Charleston Euchre Club | Play Cards. Make Friends. Have Fun.

New to Euchre? Don’t worry — you’ll pick it up quickly, and our members are always happy to help you learn. We just ask that you review the basics beforehand so you’re ready to jump in.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to how Euchre works.

🎴 The Setup

Euchre is played with four players split into two teams. Partners sit across from each other.

The deck contains only 24 cards:

• 9s
• 10s
• Jacks
• Queens
• Kings
• Aces

Each player is dealt five cards.

The remaining four cards form the kitty, and the top card is turned face up. This card begins the process of selecting trump.

A hand consists of five tricks.

The first team to reach 10 points wins the game.

🃏 How a Hand Starts

After the top card is turned up, each player has the opportunity to tell the dealer to pick it up and make that suit trump.

If someone orders it up:

• The dealer picks up the card
• The dealer discards one card
• That suit becomes trump

If everyone passes, a second round begins where players may choose a different suit as trump.

If everyone passes again, many groups use a rule called Stick the Dealer, requiring the dealer to choose a trump suit.

♠️ Trump and the Bowers

The most powerful cards in Euchre are the bowers.

• Right Bower = Jack of the trump suit
• Left Bower = Jack of the same-color suit

Example:

If Spades are trump:

• Jack of Spades = Right Bower
• Jack of Clubs = Left Bower

The Left Bower counts as trump, not as its printed suit.

♥️ Playing the Hand

The player to the dealer's left leads the first card.

Players must follow suit if they can.

If they cannot follow suit, they may play:

• Another suit
• A trump card

The highest trump card wins the trick.

If no trump is played, the highest card in the suit led wins.

The winner of each trick leads the next one.

♣️ Scoring

If the team that called trump wins:

• 3 or 4 tricks = 1 point
• All 5 tricks = 2 points

If the team that called trump fails to win at least 3 tricks:

• The opposing team scores 2 points
• This is called getting euchred

If a player goes alone and wins all 5 tricks:

• Their team scores 4 points

♦️ Common Terms

• Trump — The suit that beats all other suits
• Right Bower — Jack of trump; highest card in the game
• Left Bower — Jack of the same-color suit; second-highest card
• Trick — One round where each player plays a card
• Euchre — When the team that called trump fails to win 3 tricks
• Going Alone — Playing without your partner for a chance at extra points

It may sound like a lot at first, but most players understand the flow of the game after just a few hands.

👉 Check the Events page for upcoming games and community meetups.

👉 Join the Charleston Euchre Club Facebook Group to connect with players, ask questions, and stay updated on new events and locations:

facebook.com/groups/chseuchreclub/

Play cards. Make friends. Have fun.