Glossary

This Euchre glossary introduces the key terms and expressions that shape the game. It explains everything from simple concepts like trump and bowers to advanced ideas such as Next, donating, and crossing the river. Learning these words will help you follow discussions, understand strategy guides, and communicate with confidence during play.

The glossary is grouped into sections, with all words in each section in alphabetical order.

Public Notice: This document is released for public use. It may be freely copied, reproduced, shared, or adapted without restriction. It is intended as a resource for the Euchre community and all who enjoy the game.

Abbreviations

• S1: Seat 1 – the player left of the dealer, who is first to bid. 

• S2: Seat 2 – the dealer’s partner. 

• S3: Seat 3 – the player right of the dealer. 

• S4: Seat 4 – the dealer. 

• R1: Round 1 – the first round of bidding, where players can order up the dealer or pass. 

• R2: Round 2 – the second round of bidding, where players can order up any suit other than the one that was passed on in R1, or pass if they are not the dealer. 

• Suits: h – hearts; s – spades; d – diamonds; c – clubs. 

• Card ranks: T – ten; Q – queen; K – king; A – ace; J – jack (L – left bower; R – right bower).

Core Gameplay Terms

• Boss card: The highest remaining card in a suit. 

• Defence/defenders: The team that did not declare trump. 

• Discarding: Removing a card from your hand. For the dealer, this is done after picking up the up card in R1 to return to five cards. For all players, discarding also occurs when void in the led suit, requiring you to play from another suit — often used to shorten suits, create a void, or shed weaker cards. 

• Hand: The five cards you are dealt. 

• Kitty: The four out-of-play cards, which include the turned-down card or the dealer’s discard. 

• Leading: Playing the first card to start a trick. The person in the first seat left of the dealer gets the privilege of leading any card to start the game. All subsequent tricks are led by the winner of the previous trick. 

• Maker: The player (or partnership) that declares trump. 

• Next: The other suit of the same color as the turned down card. 

• Offence: The team that declared trump (the makers).

• Right bower (R): The jack of trump — the strongest card in the game. 

• Left bower (L): The jack of the same color as trump — the second-strongest card. 

• Trump: The chosen suit that outranks all others for that hand. 

• Trick: One round of play in which four cards laid on the table during a single turn. The winner of the trick is the player who played the highest card of the led suit (or the highest trump if any were played). A single trick is one fifth of a game. 

• Void: Having no cards of a particular suit.

Hand, Suit & Play Descriptions

• 1st street: The first trick played in a hand. 

• 2nd street: The second trick played in a hand, and so on. 

• Block: A hand that prevents a march in a given suit. For example, a protected left blocks a march in suits of its color. 

• Buried: Cards in the kitty that aren’t in play, including the dealer’s discards and a partner’s unused cards if they go alone. 

• Connected: Two or more cards in sequence in strength, making them equally useful (like a king-queen pair, or left-ace-king). If any cards in between have been discarded or played, the remaining cards still count as connected. 

• Clean suit: A suit that has not yet been led or revealed. 

• Dirty suit: A suit that has already been led, discarded into, or the turned down suit. 

• Farmer’s hand: A weak hand of all 9s and 10s. 

• Green suit: The two suits of the opposite color from trump. 

• Haki Haki: Playing both bowers back-to-back. Used by the Māori people of New Zealand. 

• The Hammer: The last boss trump in play, usually the right bower, left bower, or trump ace. 

• In the wild: Cards that have not been revealed to you yet. 

• Loaded: Holding several trump. 

• Loner: A hand strong enough that a player chooses to play without their partner. If the loner wins all 5 tricks, the team scores 4 points. Winning only 3 or 4 tricks earns 1 point, while being euchred gives the opponents 2 points. 

• Lay-down loner: An exceptionally powerful loner hand where the player can win all 5 tricks with certainty, regardless of how the cards are led or played. Typical examples include holding both bowers, the ace, king, and a fifth trump, or other combinations that cannot be beaten once trump is declared. 

• Long suit: The suit you hold the most cards in. 

• Naked left/right: Having only the left bower or right bower without other trump cards. 

• Next covered: Having a hand that blocks next. 

• Protected ace: Holding the ace of trump with at least two extra trump for backup. If a bower has been turned down or played, only one additional trump is required for backup. 

• Protected left: Holding the left bower with at least one extra trump card. 

• Short suit: The suit you have the fewest cards in. 

• Singleton, doubleton, tripleton: Having exactly one, two, or three cards, respectively, in a given suit. Examples include an ace-high doubleton (e.g., A-10) or a king-high tripleton (e.g., K-Q-9). 

• Turned down suit: The suit that was rejected in R1. 

• Up card: The card revealed by the dealer after the deal. 

• Unprotected left: Having only the left bower and no other trump, leaving it vulnerable to the right bower (also called “unguarded” or “naked” left).

Strategy and Tactics

• Buckeye Blindside: When S2 orders for the dealer, and S1 leads trump immediately to punish calling thin. 

• Burning trump: Playing a trump card in a way that “wastes” its value, such as using it on a trick your partner was already winning or spending it earlier than necessary. While often a mistake, it can also be used strategically, for example, to take back the lead, to stop opponents from promoting a card, or to control the flow of trump in the hand. 

• Crossing the river: Risky bidding in R2. Calling reverse next from S1 or S3, or next from S2 or S4, without being able to rely much on your partner’s help (also known as “jumping the fence”). 

• Donation: Also called “safety”, “sacrifice”, or blocking. A defensive call, usually by S1, meant to prevent or block the opponents from winning with a loner. Even though you expect to get set, you reduce their scoring chances. For example, at 9–6 you may “donate” to stop them, and you still keep the deal afterward. 

• End play: A tactic used late in the hand, often on the 4th or 5th street, where you steer the play to force opponents into leading into your strength or discarding valuable cards, ensuring the last points go to your team. 

• False card: Playing a weaker card instead of your highest to conceal strength, or playing the card you picked up as dealer to conceal from the rest of the table that you have more trump cards. 

• Fishing: Leading a card that is unlikely to take the trick in order to draw out opponents’ trump. For example, leading a low trump or a dirty suit to draw out higher trump cards. 

• Promote: Playing a weaker card from your doubleton or tripleton to fish out a higher one, making your remaining card(s) of the same suit the new boss. 

• Ruffing in: Playing trump on a non-trump lead (also called “trumping in”). 

• Sand bagging: Passing on a strong hand, hoping opponents call trump into your strength (also known as “passing dirty”). 

• Second hand low: A defensive tactic where S2 plays a low card when S1 leads, saving stronger cards for later tricks. 

• Seesaw: Partners alternating winning tricks by reading discards and adjusting. This strategy typically involves leading non-trump cards into your partner’s void so that they can trump in and take the trick. 

• Short-suiting: Discarding to intentionally create a void. 

• Stopper: A winning card that prevents the offence from making a march. 

• Squeeze: Being forced to discard a valuable card because you’re void in the led suit. 

• Table talk: Verbal or non-verbal communication with a partner. Always illegal. 

• Throwing off: Discarding another suit instead of playing trump when void in the led suit. 

• Throwing under: Intentionally playing a weaker card while holding a stronger one that could have won. 

• Trump high, lead low: Ruffing in with a high trump to increase your chances of winning the trick, and then leading a weaker trump to set up your partner.

Variations and House Rules

• Canadian loner: S2 must go alone if they order trump for the dealer (loner). 

• Farmer’s hand misdeal: A player dealt all 9s and 10s can call for a redeal. 

• Natural trump: You may only call trump if you hold a true card in that suit. The left bower alone does not count unless house rules allow it. 

• Partner’s best: A variation in which, if you go alone, you can replace one of your cards with the best card from your partner’s hand. 

• Steal the deal: A playful variation where someone deals out of turn; if no one notices, the deal stands. 

• Stick the dealer: In R2, the dealer cannot pass; they must call a trump suit. When not using this rule, if the dealer passes in R2, the cards are shuffled again and the next player in the sequence becomes the dealer.

Scoring and Outcomes

• Break serve: Scoring points on a hand where the deal belonged to the opponents, taking away their natural advantage. This term was taken from tennis. 

• Elo rating: A ranking system that calculates players’ skill levels relative to one another in zero-sum games. The term comes from its founder, Arpad Elo, who developed this system for use in chess rankings. 

• Euchered/Set: When the makers fail to win at least 3 tricks after calling trump. In this case, the defending team scores 2 points. 

• Going alone: Playing without your partner. If you win all 5 tricks, your team scores 4 points. Winning 3 or 4 tricks earns 1 point. Getting set gives the opponents 2 points. 

• March: Winning all 5 tricks (also called a “sweep”). 

• Rage quitting: In online play, intentionally going alone and losing repeatedly to sabotage the game. 

• Scorekeeping: When playing in person, cards are used to keep track of the score. Regional variations include using 5’s, 4’s and 6’s, or 2’s and 3’s. There is much debate over which is the best system. 

• The Prevent That Went: An unexpected donation outcome in which you donate expecting to lose points, but you end up winning points instead. Known in The Columbus Book of Euchre as the “Rushville Stroke.” 

• Variance: The swing of luck in card distribution. Negative variance means having bad luck and positive variance means having good luck, which often feels like skill.

Euchre Metaphors

• In the barn: A team has 9 points and only needs one more to win. 

• In the corral: A team has 8 points and only needs two more to win. 

• In the pasture: A team has 6 or 7 points and could win with a loner. In the forest: A team has 5 or fewer points and can't win on any given turn. 

• Milking the Cow: Pantomiming milking a cow to taunt your opponents when you reach the barn (9 points). 

• Don't send a boy…: Said when your opponent trumps in low, allowing you to over-trump. (Failure to follow the trump high, lead low strategy.)