Overview
Stick the Dealer (sometimes called "Screw the Dealer," "Stuck the Dealer," or "Forced Trump") is a euchre house rule that modifies the second round of bidding. Under standard rules, if the face-up card is turned down and all four players pass again in the second round, the hand is dead and the cards are redealt. Under Stick the Dealer, the dealer is not allowed to pass in the second round. If the bidding reaches the dealer and no other suit has been named, the dealer must choose a suit and play it as trump.
The rule has two effects. The first is mechanical: it eliminates the dead hand and keeps the game moving forward. The second is strategic: it shifts power away from the dealer and toward the other three players, because the dealer's ability to dump a weak hand is taken away.
How It Works
The rule only changes one moment in the bidding. The first round of bidding proceeds normally: starting to the left of the dealer, each player has the option to order up the face-up card or pass. If everyone passes, the face-up card is turned down and the second round begins.
The second round also begins to the left of the dealer. Each player can name any suit other than the suit of the turned-down card, or pass. In standard euchre, if all four players pass in the second round, the hand is redealt. Under Stick the Dealer, the first three players may still pass freely. But when the bidding reaches the dealer and no suit has been called, the dealer must name one. Passing is not an option.
The dealer's chosen suit becomes trump. The dealer's team becomes the maker. The hand is played out and scored exactly as if the dealer had voluntarily called the suit, with no special bonus or penalty for being stuck.
How It Changes the Game
Dealer Position Becomes Worse
In standard euchre, the dealer has a small advantage. If the face-up card looks favorable, the dealer's team gets it picked up and adds it to the dealer's hand. If nothing looks good, everyone passes and the dealer escapes a bad hand with a redeal. Stick the Dealer removes that escape. A dealer with a poor hand and three players who pass is forced to call trump with weak cards, which often leads to a euchre and two points to the defenders.
Bidding Becomes More Conservative
Knowing that the dealer is on the hook, the dealer's partner has a stronger incentive to pick up marginal hands rather than risk an enforced call. At the same time, the two opponents to the dealer's left have an incentive to pass marginal hands, because their best outcome is to euchre a stuck dealer for two points without taking any risk themselves.
This combination shifts the bidding equilibrium. Hands that would have been borderline pickups under standard rules become clear orders for the dealer's partner. Hands that would have been borderline orders for the opponents become clear passes. Over many hands, the dealer's team loses ground.
Pace of Play
The most direct effect is that no hand is ever wasted. In standard euchre, particularly with cautious players, it is not uncommon for several hands in a row to be passed out and redealt. This is frustrating for everyone and slow. Stick the Dealer eliminates the dead hand entirely. Every deal results in a played hand and a score.
Strategy for the Stuck Dealer
If the bidding has reached you as the dealer and you must name a suit, the choice is not arbitrary. The following considerations help.
- Look at your longest off-color suit. The turned-down card cannot be trump. Among the remaining three suits, the one you hold most cards in is usually the best candidate, because trump length matters more than face value.
- Avoid the same color as the turned-down card if you have a clear alternative. Calling the opposite color can be a useful signal in partnership play, but if your hand is genuinely empty, follow the suit you actually hold.
- Count bowers carefully. A weak hand with a single Jack might be worth calling if that Jack is in the suit of one of the unturned colors, because making it the right bower instantly upgrades it to the highest card in the deck.
- Consider going alone only with a very strong hand. A loner attempt on a forced call is almost always a mistake unless you have both bowers and a side ace.
- Accept the loss when the hand is hopeless. If you genuinely cannot win three tricks, the goal is to lose only two points rather than four. Lead trump aggressively to draw out the defenders' high cards and limit a march.
Strategy Against a Stuck Dealer
When you are not on the dealer's team and the bidding has reached the dealer, the situation is favorable. You know the dealer's hand is likely weak, because a strong hand would have been called voluntarily. The right play depends on your own hand.
If you have any high trump in the suit the dealer calls, lead it early. The dealer is short on high cards by inference, and drawing out trump removes the dealer's ability to ruff side suits. If you have a long side suit, leading it puts the dealer in the position of having to trump in with limited resources.
If your defending hand is genuinely strong, going for a euchre is almost always the right play. The expected value of two points on a euchre against a stuck dealer is high enough that defensive caution is rarely correct.
Why the Rule Exists
Stick the Dealer originated in casual and league play as a response to the most common complaint about standard euchre: dead hands. With four cautious players, a hand can be dealt, looked at, passed twice, and redealt without any cards being played. This wastes time and produces no score. In a long evening of euchre, the dead hands accumulate and the game drags.
The rule first appeared in tournament settings and league rulebooks in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in Michigan and Wisconsin where league play is widespread. From there it spread to casual play and is now common enough that many players consider it standard. Some tournaments mandate it. Casual tables often turn it on by default and rarely turn it off.
The trade-off is mild unfairness to whoever is dealing. Over a long game, the dealer position rotates, so the unfairness averages out across players. In a short game it can be noticeable.
How It Works on detroit.games
Stick the Dealer is enabled by default on detroit.games. When you create a new game, the option is on, and you can turn it off if you prefer strict standard rules. The setting is visible to every player at the table before the game starts, so there are no surprises about which rules are in effect.
The rule works the same way in both four-player partnership games and three-player games.
See Also
For the underlying rules that Stick the Dealer modifies, see the main euchre rules page.