01The defenders' advantage

The scoring favours the defence. The makers need three tricks just to earn 1 point; if the defenders take three, they score 2. That lopsided payoff means every defensive hand has an upset in it.

For the full scoring, see the rules.

02Lead through the maker

The defender's best weapon. Sitting on the left of whoever named trump, you play before them. Use it to lead trump and make the maker spend their high cards early.

Lead your highest trump
Draw out the bowers. If the maker has to play the right bower on the first trick, it can't cut your aces later.
The left bower on defence
It's the second-highest trump. Lead it and the maker must spend the right bower to beat it, or lose the trick. Either way, you're ahead.

03Save your trump

Don't spend trump on tricks your side is already winning. Each trump is a trick you might steal, so treat them as the scarce thing they are.

Don't trump your partner's ace
If your partner leads an ace, the trick is theirs. Play your lowest card and keep your trump.
Keep trump for cutting
A trump does most good on an off-suit trick the maker expected to win. Wait for that moment.
Count the trump
There are seven trump in all: the six cards of the trump suit and the left bower. Keep count as they fall. Once they're gone, your aces are good.

04Talking through your cards

You can't talk to your partner, but the cards you play say a lot. Every lead and every follow tells a story. These are common conventions; agree them with a regular partner.

Leading an ace
"I own this suit." Your partner can safely throw a low card of it.
Leading low
"I think you hold the ace here. Take the lead." Your partner should, if they can.
Following high
When your partner leads and you play a high card, you're saying you can help in that suit, and asking them to lead it again.

05Defending against a lone hand

When the maker goes alone the stakes go up for everyone. It's two against one, but each defender has only their own cards: no partner to lean on, no signals to read. For the maker's side of it, read the going alone guide.

Any trump is gold
Against a lone hand, even one low trump can take a trick. Hold two, and a euchre is a real possibility.
Lead trump at once
Strip the lone player's trump as fast as you can. Once they have none, every ace you hold is a trick.

06When to give a trick away

Sometimes the best play is a losing one. A card thrown away now can set up a trick later, and keeps your high cards for when they count.

Empty a suit early
Throw away your low cards of one suit early. Once you have none left, you can trump it when the maker leads it.
Play low on a lost trick
When the trick is already gone, play your lowest card. Keep kings and aces for tricks you can win.
Play low when your partner is winning
If your partner is taking the trick, don't spend a high card on it. Throw your lowest and let them have it.

07Where you sit

Your seat relative to the maker changes how you defend: it decides whether you lead into them or react after them.

Left of the maker
You play before the maker. Lead trump, lead through their hand and force hard choices. It's the strongest seat on defence.
Right of the maker
You see everyone else's card before you play. Use it: trump only when you must, and keep high cards back when the trick is already yours.