A
Ace No Face
A variant rule that lets a player request a redeal when their hand contains an ace, no face cards (no Jack, Queen, or King), and no card higher than a 10. The hand is shown to the table to confirm. See the Ace No Face variation.
Alone
Short for going alone. See Loner.
B
Bid
A player's action during the bidding phase: order up, name trump, or pass. There is no auction in euchre, so a bid is a yes or no rather than a number.
Bidding Phase
The two rounds of bidding that follow the deal. In round 1, players in turn decide whether to order up the up-card as trump. If all four pass, round 2 lets each player in turn name any other suit as trump.
Bower
One of two special trump cards. The right bower is the Jack of the trump suit and is the highest card in the hand. The left bower is the Jack of the other suit of the same color as trump and is the second-highest card. The word comes from German Bauer, meaning farmer or peasant. See Right Bower and Left Bower.
C
Call
To name trump, either by ordering up the up-card in round 1 or by naming a different suit in round 2. The player who calls is the caller and their team becomes the makers.
Caller
The player who named trump for the current hand. The caller commits their team to winning at least three tricks. See Maker.
Color
Euchre groups suits into two colors: red (hearts and diamonds) and black (clubs and spades). The left bower belongs to the suit of the same color as trump, which is why it changes suits when trump is named.
Cutthroat
A three-player variant with no fixed partners. The caller plays alone against the other two for that hand, and partnerships shift each deal based on who calls. See the Cutthroat variation.
D
Deal
Distributing the cards at the start of each hand. The dealer deals five cards to each player in groups of two and three, then turns the next card face up as the up-card.
Dealer
The player who deals the current hand. The dealer rotates one seat clockwise each hand. The dealer has a structural advantage: if anyone orders up, the dealer picks up the up-card and discards.
Defenders
The team that did not call trump. The defenders' goal is to win at least three tricks themselves and euchre the maker.
Discard
After picking up the up-card, the dealer chooses one card from hand to set aside face down. The discarded card is out of play for the rest of the hand.
Donation
A defensive ordering up by the team facing a near-loss. With opponents at nine points, ordering up to take a known two-point euchre can be cheaper than letting the dealer call and win the game. Sometimes called a defensive call.
E
Euchre
Both the name of the game and an action. To euchre the maker means to prevent the maker's team from winning three or more tricks. A successful euchre is worth two points to the defenders. The threat of being euchred is what makes bidding decisions risky.
F
Farmer's Hand
A variant rule that allows a redeal when a player is dealt a hand of three 9s and two 10s, or similar weak combinations depending on the table rule. See the Farmer's Hand variation.
First Seat
The player to the dealer's left, who acts first in the bidding and leads the first trick if no one is going alone. First-seat decisions carry the most information cost because no other player has acted yet.
Follow Suit
Playing a card of the same suit as the card that led the trick. A player who has a card of the led suit must play it. Failing to follow suit when able is a renege. Note that the left bower counts as the trump suit, not the suit printed on the card.
G
Going Alone
See Loner.
H
Hand
Two related meanings. The five cards a player holds, and the entire round of play from deal to scoring (one deal, bidding, five tricks, score).
K
Kitty
The four cards not dealt to players. The top card of the kitty is the up-card. If trump is called in round 1, the dealer picks up the up-card into their hand. The other three kitty cards stay face down and are not used.
L
Lead
The first card played to a trick. The lead sets the suit other players must follow. The player who wins a trick leads the next one.
Left Bower
The Jack of the suit that is the same color as trump. It becomes a trump card for the duration of the hand and is the second-highest card behind the right bower. If clubs are trump, the left bower is the Jack of spades. If hearts are trump, the left bower is the Jack of diamonds.
Loner
A bid to play the hand without partner. The caller's partner sits out the hand, and the caller plays alone against both opponents. A successful loner that wins all five tricks scores four points instead of two. Failing to take three tricks while alone is still a euchre and scores two for the defenders. Also called going alone or walking alone.
M
Maker
The team that called trump. The maker team commits to winning at least three of the five tricks. Winning three or four scores one point. Winning all five scores two (or four on a loner). Winning fewer than three is a euchre and scores two for the other team.
March
Winning all five tricks on a call. A march by a team is worth two points. A march by a lone player (a loner march) is worth four. Also called a sweep.
N
Next
Calling trump in round 2 in the same color as the rejected up-card. The slang reflects the convention that the next suit chosen is often the one of the same color, because the Jack of that color (which would have been the left bower of the rejected suit) is buried in the kitty and cannot help the opposition. First-seat round-2 calls are often "next" calls.
O
Off-suit
Any suit that is not trump. An off-suit ace is the highest card in its suit but loses to any trump card if the suit is led and a player without that suit trumps in.
Order Up
Telling the dealer to take the up-card as trump in round 1. Saying "I order it up" or "pick it up" commits your team as the maker and forces the dealer to add the up-card to their hand and discard.
P
Partner
The player seated across the table. Partners stay fixed for the entire game in standard four-handed euchre. They cannot show or tell each other their cards. Information passes only through bids and plays.
Pass
Declining to call trump on your turn during the bidding phase. A pass communicates that your hand is not strong enough to commit in that suit, which is information the rest of the table can use.
Pickup
When the dealer adds the ordered-up up-card to their hand. Followed immediately by a discard. The dealer is the only player who can pick up the up-card.
R
Renege
Failing to follow suit when you have a card of the led suit. Reneging is a foul. The standard penalty is two points to the other team. In casual play it is sometimes called revoking. The left bower follows trump, not the suit printed on the card.
Right Bower
The Jack of the trump suit. The highest card in the hand for the duration of that hand. Holding the right bower guarantees you can take one trick by itself.
S
Screw the Dealer
See Stick the Dealer.
Second Round
The second bidding round, which only happens if all four players pass in round 1. In round 2, each player in turn may name any suit other than the rejected up-card suit as trump. If round 2 also produces no call, the hand is redealt unless the table is playing stick the dealer.
Sit Out
What a loner's partner does. Their cards are set aside face down and they take no part in the hand. They share in the score result either way.
Stick the Dealer
A variant rule that forces the dealer to name trump in round 2 if all three other players pass. Without this rule, an all-pass round 2 ends the hand and triggers a redeal. With the rule, the dealer must commit to a suit. See the Stick the Dealer variation.
Suit
One of the four standard suits: clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades. Euchre uses 24 cards: 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of each suit. The Jacks behave differently once trump is named.
Sweep
See March.
T
Third Seat
The dealer's partner, who acts third in the bidding. Third seat has the most information of any non-dealer bidder, because two other players have already acted by the time third seat decides.
Throw Off
Playing a low card you do not need, usually when you cannot follow suit and do not want to spend a trump card. The right throw-off saves your useful cards for tricks you can win.
Trick
One round of play where each active player plays one card. Four cards are played to a trick in standard play, three on a loner, two in Cutthroat. The highest trump (or the highest card of the led suit if no trump was played) wins the trick. There are five tricks per hand.
Trump
The suit named for the current hand. Any trump card beats any card of any other suit. Trump is the heart of the game: every bidding and play decision flows from what trump is and who has it.
Turn Down
What happens to the up-card when all four players pass in round 1. The dealer turns the up-card face down, and the bidding moves to round 2 with the rejected suit unavailable as trump.
U
Up-Card
The card turned face up after the deal. It is the proposed trump suit for round 1. If any player orders it up, the dealer picks it up and that suit becomes trump.
V
Void
Having no cards of a particular suit in your hand. Being void in a side suit means you can trump in when that suit is led, which is often a strong position.
W
Walk Alone
Regional slang for going alone. See Loner.
Where to Go Next
For the full rules these terms refer to, see the euchre rules page. For strategy that uses these terms, the strategy guides cover bidding, defense, partner reads, and card counting. To see the game played, try a hand of Learning Mode in the lobby.