How It Works
Also called Screw the Dealer or Forced Trump. Bidding runs as normal until the dealer's turn in the second round. The first three may still pass; the dealer, bidding last with nothing called, cannot, and must name one of the three suits still open.
That hand would otherwise die and be redealt with nothing scored. Nothing else changes: the suit is trump, the dealer's side are the makers, and it scores as though the call was willing. No bonus for being stuck, no extra penalty for going down.
The effect on bidding is not symmetrical. The dealer's partner in second seat has more to think about, since passing a playable hand may leave the dealer a forced call on worse cards. The two opponents could just let the dealer walk into it and gain a euchre.
Playing a Stuck Hand
The call is forced. The suit is not.
- Length first, then Jacks. Three small trump beat two good ones, so start with the suit with the most cards. The exception is a Jack: naming its suit makes it the right bower, worth more than one extra card of length.
- Lean toward the same color as the turned-down card. That is calling next, and a stuck dealer is the strongest case for it there is: three players have passed on that suit twice, which is good evidence its Jack is buried in the kitty rather than in an opposing hand. That Jack would have been the left bower against you.
- Do not go alone. A failed loner costs two points like any other euchre, so the risk is not the problem. Sending your partner away on a hand nobody wanted is: it turns calls that would have scraped a point into euchres.
- A hopeless hand costs the same however it ends. Being euchred is two points whether you take two tricks or none. Nothing to protect once three are gone, so play for the third while it is live.
Playing Against a Stuck Dealer
A dealer who calls voluntarily has something. A dealer the rule made call is telling you the opposite, and both their opponents passed on the cards you are looking at.
So lead trump, high if you hold the right bower or the ace. This is the one situation where you can be fairly sure the maker is the weak hand, and every round you pull is a trick they can no longer steal by trumping in. With no trump worth leading, lead your longest off-suit and make them choose between spending trump early and letting the trick go.
Resist calling yourself. Passing a decent hand feels wasteful, but euchring a forced call pays the same two points at no risk.
Three-Handed Games
Cutthroat uses the same rule, and it costs more there. A euchre pays two points to each defender, so being stuck risks four points to win one. Nobody has a reason to spare you, either: with no partnerships, both opponents are better off letting the bid come round to you.
How It Works on detroit.games
On by default, and a toggle in the game settings when you create a game. Both Just Deal buttons turn it on without asking, so a game you joined rather than created is almost certainly playing with it. Waiting games carry a "Stick Dealer" badge in the lobby list and detail panel, so you can see it before you sit down.
See Also
The euchre rules page covers the bidding this modifies, and how to call trump goes further into seat position and the next convention. The other house rules that change the deal are Ace No Face and Farmer's Hand.