Bid Euchre

A variation on the classic card game Euchre. You should be familiar with the rules of Euchre before playing this game.

Players

2 players

Cards

One standard euchre deck (2-8s removed).

Object

The object is to get to a predetermined score, typically 50 points.

Dealing

The dealer will place one card face down in front of the opponent, then one card face down in front of himself. He will do this four times. This will create four piles. Then the dealer deals four more cards, this time face up, on top of the four piles he has created. Then he deals the rest of the cards one at a time. These remaining four cards are taken into the players' hand.

Game play

There are twelve tricks to be taken. The opponent begins by bidding the number of tricks they think they can take. Bidding goes back and forth until someone relents. The winning bidder names trump. The non-dealer plays the first card.

When a card is played that is the up card on one of the players' piles, the down card stays down until the trick is completed. At that time, the down card is turned up for both players to see. Because these four cards are out of play until they are turned up and known, it is possible for someone to be short-suited until one of their down cards is flipped.

Scoring

One point is scored for each trick taken. If the person who bid does not take their bid in tricks, they are marked with a negative number of points equal to their bid. The defender always scores the number of tricks they have taken.