What is the Right Bower and Left Bower in Euchre?

When a suit is trump, the Jack of that suit is the highest card in the game — the Right Bower . The Jack of the other suit of the same colour is the second-highest card — the Left Bower — and it counts as trump for the hand, NOT as its printed suit. Example: spades trump → J♠ (Right) is highest, J♣ (Left) is second-highest, then A♠ K♠ Q♠ 10♠ 9♠. The same-colour Jack disappears from its printed suit for the duration of the hand.

How many cards are dealt in Euchre?

Euchre uses a stripped 24-card deck : the 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of each suit. Each of the 4 players is dealt 5 cards (typically 3 then 2, or 2 then 3, clockwise). The remaining 4 cards form the kitty face-down in the centre, and the top card is flipped face-up as the upcard — the candidate trump suit for round 1 of bidding.

What does it mean to 'go alone' in Euchre?

After trump is fixed, the maker may declare 'alone.' Their partner sits out the hand (cards face-down) and the lone player plays all 5 tricks solo against both opponents. The reward: taking all 5 tricks alone scores 4 points instead of 2 . Taking just 3 or 4 tricks alone still scores only 1 point, and a maker who declared alone and is euchred gives the opponents 2 points (no bonus in standard rules). Many traditions also allow a defender to go alone — if a lone defender euchres the makers, Pagat documents 4 points to the defending team.

What is being 'euchred'?

The team that names trump (the 'makers') must take at least 3 of the 5 tricks . If they fail — taking only 0, 1 or 2 tricks — they are euchred , and the defending team scores 2 points instead. Getting euchred is the biggest swing in standard Euchre: instead of gaining 1 point, you lose 2 to the other side.

What score do you play to in Euchre?

The standard North American game is played to 10 points — the target given by Pagat and used by most leagues (Bicycle lists 5, 7 or 10 by agreement). Some groups play to 5 or 7 instead for a shorter game. Many tables use a 5-of-spades and a 6-of-spades from a spare deck as physical score markers, exposing pips to display 1 through 10 points without a pad.

Free Printable Euchre Rules — How to Play

About Free Printable Euchre Rules

The Right Bower is the Jack of the trump suit and is the highest card. The Left Bower is the Jack of the other suit of the same colour and is the second-highest. For example, with spades trump the order is J of spades, J of clubs, then A, K, Q, 10, 9 of spades.

By the ToolFluency team · Updated October 2026

Euchre is a fast partnership trick-taking game for exactly 4 players in two teams of two, played with a 24-card deck (9 through Ace in each suit). The team that names trump must win at least 3 of the 5 tricks, and the first side to 10 points wins. A game takes about 20 to 30 minutes. The full printable rules sheet, with the deck, seating, deal and bower diagrams, is on this page.

How to play Euchre

Build the deck by removing the 2 through 8 from a standard pack, leaving 24 cards. Partners sit across from each other, and the deal moves clockwise each hand.
The dealer gives each player 5 cards, in passes of 3 then 2 or 2 then 3. The last 4 cards form the kitty, and its top card is turned face-up as the upcard.
Bidding round 1: starting left of the dealer, each player passes or orders up the upcard's suit as trump. If anyone accepts, the dealer adds the upcard to their hand and discards one card face-down.
Bidding round 2: if all four pass, the upcard is turned down and each player in turn may name any other suit as trump or pass. If everyone passes again, the hand is thrown in and the deal moves on.
Know the bowers. The Jack of trump (Right Bower) is the highest card, and the Jack of the same-colour suit (Left Bower) is second-highest and counts as trump. Trump then runs A, K, Q, 10, 9.
The player who named trump (the maker) may go alone, with their partner sitting out. The player left of the dealer leads the first trick, unless the lone maker's partner would lead, in which case the player left of the lone maker leads.
Players must follow suit if they can; otherwise they may trump or discard. The highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the suit led if no trump is played. The winner leads next.
After 5 tricks, score the hand (see the table). The first team to reach 10 points wins, and the game ends as soon as a team reaches the target.

Euchre scoring per hand

Result	Points
Makers win 3 or 4 tricks	1 to makers
Makers win all 5 tricks (march)	2 to makers
Makers take 0 to 2 tricks (euchred)	2 to defenders
Lone hand wins 3 or 4 tricks	1 to makers
Lone hand wins all 5 tricks	4 to makers
Lone maker is euchred	2 to defenders
Lone defender euchres the makers (variant)	4 to defenders

Examples

Strategy tips

Count your trump including the Left Bower. Three trump with a bower, or two bowers and an off-suit Ace, is usually enough to order up.
As dealer, the upcard joins your hand, so judge your hand with it. As the dealer's partner, ordering it up hands the dealer an extra trump, which is often worth doing.
Be careful ordering up for the opponent dealer. You are giving them a trump, so you need a stronger hand to justify it.
Lead trump when your side made trump and you hold the Right Bower. Pulling the opponents' trump protects your off-suit Aces.
Consider going alone with the Right Bower, Left Bower and Ace of trump plus an off-suit Ace. A sweep is worth 4 points instead of 2.
On defence, lead an off-suit Ace early to win a trick before the makers can trump that suit.

Example: scoring two hands

Hearts are trump and North-South named it. They take 3 tricks, so they score 1 point (1 to 0). Next hand, East goes alone in spades and wins all 5 tricks, scoring 4 points for East-West (1 to 4). If East had taken only 4 tricks, East-West would have scored just 1.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Right Bower and Left Bower in Euchre?

The Right Bower is the Jack of the trump suit and is the highest card. The Left Bower is the Jack of the other suit of the same colour and is the second-highest. For example, with spades trump the order is J of spades, J of clubs, then A, K, Q, 10, 9 of spades.

Does the Left Bower count as its own suit or trump?

It counts as trump for the whole hand, not as its printed suit. If hearts are trump and diamonds are led, the player holding the Jack of diamonds does not have to play it to follow suit, because it is a heart this hand.

What happens if everyone passes twice?

In the standard game the hand is thrown in and the deal passes to the next player. Under the common house rule Stick the Dealer, the dealer must name a trump suit instead.

What does euchred mean?

The team that named trump took fewer than 3 of the 5 tricks. The defending team scores 2 points, which is the biggest swing in a normal hand.

How many points do you get for going alone?

Taking all 5 tricks alone scores 4 points. Taking 3 or 4 tricks alone still scores only 1, and a lone maker who is euchred gives the opponents 2.

What is the penalty for reneging?

Reneging means failing to follow suit when you could have. It is typically penalised by awarding 2 points to the team that did not renege.

Can you play Euchre with 2 or 3 players?

The rules on this page are for exactly 4 players in two partnerships. Some players also use cutthroat or two-handed versions, but those change the deal and scoring and are not covered here.

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You might also need

♠Five Hundred Rules ♠Spades Rules ♠Hearts Rules ♠Bridge Rules ♠Pinochle Rules

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