Card Counting in Euchre

Home Academy Advanced Card Counting in Euchre

This article will teach you how to track trump, Bowers, suit distribution, and player tendencies without memorizing every card.

1. Why Card Tracking Matters

Good card tracking allows you to:

• Know when trump is gone.
• Predict when a player will void a suit.
• Determine if your ace is likely to hold.
• Identify when to lead or avoid a suit.
• Set the maker with better defense.

2. Tracking Trump Cards

The 7 trump cards are:
Right Bower (Jack of trump)
Left Bower (Jack of same-color suit)
Ace
King
Queen
10
9

Tip: After the first trick or two, you should always have a mental note of how many trump cards are still out there.

Example:
Trump is hearts. In the first two tricks, you see the Right Bower, Queen, and Ace played. That’s 3 trump gone. If you or your partner has 1 trump left, you can assume only 2 remain unplayed. That knowledge may help you decide whether to play an off-suit ace or try drawing out remaining trump.

3. Watch the Bowers Closely

Scenario:
Trump is spades. The Jack of clubs (Left Bower) hasn’t shown up in the first three tricks. This may mean:

• It’s buried.
• Someone is saving it to take the final trick.
• Someone was planning to go alone but didn’t get the chance.

If both Bowers are already played, your team can safely use strong off-suit cards without fear of surprise trump.

4. Identify Suit Voids

Example:
West leads diamonds. North plays a club. Now you know North is out of diamonds and may be holding trump. On future tricks, avoid leading diamonds if you think they’ll use trump to take it.

By tracking who is void in which suits, you can:

• Lead suits they can’t trump.
• Help your partner make tricks safely.
• Avoid giving up control.

5. Track High Off-Suit Cards

Scenario:
You lead the Ace of diamonds and it loses. Now you know someone trumped it – and that diamond ace is gone from your team’s arsenal. If your partner has the King of diamonds, it’s now worthless unless others are void in trump.

Keep a running count of which off-suit aces have been played, and consider whether those suits are still “safe” to lead.

6. Use Trick History to Predict Final Cards

Example:
The maker has played 3 trump. You know one trump is left in the game, but your team has the lead. If your partner leads a suit the maker is void in, you can expect them to trump – and plan accordingly.

7. Recognize Partner Signals and Patterns

Tip:
Track what your partner plays and how they react when they take or lose a trick. It helps you read their hand – and sync up your plays.

8. Practice and Replay Hands

• What’s been played in each suit.
• Who has shown trump.
• When Bowers hit the table.

If you’re playing online, replay past hands or use hand-history features if available.

Exercise:
After each hand, quiz yourself:
How many trump were played?
Which suits is each opponent void in?
What cards do you think are still unplayed?