01Stick the dealer Played here
If all eight bids are passes, four in each round, the dealer must name trump. No redeals, no stalling.
It keeps every hand moving and gives the dealer's seat real weight: when everyone passes to you, you have to find the least-bad suit in your hand, which is a skill in itself. It's the usual rule in competitive euchre, and it's always on here.
02Canadian loner Not played here
A lone hand still scores 4 for all five tricks, as in the standard game, but the lone player's partner isn't simply sent away: with a strong hand, they may choose to play alongside.
Some Canadian tables let the partner play a single card instead, which adds a little cooperation to what is normally a solo effort.
03British euchre Not played here
Played with a 25-card deck that adds the joker as the highest trump, the best bower. It outranks the right bower whatever suit is trump.
Games usually run to 11 points instead of 10, and the joker changes trump play: there is always one card above the right bower.
04Three-handed, or cutthroat Not played here
Three players and no fixed partners. The maker plays alone against the other two, who defend together for that hand.
- The maker needs three tricks for 1 point.
- All five tricks earn 3 points.
- The two defenders play as partners for the hand.
- The deck is the same 24 cards.
It's the game to play when you can't find a fourth and still want real euchre.
05Buck euchre Not played here
Four players and no partnerships: everyone for themselves, each starting with a set number of chips or points.
- The maker must take three or more tricks or lose chips.
- Everyone else tries to take at least one trick to avoid losing chips.
- High stakes and constant pressure; it rewards aggressive play.
06Railroad euchre Not played here
Played with a 32-card deck (the sevens and eights go back in) and the joker as the highest trump. A defender may go alone too, which is called defending alone.
Named for its popularity with nineteenth-century railroad workers, it was widely played in the late 1800s and is rarer now. The bigger deck and the defending-alone option make a more complicated game.