Different variations of Euchre

Euchre has been played for many years in several parts of the world. Because of its popularity, the game has multiple different variations. This includes variants played with a standard deck, 32 cards, or even a double deck.

It is also possible to play Euchre with 2 to 6 people. Other game versions have applied slight changes and tweaks to the initial rules.

Here are our picks of common Euchre variations.

1. North American Euchre

We won’t dive into details because the North American Euchre is the game mode at Euchre.com with a dedicated rules page.

You can read the complete Euchre rules.

2. British Euchre

The British variation of Euchre is played with 25 cards – a joker is added to the regular deck. So the cards used in the game are 9, 10, J, Q, K, A plus one joker.

The Joker is considered the highest-ranking card of the trump suit. Players often referred to the joker card as Benny or Best Bower.

The trump suit consists of 8 cards. For example, if Hearts are trumps, the ranking will be:

• The Joker (Best Bower)
• Jack of Hearts (Right Bower)
• Jack of Diamonds (Left Bower)
• Ace of Hearts
• King of Hearts and so on.

When someone leads with the Best Bower, other players must play a card of the trump suit.

If the dealer’s partner accepts the trump in the first round of bidding, that player must play alone.

3. Canadian loner

The North American Euchre rules apply with one change. If you decide to make the trump and your partner is the current dealer, you must go alone.

Unlike the British Euchre, this rule is valid for both bidding rounds. So it doesn’t matter if you decide to accept the turned face-up card as a trump suit or make a trump of your choosing. If the dealer is your partner, you play alone.

4. Stick the dealer

This is the perfect solution for the game to advance faster.

If all players pass in the second round of bidding, the dealer must make trump. Players are put in a difficult situation where they have to play a hand they don’t want to.

5. Euchre for 2 players

Playing Euchre with 2 people can be fun too. The rules are very similar to the classic variation.

Each player receives a standard hand of 5 cards. In addition, they also get 3 more cards but are not allowed to see them. After naming the trump suit, players can use all 8 cards to make the best possible 5-card hand.

A player can still decide to go alone and try to win more points. In that case, they aren’t allowed to use the additional 3 cards.

We have another article that covers a different variant of the Two-handed Euchre.

6. 3-handed Euchre

As the name suggests, this is Euchre with 3 players. The variation is sometimes called Cutthroat Euchre.

When playing, there is a single “dummy” player position. Each participant, including the dummy, is dealt a hand of cards. The Maker is the player who names the trump suit. That player always goes alone, and the other two form a team – the Defenders.

The Maker can pick the best five cards to play with using the dummy hand. They will get 3 points if they manage to win all 5 tricks.

If the Maker decides to go alone, the dummy hand can’t be used.

7. Six-player variants

When six people play Euchre, they form 3 teams of 2 players. The card deck consists of 32 cards – 7s and 8s are added to the regular deck. Players can use and 2 jokers, making the deck of 34 cards. In that case, the jokers are always the highest-ranked trumps.

There is one Maker and two Defenders teams. If the Makers are unsuccessful, both Defenders teams score points.

If one of the players chooses to go alone, their teammates do not participate in the current round.

Six-handed Euchre can also be played by 2 teams, each consisting of 3 players.

No matter the Euchre variation, you will always need a solid plan to win the game. Knowing what to do in specific situations may help to accomplish your goal. So you should check our list of the most commonly used Euchre strategies. Create a free account and start mastering the game.