw the trumps. Lead an ace in a side suit. Avoid leading trump yourself; that does the makers' work for them. Leading a suit that the makers are out of is also a gift, since they will simply trump it.

6. Don't Trump Your Partner's Winner

If your partner's card is already winning the trick, play your lowest card instead of taking the trick yourself. This is especially important when you are out of the suit led: trumping your partner's ace wastes a trump that could win a trick of its own. Our computer partner follows this rule, and the Hint will remind you of it.

7. Win Cheaply, Throw Low

When you can win a trick, use the cheapest card that wins. If you can't win, throw your least useful card, often a lone low card in a side suit. Getting rid of a lone card creates a void, and a void plus a spare trump is an extra trick later.

The dealer has a special chance here: when picking up the upcard, put away a lone side card (not an ace) to become void in that suit straight away.

8. Watch the Cards

With only 24 cards, keeping track is easier than in most games. Notice which bowers and aces have been played. Once the ace of a suit is gone, the king is the best card left. Notice too when a player fails to follow suit: they are out of it, and if they still have trumps they will trump it next time. The Hard computer players do exactly this, using only what everyone at the table has seen.

Remember that three cards are never dealt. A missing bower may simply be sitting in the kitty, so don't count on it being in an opponent's hand.

9. Go Alone Only With a Lock

Going alone scores 4 points instead of 2, but only if you take all five tricks. With three or four tricks you get the same single point you would have had with your partner's help, and with fewer you are euchred. Good loner hands usually hold both bowers or the right bower with two more high trumps, plus an ace or a void. If you are counting on a lucky lead, play with your partner.

10. Mind the Score

Near the end of the game, the score changes the right choice. If the other side needs only one point, a borderline call may be worth the risk, because letting them make trump cheaply ends the game anyway. If your side needs two points to win, a march or a loner is worth more than usual, so think twice about going alone with a hand that might take all five.

Practise With the Hint Button

In our game, the Hint button suggests a bid or a card and explains why, and every computer move has a Why? button. Use them to check your counting while you learn. After each hand, Show All Hands lets you see what everyone held, which is the quickest way to learn when a call was brave and when it was foolish. You can also replay any deal by its number.

For more partnership play, try Spades, where you bid the exact number of tricks your team will take.