Euchre has its own vocabulary, and if you are new to the game it can feel like everyone at the table is speaking a different language. What is a bower? Why does the Jack of the wrong suit outrank the Ace? What does it mean to go alone?
This glossary covers every term you will encounter at a Euchre table, from the basics to the advanced plays.
The deck
Euchre uses a short deck of 24 cards: the 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of each suit. All lower cards are removed from a standard 52-card deck before play begins. Some players use a 32-card deck that includes the 7s and 8s, but the 24-card version is standard.
Trump
Trump is the suit with special power for a given hand. Cards in the trump suit beat any card in any other suit, regardless of rank. Trump is determined during the bidding phase at the start of each hand, either by turning up the top card of the remaining kitty or by a player naming a suit.
Bowers
The bowers are the two most powerful cards in the trump suit, and they are the most misunderstood part of Euchre.
Right bower: The Jack of the trump suit. It is the highest card in the game when its suit is trump.
Left bower: The Jack of the same color as trump, but the opposite suit. When hearts are trump, the left bower is the Jack of diamonds. When spades are trump, the left bower is the Jack of clubs. The left bower is treated as a trump card for the entire hand, not as a member of its printed suit. It is the second-highest card in the game.
This is the rule that confuses newcomers most. The left bower is not a diamond when hearts are trump. It is a heart. Its printed suit does not matter.
Kitty
The kitty is the four cards set aside face-down at the start of each hand. The dealer turns up the top card of the kitty to suggest a potential trump suit. If a player orders it up, the dealer picks up that card and discards one from their hand. If all four players pass, the top card is turned down and players may name a different trump suit.
Ordering up
When a player tells the dealer to pick up the turned card, they are ordering it up. This means that suit becomes trump, and the player's team is committing to win at least three of the five tricks in the hand.
Passing
A player who does not want to order up the turned card says pass. If all four players pass, the top card is turned down and the bidding moves to a second round where players may name any suit as trump except the one that was turned down.
Going alone
A player who believes they can win all five tricks without their partner's help may declare they are going alone. Their partner sits out the hand. If the lone player wins all five tricks, their team scores four points instead of the standard one or two. Going alone is a high-risk, high-reward call.
Euchre
If the team that named trump fails to win at least three tricks, they are euchred. The opposing team scores two points. Being euchred is the worst outcome for the team that called trump and the best outcome for the defending team.
Tricks
A trick is one round of play where each player contributes one card. The highest trump card wins the trick, or if no trump is played, the highest card of the suit that was led. The winner of each trick leads the next one. There are five tricks per hand.
Maker
The maker is the player or team that named the trump suit for a given hand. The maker's team must win at least three of the five tricks or they are euchred.
Defender
The defenders are the two players on the team that did not name trump. Their goal is to win at least three tricks and euchre the makers.
Loner
A loner is another term for going alone. The player attempting to win all five tricks without their partner is called the loner.
Scoring
A standard game of Euchre is played to ten points, though some tables play to seven.
- Makers win 3 or 4 tricks: 1 point
- Makers win all 5 tricks (a march): 2 points
- Makers go alone and win all 5 tricks: 4 points
- Defenders euchre the makers: 2 points
Common house rules terms
Stick the dealer: A rule that requires the dealer to name trump if all other players have passed twice. Eliminates hands where nobody names trump and the cards are redealt.
Farmer's hand: A rule that allows a player dealt three or more 9s or 10s to declare a misdeal and request a new hand.
Going under: Discarding the turned card face-down without looking at it, used in some loner declarations.
Renege: Playing a card that does not follow suit when you had a card of the led suit in your hand. A renege is a penalty offense.
If you want to practice these terms in a real game, Euchre Mate has an AI coach named Marty who explains rules and answers questions mid-hand. He is especially good at explaining the left bower.
For tournament-level rules, the World Euchre Federation publishes the official 26-page ruleset for standard North American Euchre, available as a free download.