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Euchre tournament conduct: table talk, misdeals and reneges

Most arguments at a euchre tournament come from a rule nobody settled in advance. Here are the ways the common problems are handled, and a free one-page sheet to post in the room.

Download the table rules sheet (PDF)

Before the first deal

Tell the room who the admin is and read the rules out loud, even if everyone has played for years. It takes two minutes, and a ruling goes down much easier when players heard the rule first.

• Who settles a dispute
• The penalty for a renege
• Who deals after a misdeal
• What counts as table talk, and what happens if it's caught
• Your house rules, such as stick the dealer and what a loner pays

Table talk

Table talk is telling your partner anything about your cards by words, tone or gestures. It isn't allowed. That covers more than people think:

• Saying what you hold, or what you wish you held
• Sighing, grinning, or tapping or snapping a card
• A long pause meant to send a message
• Saying whose trick it is before your partner has played
• Calling trump in a tone that says how strong your hand is

Stick to the words of the game, like "pass," "pick it up," or "I'll go alone." Naming the suit that was led is fine in most groups.

Ways it's handled:

• A friendly reminder, for a first slip
• A warning from the admin
• The opponents choose which card the partner must play (from the 1888 Laws of Euchre)
• Immediate disqualification for deliberate signaling, as at the World Euchre Championship

Misdeals

A misdeal is a deal that went wrong, such as a player with the wrong number of cards or a card exposed during the deal. The cards are thrown in and no points are scored.

Ways it's handled:

• The same dealer deals again, as at the World Euchre Championship
• The deal passes to the left, so a misdeal loses the deal
• The same dealer deals again, and the deal passes after three misdeals in a row

Some tournaments also set how the cards are dealt, in batches of two and three.

Exposed cards

A card that shows up during play isn't a misdeal. Ways it's handled:

• No penalty for an accident, with disqualification possible if it keeps happening
• The card stays face up on the table, and the opponents can call for it to be played

Nobody looks at the kitty until the hand is over.

Reneges

A renege is failing to follow suit when you could have. It's usually an honest mistake, and the classic one is forgetting that the left bower counts as trump.

When it can be called:

• Before the next trick is led
• Any time before the next deal

What it costs:

On most hands	On a loner
2 points to the other team. The hand ends and the reneging team scores nothing.	2 points, or 4 in some groups
The team forfeits 2 points, as at the World Euchre Championship	The team forfeits 4
3 points to the other team, from the 1888 Laws of Euchre	5 points
2 tricks go to the other team and the hand goes on	Same
Caught at once, the player swaps the card with no penalty	Same

Playing out of turn

Ways it's handled:

• If everyone has already played to the trick, it stands
• If not, the other players take their cards back
• The opponents can call for that card, or call a suit from that team's next lead

Who settles a dispute

The admin does, and the admin's ruling is final. At the World Euchre Championship, players go to a table runner, the judges decide, and there's no appeal.

• Stop and call the admin. Leave the cards where they are, so the admin can see what happened.
• Settle it at the table. Sort out the score before anyone leaves. On paper, both teams initial the table slip.
• Rule for the room. If a question comes up twice, tell everyone the answer.

Behavior and phones

• Treat every player with respect, including the new ones.
• Keep your voice down while other tables are playing.
• Don't talk about a game with players who haven't played it yet.
• Silence your phone, and use it only for scoring.
• Get to your next table on time.

Ways it's handled, from lightest to heaviest: a word from the admin, loss of a prize, and being asked to leave.