How to play four-player Buck Euchre

These are the rules for the bidding and forced-clubs variant playable at buckeuchre.com. Buck Euchre has several regional variants; this version has no partners. Each player starts at 15 points and tries to reach zero or below.

Cards and dealing

Use 24 cards: 9, 10, jack, queen, king and ace in each suit. Deal five cards to each of four players. The four remaining cards form the blind. Reveal its top card, but leave all blind cards out of play. Rotate the dealer clockwise after each hand.

Bidding and forced clubs (Dirty Clubs)

• If the revealed card is a club, clubs are automatically trump. Skip bidding; everyone must play. The player to the dealer’s left leads.
• Otherwise, bid clockwise starting left of the dealer. Each player gets one turn to bid 2, 3, 4 or 5 tricks, or pass. Each bid must be higher than the previous bid. The auction ends after all four players act; there is no second bidding round.
• The winning bidder chooses any trump suit and leads. If everyone passes, redeal with the next dealer without changing scores.
• After trump is chosen, non-bidders can stay or fold. Folded players sit out and keep their scores.

Playing tricks and ranking trump

Follow the led suit if you can. Otherwise, play any card. The highest trump wins; if no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins. The winner leads the next trick.

In trump, the jack of trump (right bower) ranks highest, followed by the jack of the other same-color suit (left bower), then ace, king, queen, 10 and 9. The left bower belongs to trump, including when following suit. Outside trump, cards rank ace, king, queen, jack, 10 and 9.

Example: hearts are trump. The jack of hearts is highest, then the jack of diamonds, then ace, king, queen, 10 and 9 of hearts. If hearts are led and your only trump is the jack of diamonds, you must play it. If diamonds are led, that jack does not count as a diamond.

Scoring and winning

• A bidder who meets their bid subtracts one point for every trick taken. Missing the bid adds five points instead.
• Other active players subtract one point for every trick taken. Taking no tricks adds five points.
• Folding changes your score by zero. On forced-clubs hands, everyone plays and taking no tricks adds five points.
• Reach zero or below to win. Taking all five tricks subtracts five; it does not automatically win unless that brings your score to zero or below.

If all three non-bidders fold, the bidder receives credit for all five tricks and subtracts five points. For example, a bidder starting at 8 goes to 3.

Common Buck Euchre questions

How is Buck Euchre different from regular Euchre?

Regular Euchre usually has two partnerships. Here, all four players compete individually, bid a number of tricks, and count down from 15 rather than working with a partner to count up.

Is Buck Euchre the same as Dirty Clubs?

The names overlap, but house rules vary. In this game, a club revealed from the blind triggers a forced-clubs hand: clubs become trump, bidding is skipped, and nobody can fold. Other versions use different starting scores, auctions or dealing rules.

Does the dealer pick up the revealed card?

No. In this variant, all four blind cards stay out of play. The revealed card determines whether the hand is forced clubs; it is not exchanged into a player's hand.

Can the winning bidder fold?

No. Only the other players may fold after trump is chosen, and nobody may fold on a forced-clubs hand.

Does winning all five tricks immediately win the game?

No. It subtracts five points. It wins the game only when that reaches zero or below.

Friends, AI and guest play

Play in your desktop or mobile browser with friends or AI opponents at different difficulty levels. Guest play is available; create an account to save statistics and connect with friends.

Read our Buck Euchre bidding and strategy tips before choosing your first bid.