Euchre rules

Order Up phase

The round starts with one card placed face-up in the center of the table. The player seated clockwise from the dealer begins by choosing to either "Order it up" or "Pass".

• If they choose "Order it up":
  • The suit of the face-up card becomes the trump for the round, and this player is designated as the "Caller".
    • The Caller's team is referred to as the "Makers", while the opposing team is called the "Defenders".
  • The dealer then has the option to replace one card from their hand with the face-up card, or they can choose to keep their current hand, an action known as "Turning it down".
    • If the dealer takes the face-up card, they discard one card face-down, and the game moves directly to the "Trick-Taking" phase.
  • The Caller can also decide to "Go Alone", opting to compete without their partner. This strategy is riskier but offers a higher reward if they win all the tricks during the round.
• If the player chooses "Pass", the decision moves clockwise to the next player, who faces the same choices. If all players, including the dealer, pass, the game transitions to the "Trump Selection" phase.
• A special option, "Go under", may be available during the "Order up" phase. If a player has at least three low-ranked cards (9s or 10s), they can swap any of these cards for the remaining three undealt cards.

Here are a couple of example hands that can "Go Under".

Trump selection phase

If no player chooses to "Order it up" in the first phase, players get a second chance to set the trump suit. However, the face-up card's suit is now excluded, meaning players can only pick from the remaining three suits.

• The player sitting clockwise from the dealer begins by either selecting one of the three eligible suits as the trump or saying "Pass".
• If a player selects a trump suit, that suit becomes the trump for the round, and the player is designated as the "Caller".
  • Their team is called the "Makers", while the opposing team is the "Defenders".
  • Similar to the "Order up" phase, the Caller can choose to play with or without their partner. Playing alone is riskier but offers a greater reward if the Caller wins all five tricks in the round.
• If the player passes, the turn continues clockwise until someone selects a trump suit. If the turn reaches the dealer, they are required to choose a trump, as passing is not an option in this phase.
  • This rule is commonly known as "Sticking the dealer".

Once the trump suit is chosen, the game moves to the "Trick-Taking" phase.

Trick-Taking phase

The Trick-Taking phase follows standard trick-taking mechanics. It starts with the player seated clockwise from the dealer, who plays any card from their hand. The suit of this card becomes the "leading" suit for that trick. Each player then takes turns clockwise, playing one card. If a player has a card matching the leading suit, they must play it; otherwise, they can play any card from their hand.

If the Caller chose to "Go Alone", their partner sits out during this phase.

The winner of the trick is the player who played the highest card. Cards from the trump suit always outrank cards from other suits. If no trump cards are played, the trick is won by the highest card of the leading suit.

This process repeats for a total of five tricks. Afterward, scores for the round are calculated.

Order Up phase

• Left-click "Order it up" to choose the face-up card's suit as trump, or select "Pass" to skip.
• To "Go alone", left-click the corresponding button instead.
• If you have three or more low cards (rank 9 or 10), the "Go under" option will appear.
  • To use "Go under", select three low cards by left-clicking them one at a time. Once three cards are selected, the "Go under" button will activate. Left-click it to confirm the swap.

If you are the dealer and someone "Orders it up":

• To take the face-up card, left-click the card in your hand you wish to replace, then left-click "Swap" to complete the exchange.
• If you prefer to keep your current hand, leave your cards as they are, and left-click "Turn down" to decline the face-up card.

Trump selection phase

• Left-click any of the other three suits to select it as the trump suit.
• Confirm your choice by left-clicking either "Accept" (to play with your partner) or "Go Alone" (to play solo).
• If you are not the dealer, you can also left-click "Pass" to skip your turn. However, as the dealer, you must select a trump suit.

Trick-Taking phase

• If you are leading the trick, you may play any card from your hand, including a trump card.
• If you are following:
  • You must play a card matching the leading suit if you have one.
  • If you do not have a matching card, you may play any card in your hand.
• To play a card,
  1. Left-click it to select it (left-click again to unselect it).
  2. Left-click "Play card" to confirm your choice.

Scoreboard

• The bottom-left scoreboard displays the number of tricks won by each team during the round.
• The bottom-right scoreboard shows the cumulative score for each team.

For example, in this sample scoreboard, your team has won 2 tricks and your opponent team has won 1 trick, of the 5 total tricks to be won this round. In addition, across all rounds, your team has scored 5 points and your opponent team has scored 3 points, towards the objective of reaching 10 points first.