Euchre’s Global Tournament Master
Scoring apps just keep score. This one runs the tournament.
Guides
Fifteen real decisions from the table, from ordering up to going alone. Look at the hand, make your call, then open the options to see how players differ and what the numbers say.
There's rarely one right answer in euchre. Some players like to do it one way, and some like to do it another. House rules change things too, so check your club's rules. Every hand here is a game to 10, with a loner paying 4 points.
You're first to speak, and the score is 0–0.
Order it up or pass?
Takeaway: ordering up always hands the other team a card.
By the numbers: ordering up was euchred about 58% of the time, and averaged about −0.7 points.
You sit to the dealer's right, and your partner has passed.
Order now, or pass and hope to call later?
Takeaway: a hand that's close in first seat can be better in third, because you've heard from more players.
By the numbers: ordering up was euchred about 17% of the time, and averaged about +0.6 points.
You're the dealer's partner, and the player before you passed.
Do you order up your partner?
Takeaway: check your house rules first.
By the numbers: with your partner, this was euchred about 14% of the time and averaged about +0.8 points. As a Canadian loner, it was euchred about 47% of the time and averaged about −0.35 points.
Everyone has passed to you.
Pick it up or turn it down, and what do you discard?
Takeaway: the discard is part of the decision.
By the numbers: after discarding the K♥, this was euchred about 20% of the time and averaged about +0.5 points. After discarding the 9♦, it was euchred about 27% of the time and averaged about +0.3 points.
You're first to speak in the second round.
Do you call hearts?
Takeaway: a turned-down card tells you something about the table.
By the numbers: calling hearts was euchred about 20% of the time, and averaged about +0.6 points.
You're the dealer's partner, and the first player passed again.
Do you call spades?
Takeaway: the same suit can be a better call from one seat than another.
By the numbers: calling spades was euchred about 7% of the time, and averaged about +1.1 points.
Everyone has passed twice, and you're the dealer, so you must call.
Which suit do you name?
Takeaway: sometimes you're only trying to get through the hand with the least damage.
By the numbers: hearts and clubs were each euchred about 62% of the time, and averaged about −0.85 points. Diamonds was euchred about 77% of the time, and averaged about −1.3 points.
You called hearts, and the score is 6–6.
Do you go alone?
Takeaway: the same hand can be right or wrong depending on the score.
By the numbers: this hand can't be euchred, and whether you go alone or not, you take all five about 35% to 50% of the time, depending on your seat. Going alone averaged 2.1 to 2.5 points, against 1.3 to 1.5 with your partner.
Your partner called diamonds in the second round.
Do you lead your trump or cash the ace?
Takeaway: leading trump flushes out the opponents' trump, and the assumption is that your partner has cards strong enough to take three tricks.
By the numbers: both leads averaged about +0.8 points. Leading trump took all five 21% of the time against 16%, but was euchred slightly more, 14% against 12%.
The dealer picked up the 9♠, so spades are trump. Your partner led the A♣, the next player played the 9♣, and you have no clubs.
Do you trump it or throw off?
Takeaway: don't spend a trump on a trick you're already winning.
By the numbers: about even. The callers averaged 0.78 points if you trumped it and 0.79 if you threw off.
The dealer, on your right, went alone in spades, and you're on lead.
What do you lead?
Takeaway: you only need one trick to hold them to 1 point, or three to euchre them.
By the numbers: the A♥ let the loner take all five about 13% of the time, the K♦ about 14%, and the 9♣ about 20%.
You're on 6, they're on 9, and you're first to speak.
Do you call a hand you'd normally pass?
Takeaway: the score can change your decision. It's common to call it up and risk the euchre, because taking all five tricks still leaves you in the game at 8 to 9.
By the numbers: ordering up was euchred, which ends the game, about 61% of the time. You scored about 39% of the time, and took all five about 3%.
You sit to the dealer's left, so you lead first. You hold one trump, and it isn't a bower.
Do you lead it, or cash an ace?
Takeaway: leading trump draws it out, which leaves more opportunity for your off cards to stop the callers taking all five. It can also lead to a euchre when the caller has a weak hand.
By the numbers: the lead pulled 4 trump about 56% of the time, and the dealer held three more trump besides the king only about 29% of the time.
| Who called it | You lead | Euchred | All five | Callers' average points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weak hand | The trump | 65% | 3% | −0.9 |
| Weak hand | An ace | 40% | 3% to 5% | −0.2 |
| Strong hand | The trump | 7% | 24% | +1.0 |
| Strong hand | An ace | 9% | 20% to 21% | +0.9 |
A strong hand means roughly three trump including a bower, or the right plus another trump and an off ace.
You're the dealer, the score is 6–6, and everyone has passed to you. You pick up the right and go alone.
What do you discard?
When the dealer goes alone, the player on the dealer's left leads first. If you're short in hearts and clubs, you can trump either lead. If you kept the K♥ and they lead the A♥, you lose a trick and the 4 points are gone.
Takeaway: being double-suited in your off cards can be worth more than holding a high card, especially on a loner.
By the numbers: discarding the K♥ took all five about 69% of the time, and averaged about 3.1 points. Discarding the 9♦ took all five about 42% of the time, and averaged about 2.3 points.
Diamonds are trump in every hand here, so the J♦ is the right and the J♥ is the left. Before you open it, pick the hand you'd most want to go alone with.
How likely is each to take all five, and does leading first help?
| Hand | All five, you lead | All five, someone else leads | Average points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 100% | 97% to 98% | 3.9 to 4.0 |
| B | 99.7% | 88% to 90% | 3.6 to 4.0 |
| C | 90% | 77% to 87% | 3.3 to 3.6 |
| D | 74% | 64% to 73% | 2.9 to 3.2 |
| E | 40% | 35% to 41% | 1.9 to 2.2 |
Leading first helped four of the five hands. It made almost no difference to Hand E, which is a weaker loner than it looks, though it's still worth more alone: about 2.1 points, against 1.3 to 1.4 with your partner.
On a loner, lead your trump first. In testing it beat cashing the off aces first on every hand tried.
When you go alone, an opponent holding the right will always take a trick. You can only take all five if the right is with your partner, who's sitting out, or among the buried cards. That's 8 of the 18 unseen cards, or about 44%, however strong your hand is.
| Hand | All five alone | Euchred alone | Points alone | Points with partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | 41% to 43% | 0% | 2.2 to 2.3 | 1.4 |
| G | 41% to 45% | 0% | 2.2 to 2.3 | 1.4 |
| H | 42% to 44% | About 1% | 2.2 to 2.3 | 1.3 |
| I | 13% to 37% | 17% to 24% | 0.7 to 1.4 | 0.4 to 0.8 |
| J | 15% to 19% | About 1% | 1.4 to 1.6 | 1.2 to 1.3 |
Takeaway: having both bowers is what makes a hand a strong loner. Without the right, you're hoping it's with your partner or buried, and leading first can't change that.
Hand J has no bowers, so both have to be out of the opponents' hands, which brings the limit down to about 18%. The turned-down card was the 9♣, and nobody would have called ahead of you. If a club lets the loner lead no matter where they sit, the "you lead" column applies.
The numbers come from our own simulation of about 200,000 deals per hand, with the unseen cards dealt at random and all four players following simple, sensible rules. Deals where someone would have called instead of passing were thrown out. Points are the average for the team that called trump, counting a euchre as −2.
Read them as estimates. Simulated players can't read a risky caller or a partner's habits, and differences of a point or two are best read as about even. The calling hands only measure making the call, not what passing would have earned. For more odds, read euchre statistics and odds. Want another round? Try 15 more scenarios.
Write your club's rules into the app once, and players can read them on their phones. Watch it run or try the sandbox.