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Other ways to play euchre

Euchre is built for four, but it doesn't have to stop there. Here's how to play with two, three or six players, what the joker and a bigger deck change, and a few games in the same family. Every table plays these a little differently, so agree on the rules before the first deal.

At a glance

Game	Players	Cards
Two-handed	2	24
Three-handed, or cutthroat	3, each alone	24
Six-handed	6, two teams of three	32 or more
Joker euchre	4, two teams	25
32-card euchre	4, two teams	32 or 33
Buck euchre	3 or 4, each alone	24, or more
Pepper	4, two teams	24

If you're new to the standard game, start with the euchre rules and terms. The games below only explain what's different.

Two-handed euchre

Each player gets five cards from the usual 24, and the top card of the rest is turned up. Fourteen cards are left over, so a lot more stays hidden than in the four-player game.

• Calling trump. It works as usual, with two players instead of four. The non-dealer speaks first and leads the first trick.
• Scoring. Three or four tricks score 1, all five score 2, and getting euchred gives your opponent 2.
• No loners. There's no partner to leave out.
• Winning. Played to 10, or to 5.

Three-handed euchre, or cutthroat

Each player gets five cards, leaving nine in the kitty. Whoever calls trump becomes the maker and plays alone against the other two, who team up for that hand only.

What happened	Ways it's scored
Maker takes 3 or 4 tricks	1 to the maker
Maker takes all 5 tricks	3 to the maker, or 2
Maker is euchred	2 to each defender, or 2 shared between them

There are no loners, because the maker is already alone. Cutthroat is also another name for buck euchre.

Six-handed euchre

Six players need 30 cards before there's any kitty, so the usual 24 won't do. It's played as two teams of three, sitting so that teammates alternate around the table, or as three teams of two.

• The deck. Adding the 7s and 8s makes 32 cards, or 33 with a joker. Another version shuffles two 25-card packs together, for 50.
• Scoring. In the Cornish version, taking all five tricks or euchring the makers scores 3 instead of 2. A loner who takes all five scores 6.
• Going alone. In the Cornish version, both partners put their cards down. The loner can ask one of them for a card, then discards one in exchange.

A version from Almonte, Ontario, adds three jokers as the top trump cards and plays to 15.

The joker and the 25-card deck

Adding one joker to the deck makes 25 cards. It's the highest trump in every hand, above the right bower. In Britain, where this is the usual game, it's called the Benny. If you don't have a joker, the 2 of spades can stand in for it.

In Britain it's played to 11, and also to 10 or 15. Five cards are left over instead of four.

What if the joker is the turn-up? Under British rules, the dealer's team automatically becomes the makers and nobody else gets a say. The dealer names trump before looking at their cards, then picks up the joker and discards one.

A 32-card deck

Add the 7s and 8s and you have a 32-card deck, or 33 with a joker. This is the usual game in New Zealand, and the game in Australia uses 32 cards too. Nothing else has to change, but the bigger kitty leaves more cards out of play, so there's more guesswork about where the top trump are.

Buck euchre

Buck euchre, also called dirty clubs, is a game for three or four players with no partners. Everybody plays for themselves and tries to count down to zero. This is how it's played in Ohio, with four players.

• The start. Everyone begins on 25. It's also played from 20, and from 15 with three players.
• Each hand. Every trick you take comes off your score. If you stay in and take no tricks, you add 5. So does a maker who fails to take three.
• Dropping out. Once trump is made, each other player chooses to stay in or drop out. Dropping out costs nothing.
• Dirty clubs. If the turn-up is a club, clubs are trump, with no bidding and no dropping out. Everyone has to take a trick or add 5.
• Winning. The first player to reach zero wins. Taking all five tricks in one hand wins the game on the spot.

It's also played with bidding instead of the turn-up, and the three-player game deals an extra hand that players can swap for.

Pepper

Pepper is a close cousin of euchre, played around the Great Lakes and especially in Iowa. It uses the same 24 cards and two teams of partners, but each player gets six cards and every hand starts with an auction.

• Bidding. Players bid how many of the six tricks their team will take, and the high bidder names trump or no trump.
• Pepper bids. Little pepper and big pepper are bids to take all six tricks, worth 7 and 14.
• Scoring. Make your bid and you add it to your score. Miss it and you subtract it.
• Winning. The game often goes to 42, though some tables use 30, 31 or 43.