Euchre
Euchre Bowers
In euchre, the two highest trump cards are jacks, called bowers. The Right Bower is the jack of the trump suit. The Left Bower is the jack of the other suit of the same color, and for that hand it counts as trump, not as its printed suit. If hearts are trump, the jack of hearts is Right and the jack of diamonds is Left. Both of those jacks outrank the ace of trump.
That same-color hop is the rule that makes euchre feel like euchre. Get it once with the cards in front of you, and the rest of trump rank is ordinary. CardPractice's trump lessons and open-hand practice exist for that exact moment.
Same color, not same suit
Bowers come in color pairs:
| If this suit is trump | Right Bower | Left Bower (the other red or black jack) |
|---|---|---|
| Hearts | Jack of hearts | Jack of diamonds |
| Diamonds | Jack of diamonds | Jack of hearts |
| Spades | Jack of spades | Jack of clubs |
| Clubs | Jack of clubs | Jack of spades |
Hearts and diamonds are the red pair. Spades and clubs are the black pair. The other two jacks stay ordinary jacks in their printed suits. They are not bowers this hand.
Look at trump, find its jack (Right), then the other jack of the same color (Left).
Full trump rank (hearts example)
Once hearts are trump, the trump suit has seven cards, high to low:
| Rank | Card | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | Jack of hearts | Right Bower |
| 2 | Jack of diamonds | Left Bower (plays as a heart) |
| 3 | Ace of hearts | |
| 4 | King of hearts | |
| 5 | Queen of hearts | |
| 6 | 10 of hearts | |
| 7 | 9 of hearts | Lowest trump |
Off-suit rank is the usual euchre order: ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9. An off-suit ace never beats a 9 of trump. The jack of clubs and the jack of spades, when hearts are trump, are just off-suit jacks.
The same ladder applies to every suit. Swap in the Right and Left from the color table above.
The Left Bower changes how you follow suit
This is the part that causes the first-night argument.
You must follow the suit that was led, if you can. The Left Bower is not its printed suit for that hand. It is trump.
Example. Diamonds are trump. The jack of hearts is the Left Bower, so it is a diamond.
- Someone leads a diamond. If you hold the jack of hearts, it is a legal diamond. If it is your only diamond, you have to play it.
- Someone leads a heart. The jack of hearts does not follow hearts. If you have a real heart (A, K, Q, 10, or 9 of hearts), you must play one of those. If you have no heart, you may play the Left Bower as a trump, or you may play something else.
People will say "but it has a heart on it." The print is lying for one hand. Treat Left as a member of the trump suit the moment trump is named.
If you want to watch this rather than debate it, deal it on the practice table with every card visible. Pause on the trick. See which cards were legal.
Counting trump, including both bowers
Once trump is named, count these as trump:
- Right Bower
- Left Bower
- Ace of trump
- King of trump
- Queen of trump
- 10 of trump
- 9 of trump
The dealer may also have picked up the upcard, which might be one of those seven, and discarded a non-trump (or, rarely, a small trump). The three face-down kitty cards can hide trump that nobody will play this hand. So "seven trump" is seven in the pack, not seven in the four hands.
If three trump have shown, four remain among unplayed cards and the kitty. Counting is easier when you can see every hand.
Ranking examples that settle arguments
Hearts trump, trick of jack of diamonds vs ace of hearts.
Jack of diamonds is Left Bower. It beats the ace of hearts.
Spades trump, trick of jack of clubs vs jack of spades.
Jack of spades is Right. Jack of clubs is Left. Right wins.
Clubs trump, someone leads the ace of spades, you hold the jack of spades.
Jack of spades is Left Bower, so it is a club, not a spade. You do not follow the ace of spades with it unless you have no spade. If you have a printed spade, play the printed spade.
Hearts trump, you hold jack of clubs.
That jack is not a bower. It is an off-suit jack. It loses to any heart, including the 9.
Bowers and calling trump
Bowers change what a "good hand" looks like.
- Right Bower plus two other trump is a strong call. You have the boss and length.
- Left Bower without Right is still a high trump, but it can get snapped by the one card that beats it.
- A hand with both bowers and an off ace is the classic loner picture. You can often take five without partner. See euchre scoring for why that is worth 4 points instead of 2.
- A hand with the Left Bower and nothing else in that color can still be a trap. Left is powerful. One trump is not a calling hand by itself.
In round 1, remember that "pick it up" gives the dealer an extra trump (the upcard) unless you are the dealer. Ordering with Left and a small one, when dealer will gain Right, is how people get euchred on night one.
Bowers at a Midwest table, in plain speech
You will hear:
- "I had both bowers." Right and Left.
- "I had the left." They mean Left Bower, not a card on their left.
- "Green" or "next" for the other suit of the same color. Vocabulary varies by family. The color pair does not.
If someone slaps the jack of hearts on a heart lead while diamonds are trump, they are not following hearts. They are trumping, because that jack is Left.
Practice the same layout with cards face up so it sticks.
Stick the dealer and 3-2 vs 4-1 dealing do not change bower rank. Standard North American euchre is the chart on this page.