Talk:Euchre variants

Untitled
The Tournament section of the article says "Winners of each game ... stay at their table" and "splitting winning players may cause friction due to someone giving up their hot seat". I've usually played winners move and losers stay, which works quite well -- the best players visibly tour the room and the consistent losers joke about not wanting to give up a comfortable chair. But I have no idea how prevalent this variation is. Chris Dolan (talk) 05:12, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

variations x 2
Euchre variations Something is wrong here is this a task someone is working on... must need a mergeTetron76 (talk) 21:06, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

"Shooter"
Southern Ontario seems very specific, I am from there and played shooter today actually. Perhaps look into the accuracy of limiting the variation to only southern ontario? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.32.211.86 (talk) 02:36, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Guernsey variations
There's something awfully awkward about this paragraph, concerning the wearing of a dealing hat, the presence of a dealing duck, and the status of the Ace of Spades, but there isn't quite enough there for me to work out what's going on. I think it should be:

'Unofficial rules require the wearing of a "dealing hat" when dealing (usually a Fez). Alternatively, a "dealing duck" may be placed in front of the dealer.'

But that then leaves a trailing fragment: 'referring to the Ace of Spades as the Death Card, regardless of trump.' which has lost its lead-in. Not knowing Guernsey well enough, I can't fill in an appropriate beginning to that fragment. Can anyone help? Darine Of Manor (talk) 10:23, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

Reorganisation of article to include notable variants and delete non-notable ones
As the hatnote suggests, this article is a bit of a mess. I therefore proposal to remove all variants except those cited in reliable sources. As a starter for ten these would include those listed at pagat.com and in Parlett (2008), Wood and Goddard (1938) and Hoyle (1991) and called:
 * Almonte Euchre (E Canada, 6 players in 2 teams of 3) ✅
 * Auction Euchre (5 players) ✅
 * British Euchre (Cornish, 4 players in partnerships) - in main article ✅
 * Bid Euchre - numerous variants including Hoosier, Racehorse, Indiana and Double Deck (North America, 4 players) ✅
 * Buck Euchre or Cut-Throat Euchre, Dirty Clubs (North America, 3 or 4 players) ✅
 * Call-Ace Euchre (4 players in partnership)
 * Charlemagne (Canada)
 * Cut-Throat Euchre - see Buck Euchre ✅
 * Five Hundred (Australia and NZ, 2-6 players) ✅
 * Hasenpfeffer and Double Hasenpfeffer (Ohio and Iowa, 2-4 players, 4 in partnerships) ✅
 * Jackpot Euchre (4 players)
 * Jambone (lone hand variation) ✅
 * Jamboree (highest trumps win without play) ✅
 * Laps (excess points carried forward) ✅
 * North American Euchre (4 players in partnerships) ✅
 * Pepper - see Hasenpfeffer ✅
 * Progressive Euchre (competition variant)
 * Railroad Euchre (North America, 4 players in partnerships) ✅
 * Rapid Euchre (variation of Progressive Euchre)
 * Slams (double points for a slam)
 * Three-handed Euchre (3 players) ✅
 * Two-handed Euchre (2 players) ✅
 * Six Player Euchre (Cornish, 6 players, 2 teams of 3) ✅
 * 32-card Euchre (NZ and NA, 4 players in partnerships)

This list is not exhaustive, but at least each item is cited in one or more texts. Bermicourt (talk) 18:33, 6 December 2020 (UTC)


 * Tanada (talk) 01:43, 7 December 2020 (UTC) How do you define "non-notable"? I sm asking seriously as I have played at least five of the variations you consider worthy of deletion as they are quite common in high school, college & university campuses at least in the state of Michigan where I attended school.


 * The minimum criterion is that a variant should comply with WP:CS by having a citation to a reliable source. But as I said, the list is not exhaustive and I've just added some more from Wood & Goddard, so just because a variant isn't on the list doesn't mean it will get deleted. I have access to over 100 books covering the period since Euchre appeared in the US in the early 1800s, so I may be able to find sources for them.
 * Whether we personally play a game is irrelevant; it must be citable, otherwise recording it is WP:OR and not allowed. If a game is genuinely popular but not recorded in the sources (which does happen), it's best to find a respectable online website that will post the rules. The best one is pagat.com. HTH. Bermicourt (talk) 08:37, 7 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Agreeing 100% with Bermicourt. EmGaGa (talk) 17:56, 8 December 2020 (UTC)

Haus/Hoss
not sure I understand why you removed 3 references citing WP:CIRCULAR. I've checked the text of these sources; they are clearly not copied from one another and none appears on any other site. So I think it's genuine, although more sources would be welcome. Actually my main aim here is to remove variants that are not sourced and to gradually cite the rest properly as per the list above. If you're really unhappy with the references, I suggest we park the text here for the present while more are obtained. But they are not circular as far as I can see.Bermicourt (talk) 13:50, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

Ah I can see the issue. One source cites Wikipedia, but there is nothing at the link about it. I have emailed them to clarify the source. Another site is based on a Wiki article deleted several years ago which is why I couldn't find the text anywhere else. The third site is an outline of rules for the online version. There are a few other references to the game, so I still think it's genuine, but I agree it needs better sources. Bermicourt (talk) 14:04, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

Further to my last, it appears to be a shortened version of Hasenpfeffer (card game) aka Bid Euchre played by Amish, Dutch and Mennonite communities especially in PA. So it may be best located at that article. Bermicourt (talk) 14:32, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
 * You added three sources. 'Liquisearch' is really terribly formatted full Wikipedia mirror that scrapes old articles and splits them into sections; that page is directly copied from an old diff of the Haus disambiguation page here. 'Sensagent' is clearly attributed as being copied from here; the article was deleted a decade ago per this discussion, which noted the lack of sourcing. 'sites.google.com' is google's self-hosting platform with zero editorial control or fact checking. It also appears to be pretty closely worded, if not copied from some version of our old article. I'm really sorry, but none of these are RS. Sam Kuru (talk) 00:16, 5 January 2023 (UTC)
 * That's fine. I get all that. Bermicourt (talk) 09:23, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

Uncited variants
The following variants have been removed from the article as they are uncited and I cannot find them in any WP:RS, nevertheless they may be valid if suitable sources can be found.

Missing Man
Missing Man Euchre (a.k.a. George's Hand Euchre) is a three-handed Euchre tournament game of Western Wisconsin. It is also played on the gulf coast of Florida. It plays similarly to traditional four-handed Euchre.

Four 5-card Euchre hands are dealt with the fourth hand being a dummy (sometimes called George's Hand), and the top card of the remaining cards is upturned. The trump suit is called in the normal fashion, in two rounds of bidding. However, either of the players who does not call trump may exchange their hand for the dummy. If no trump is called in the first two rounds of bidding, the dealer must either call a suit (other than that of the top card) or pick up the dummy hand and call any suit (including that of the top card).

Play proceeds as normal. The calling player scores 1 point for 3 or 4 tricks, 2 points for all 5 tricks, and 4 points for a called loner. If the calling player fails to win the bid, the other players score 1 point each. Since the caller has no partner, leading trump is a good strategy, as when going alone in regular Euchre.

Sneaky Steve
Sneaky Steve is a variant in which the dummy hand is called "Steve". After the trump is called and the 5-card dummy hand is used or discarded, the player with the 9 of diamonds (called "Sneaky Steve") may exchange it for a random card of the 3 bottom cards of the kitty (i.e.: not including the top card or a card exchanged for it). Play then proceeds normally.

Three-handed Euchre with a dummy
Another common three-player variant is played by dealing out four hands, but with the fourth hand acting as a dummy hand (a.k.a. the dead hand, imaginary friend, George, Johann, etc.). After calling trump, the calling player picks up the dummy hand and makes the best five-card hand for themselves out of all ten cards. Alternatively, the caller may elect to "go alone" by not picking up the dummy hand. The caller then plays alone against the other two players, who play as partners for that hand. The calling player scores 1 point for winning the hand, 2 points for all five tricks, or 4 points for taking all five tricks while going alone.

Variations may limit the size or utility of the dummy hand, because making the best hand from ten cards may be viewed as too advantageous. Examples include a three-card dummy or the calling player randomly choosing three cards from the dummy, then making the best hand out of eight cards.

Canadian
In western New York, a three-handed variant called "Canadian" is played (it is called Gyoza in Chicago and Buck Euchre in areas of the US Midwest). Four hands are dealt normally. The top kitty card is upturned and automatically becomes trump. Starting from the dealer's left, the players then have the option of exchanging their hand for the dummy hand, with their discarded hand then becoming the dummy hand available for exchange by the next player. After the dealer chooses to keep or exchange hands, the dealer then picks up the trump card and play begins.

Shooter
In Southern Ontario, a three-person version exists called "Shooter". Three eight-card hands are dealt. Players then bid to call trump, with a minimum bid of 3 tricks. The winner of the contract calls the trump suit or may call "no trump", where aces are high and all jacks are treated as off-trump coloured jacks (i.e. beat a ten but lose to a queen). Players score 1 point for each trick won. If the caller fails to achieve their contract, they lose that number of points. A player who bid all 8 tricks, called "shooter", receives an extra 4 points if successful. The game is played to 31 points.

Ghost player
Four 5-card hands are dealt, with the extra hand going to the "ghost player". In clockwise order, players may opt to switch their hand with the ghost player's hand. The top card of the kitty is then upturned and bidding and play proceed as normal. If the caller played their dealt hand, they get 2 points for 3 or 4 tricks and 4 points for 5 tricks; but if the caller switched hands, they receive only 1 point for winning the majority of tricks. The defenders each receive 1 point each for 3 or 4 tricks, and 2 points each for all 5 tricks.

Threechre
In Threechre (sometimes pronounced "tree-ker" or "three-kree"), only three suits are used and a joker serves as the left bower, regardless of drawn suit. The dealer may opt to go alone in the first round of bidding, in which case the top card is discarded and the remaining 4 cards of the kitty are given to the dealer's opponents, who pick their best 5-card hand from the 7 cards. In scoring, 3 tricks is a clear win for 2 points, while a 2–2 tie awards each tied player 1 point. There is a &minus;1 penalty for the caller, so that calling and losing results in &minus;1 points, calling and tying is 0 points, and calling and winning is 1 point.

Call-partner
Call-partner is a variant for 3 to 10 players (using a deck adjusted so that the kitty will have 5 cards or less after dealing a 5-card hand to each player). The top card of the kitty is upturned and bidding proceeds as normal. The player who calls trump may call for a partner by naming a desired card. For example, if the caller names the left bower, the player with that card becomes their partner – but this is not revealed until the left bower is played. This creates an element of uncertainty as to who the partner is or whether the named card might be in the kitty. The caller may also opt to go alone. Scoring as normal.

Euchress
Euchress discards the 9s from the deck. Dealing and bidding are as normal, but the caller can choose a partner or go alone. Scoring is the same, with play typically going to 15 points.

12 card (or 11 card) Euchre
In this version, there are no partners. Each player will end up with four hidden cards, keeping strategy very similar to the partnered-version.

A normal deck of 9-10-J-Q-K-A in all four suits is used. The dealer places a card face down in front of the other player, and then in front of the dealer, alternating until each player has a row of four face-down cards. The dealer then places a face-up card on top of each face-down card, so now each player has 8 cards. The dealer then deals four more cards to each player, which they pick up and hold in their hand.

The non-dealer looks at their 4 hand cards, 4 show cards, and the opponents 4 show cards, and bids the number of tricks they think they can take, with a minimum bid of 7. The dealer can bid higher or pass. The highest bidder sets the trump suit, and the non-dealer goes first.

Players can play any card from their hand, or any of their face-up cards. If a face-up card is played that had covered a face-down card, the face-down card is flipped over and becomes eligible for play on the next trick.

It is strategically important to remember to keep cards in the hand, as otherwise it is very easy for the opponent to lead off-suit and win. It may thus be better in cases to sacrifice a higher-value face-up card than to give up hand cards. Similarly, if out of trump cards, it may be worthwhile to sacrifice a high-value face-up card in hopes of revealing a trump card underneath.

Points are only awarded or lost for the number of tricks bid: 1 point for 7 tricks, 2 points for 8 tricks, etc., up to 6 points for all 12 tricks. The player who bid gains the points if they succeed, and loses the points if they fail. The first player to get 10 points wins the game.

In some variants, each player may be dealt a 3-card private hand with 4 sets of face up/face down cards, or a 5-card hand with 3 sets of face up/face down cards.

33-card deck
In Guernsey (Channel Islands) the game is played with a 33 card deck incorporating 7 to Ace plus a joker as Benny. In addition, where the Benny is turned up, the dealer not only has to name the suit, he must then pick it up and play (although he may still choose whether to play alone or with his partner). Unofficial rules require the wearing of a "dealing hat" when dealing (usually a Fez) alternatively a 'dealing duck' may be placed in front of the dealer and referring to the Ace of Spades as the Death Card, regardless of trump. Tradition dictates that the Death Card should not be led on the first trick unless defending against a lone attacker as it will otherwise invariably be trumped. A cleverer lead is known as the "Brisey" which involves leading the left bower in an attempt to trick one of your opponents into a renege (a failure to correctly follow suit)if any particular player consistently reneges throughout an evenings play he / she is referred to as a 'habin'. The Brisey lead itself is named after Brian Mauger, a famous Guernsey Euchre player. If a defender has won two tricks and still has possession of the Benny then he must slap it onto his forehead as a sign of the guaranteed euchre. In an attempt to improve a poor hand a player may call a 'kezza' with what would appear to be little chance of success in the hope that his partner may assist in winning the majority of the available tricks.

Haus or Hoss
Haus or Hoss is a variant popular in parts of upstate New York, specifically the Pennsylvania Dutch area. Two standard decks are used with the numeral cards removed to leave only the Aces and court cards. Players form two teams of two, sitting opposite one another. Deal and play are clockwise, 8 cards being dealt to each player. Beginning with eldest hand, there is one round of bidding in which players bid the number of tricks they believe their team can make, the minimum bid being four. Players must outbid any earlier bid or pass. The highest bidder wins the auction and leads to the first trick, usually with the top trump (the "right bar" or "right bauer"). The suit of the led card is the "called suit" and indicates trumps. The highest cards are the trump Jacks, followed by the Jacks of the same colour, then A K and Q. In the side suits the order is A K Q J. Players must follow suit if able; otherwise may play any card. A player who wants to play alone with the aim of taking all 8 tricks bids "Haus"; this wins the auction and the player may swap two cards with his or her partner before play begins.

Five-handed Euchre
One five-player variant expands the standard deck, adding the 8s and a pair of 2s (or alternatively the jokers). The 2s or jokers are the highest trump cards, whichever suit is called. Five 5-card hands are dealt and the top card of the kitty is upturned. If no other player orders a trump suit, the dealer must do so. In the special case that the top card is a 2, the dealer cannot look at their cards for the first round of bidding, in which any suit can be called. Once trump is called, the caller may select a partner by naming a card (other than a 2) or may alternatively go alone. A player holding the named card becomes the caller's partner, though this is not revealed until the named card is played. Scoring is normal. There are no added benefits if the caller wins all 5 tricks when not going alone but the named card is in the kitty (i.e.: going alone must be intentional). The game ends when a player reaches ten or more points while holding at least a one-point advantage over all other players, with various rules for breaking ties.

Uneven Teams
The above rules for five-handed euchre can also be used for 6 hands by adding the 7s. The team that makes trump will usually play 2 against 4.

Triple Wild Deck
Partnerships are two teams of three players. The deck consists of 8s through aces, with the addition of the 4, 3, and 2 of spades which are (in order) the highest trumps. After dealing, there is a single card left over which serves as the top card for bidding. The game is played to 15 points, scoring 3 for euchres and sweeps, and 5 for lone calls.

32-card deck
Partnerships are three teams of two players seated across from each other. The deck is 32 cards, 7 through ace of each suit. The kitty consists of only two cards. If defenders euchre the callers, both defending teams score 2 points. The game is won when the first team scores a specific number of points (usually 10), sometimes also requiring a certain lead over either opposing partnership to avoid ties.

34-card deck
Partnerships are two teams of three players. The deck consists of 7s through aces plus two jokers, which are the highest and second-highest trumps.

Six-suit deck
Partnerships are three teams of two players, seated opposite. Uses a deck constructed of three red suits and three black suits, such that there is one right bower and two left bowers (the first left bower played outranks the second). Bidding, play, and scoring is as normal, with additional rules for ties: If the calling team and another team each win two tricks, each of these partnerships score 1 point. If the two non-calling teams each win two or three tricks, each of these partnerships score 2 points. The first team to 10 points wins.

Double deck
Partnerships are two teams of three players. Uses two standard euchre decks (48 cards); if the same card is played twice in a trick, the card which is played first is highest. Each player is dealt 8 cards. Players bid how many tricks they can get (minimum 3), with the winner calling trump. The caller may go alone normally as a "Big Shooter" or optionally as a "Little Shooter" by receiving the best card from each teammate.

Teams score 1 point for each trick won. If a team fails to make its bid, they don't receive any points and additionally lose the same number of points as their bid. Winning all 8 tricks scores an additional 4 points on a Little Shooter and 16 points on a Big Shooter. The game is won when a team has 32 points or more at the end of a turn when they called trump, or 34 points otherwise.

Bermicourt (talk) 13:17, 5 October 2023 (UTC)

dress euchre
"A New Game at Parsons", The Tulsa Chief, July 12, 1904 Arlo James Barnes 19:39, 29 March 2024 (UTC)