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Guides

Hosting euchre at a bar, hall, church or senior center

Euchre doesn't need much: tables, chairs, cards and a room quiet enough to hear "pick it up." But each kind of place works a little differently. Here's what to think about at each one.

What any room needs

• One table for every four players. Card tables are ideal. Long tables work if you mark off the places.
• Room to move. Players change tables, so leave aisles wide enough to get through.
• A place for the admin. A table near the door for check-in, and somewhere to post the standings.
• Good light. Players need to tell hearts from diamonds across the table.
• The cards. One euchre deck for each table, and a few spares.

Bars and restaurants

For the owner, a tournament fills seats on a slow night, and players stay for hours. For you, the room is often free.

• Pick a slow night. The owner gets business they wouldn't have had, and you get the room.
• Turn it down. Ask about the music and the TVs before you agree on the night.
• Look at the tables. Bar-height tables are hard to play at for hours.
• Check the rules on playing for money. A place with a liquor license may have its own limits. Ask before you advertise cash prizes.
• Make it a regular. The same night every week or month is easy to remember, and easier to sell to the owner.

VFW and Legion halls

Halls have the tables, the chairs and often a kitchen, and many already host card games.

• Talk to the post. Ask who books the hall, what it costs and whether the public can come.
• Share the benefit. Some posts will trade the room for bar and kitchen sales, or a share for their programs.
• Plan for size. A hall can hold a big field. Decide how you'll seat the room before you open sign-ups.

Churches

A church hall is a natural home for a fundraiser or a fellowship evening, and the congregation brings the crowd.

• Ask about prizes first. Some congregations are fine with cash prizes, and others would rather not. Gift cards or playing for fun are easy answers.
• Say where the money goes. Print the split on the flyer. Our fundraiser guide has an example.
• Make it friendly to beginners. Run a short lesson before the first round, and hand out the rules.

Senior centers

Many players at a senior center have played for decades, and a regular game gets people out and together.

• Play in the daytime. Ask what time suits your regulars.
• Keep it short. Fewer rounds with a break in the middle work well.
• Limit the moving. Ask who has trouble changing tables, and let them stay put. Everyone else can move around them.
• Make it easy to read. Use large-print cards if you can, and write the standings big.
• Keep paper. Not everyone wants a phone at the table, and they don't need one.