How to Play Bid Euchre: Rules, Bidding, Scoring & Variations
If you already know traditional Euchre, Bid Euchre will feel familiar—but the way you decide trump is very different. If you’re new to traditional Euchre, start with our how to play Euchre guide. Instead of turning up a card and giving players a chance to order it up, Bid Euchre uses an auction. Players bid on how many tricks they think they can win, and the winner of the auction usually gets control of the contract, including the choice of trump.
There is one important thing to understand before going any further: there is no single universally accepted set of Bid Euchre rules. Bid Euchre is really a family of related Euchre games. Depending on where and with whom you play, you might use a single deck or double deck, four players or six, high and low no-trump or neither, a kitty or no kitty, and very different scoring systems.
Fortunately, most versions share the same basic ideas. Once you understand those, learning the house rules at a particular table is much easier.
Bid Euchre Terms to Know
Before getting into the rules, here are a few terms you'll see throughout this article.
Bid
A bid is your offer during the auction and normally represents the number of tricks you believe your side can win. For example, a bid of 6 generally means you are committing to win at least 6 tricks if you win the auction.
Contract
The contract is the commitment made by the winning bidder. If you win the auction with a bid of 7, your contract is generally to take at least 7 tricks. Depending on the version, the contract may also specify a trump suit, high no-trump, low no-trump or a special solo bid.
Declarer or Bidder
The player who wins the auction is often called the bidder or declarer. That player controls the contract.
Void
You are void in a suit when you do not have any cards of that suit. If clubs are led and you have no clubs, you are void in clubs. In most modern versions of Bid Euchre, a player who is void can play trump or discard another suit.
Kitty
A kitty is a group of cards that are dealt but not initially given to a player. In some versions, the winning bidder picks up the kitty after the auction and then discards the same number of cards. Other versions do not use a kitty at all.
No-Trump
A no-trump contract is played without a trump suit. Some versions allow high no-trump, low no-trump or both.
Bid Euchre at a Glance
Although the details vary, a typical hand of Bid Euchre follows the same general pattern:
The cards are dealt.
Players bid on how many tricks they believe they can win.
The highest bidder wins the auction.
Trump—or another contract such as no-trump—is established.
Players play out the hand one trick at a time.
The bidding side tries to make its contract.
The hand is scored according to the rules being used.
The biggest difference from traditional Euchre happens during the bidding. There is no turned-up card determining the possible trump suit. Instead, players compete for the right to control the hand.
What Cards Are Used in Bid Euchre?
This is one of the first rules you should establish before playing because Bid Euchre is played with several different deck sizes.
Single-Deck Bid Euchre
Some versions use a deck similar to traditional Euchre. A common example is a 24-card deck containing the 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of each suit. With four players and all 24 cards dealt, each player receives six cards.
Even among single-deck games, however, the exact deck and deal can vary. Don't assume another group uses the same cards simply because both groups call the game Bid Euchre.
Double-Deck Bid Euchre
Double-deck Bid Euchre is especially common in parts of the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes region. These games use two copies of some or all of the Euchre ranks. One version might use two complete 24-card Euchre decks for 48 cards, while another might remove the 9s and use 40 cards.
Because there can be two identical cards in play, double-deck games need a rule for what happens when both copies are played to the same trick. In many documented double-deck versions, the first identical card played wins. If one player plays an A♣ and another player later plays the second A♣ to the same trick, the first ace wins.
That's an important rule to confirm before the game starts.
How Bidding Works in Bid Euchre
Bidding is what separates Bid Euchre from traditional Euchre. Instead of deciding whether to order up a particular card, players compete in an auction for control of the hand.
What Does a Bid Mean?
The simplest bids are numbers. If you bid 5, you are generally saying that your side can win at least five tricks if you control the contract. Another player might bid 6, committing to at least six tricks and taking the lead in the auction.
The auction continues according to the rules of the version being played until one player has the highest bid.
Do You Name Trump While You Bid?
Sometimes. In some games, you might bid 6 hearts, which tells your opponents both the number of tricks you are promising and the suit you want as trump.
In other versions, you bid only a number, such as 6. If you win the auction, you then choose hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades or an allowed no-trump contract. This version of bidding reveals much less about your hand during the auction.
Can You Bid Again After Passing?
It depends on the version. Some Bid Euchre games use a one-round auction, meaning each player gets one opportunity to bid or pass. Other versions continue until nobody raises the current bid.
Some continuing auctions even allow a player who passed earlier to come back into the bidding. For that reason, don't assume that saying "pass" always means you're finished unless the table's rules say so.
What Happens If Everyone Passes?
There is no universal rule. Depending on the variation, the hand may be thrown in and redealt, the dealer may be forced to bid, or a particular player may be required to make a minimum opening bid.
This is another rule worth establishing before the first hand.
How Trump Works in Bid Euchre
In a normal suit contract, trump works much like it does in traditional Euchre. The usual order is:
Right Bower → Left Bower → Ace → King → Queen → 10 → 9
The lower part of that order depends on which cards are included in the deck. If the game doesn't use 9s, for example, the 10 becomes the lowest normal trump.
Remember that the left bower changes suits. If clubs are trump, J♣ is the right bower and J♠ is the left bower. The J♠ is treated as a club for the entire hand, including when determining whether a player can follow suit.
High No-Trump
Many versions of Bid Euchre allow high no-trump. There is no trump suit, so tricks are won by the highest card of the suit that was led. In a deck using the usual Euchre ranks, the order is typically:
Ace → King → Queen → Jack → 10 → 9
If diamonds are led, for example, the highest diamond played wins the trick. High no-trump tends to reward hands containing several strong cards across multiple suits or hands concentrated in one potential trump suit, but maybe lacking one or both Jacks.
Low No-Trump
Some versions also allow low no-trump. There is still no trump suit, but the ranking of the cards is reversed. With a 9-through-Ace deck, the order is typically:
9 → 10 → Jack → Queen → King → Ace
That means a hand loaded with 9s and 10s may be very strong in low no-trump even though it would look terrible in high no-trump.
One important distinction is that low no-trump does not usually mean you're trying to lose tricks. You're still trying to win tricks; the low cards are simply the strong cards.
How a Hand Is Played
Once the auction and contract are settled, Bid Euchre becomes a more familiar trick-taking game.
Who Leads the First Trick?
In many versions, the winning bidder leads the first trick, but even this isn't universal. Some documented versions have another player lead, so it's worth confirming if you're playing with a new group.
Following Suit
A player must follow the suit that was led whenever possible. If hearts are led and you have a heart, you must play one. If you don't have a heart, you're void in hearts.
In most modern Bid Euchre games, a void player may either play a trump card or discard a card from another suit. There are exceptions; some older Hasenpfeffer rules require a player who is void to trump if possible.
Winning the Trick
If trump is played, the highest trump wins the trick. If nobody plays trump, the highest card of the suit that was led wins. The player who wins the trick normally leads the next one, and play continues until all the cards have been played.
Making Your Bid—or Getting Set
Suppose your team wins the auction with a bid of 7. Your team now needs to win at least seven tricks. If you take eight tricks, you've made your bid; if you take only six, you've been set.
That's the basic risk-and-reward decision behind the auction. A higher bid makes it more likely you'll win the right to control trump, but it also commits your team to winning more tricks. Exactly what happens to the score after you make or miss the bid depends on the variation you're playing.
How Bid Euchre Scoring Works
If you've found different Bid Euchre scoring systems online, there's a good reason: there is no single scoring system used by every version of Bid Euchre.
Scoring the Tricks You Take
In some versions, a successful bidder scores the actual number of tricks the team wins. If you bid 7 and take 9, you score 9 points.
This system allows a team to bid conservatively while still earning points for every extra trick it wins.
Scoring Only Your Bid
Other versions score only the value of the contract. If you bid 7 and take 9, you still score only 7 points.
Those two systems can produce very different bidding strategies. If extra tricks don't count, consistently underbidding a strong hand leaves potential points on the table.
What Happens When You Get Set?
The penalty also varies. Some games subtract the amount of your bid, so bidding 7 and getting set would cost 7 points. Other games use a fixed penalty regardless of how high you bid.
Depending on the rules, the defending team may also score the tricks it takes.
How Many Points Win?
The target score is another house rule. Documented Bid Euchre games use many different targets ,including 30, 32, 42, 50, 52 and others.
Instead of asking, "What's the official Bid Euchre score?" it's usually better to ask, "What scoring system are we using?"
Going Alone, Shooting the Moon and Other Special Bids
Many Bid Euchre games have a contract above the normal numerical bids. You may hear terms such as going alone, loner, Shoot the Moon, Pepper, Big Pepper or Best.
These usually involve trying to win every trick, often without your normal partner playing the hand. However, the names do not describe one universal rule.
Depending on the variation, a solo bidder might play completely alone, receive one or more cards from a partner, exchange cards with a partner before the partner sits out, pick up a kitty, or receive no help at all. The reward for making the contract—and the penalty for missing it—can also be very different.
So when someone says, "You can shoot the moon," a useful follow-up question is simply: "What does that mean in this version?"
The Biggest Bid Euchre Rule Variations
The easiest way to understand the many forms of Bid Euchre is to focus on the rules that change rather than trying to memorize every regional name.
Single Deck or Double Deck
Deck size changes the number of cards in play, the number of tricks and, in double-deck games, the importance of duplicate cards.
Four Players, Six Players or Something Else
Four-player partnership games are common, but six-player team games and individual versions also exist. The number of players often changes the deck size, hand size and bidding structure.
One-Round or Continuing Auction
Some auctions go around the table once, while others continue until everyone stops raising. Certain versions also allow previously passed players to re-enter the auction.
Trump Named During or After Bidding
Some systems reveal the proposed trump suit during bidding. Others keep the suit hidden until the auction is finished.
Kitty or No Kitty
A kitty can dramatically improve the winning bidder's hand because it allows weak cards to be replaced. Other versions deal all the cards and have no kitty at all.
High No-Trump, Low No-Trump or Neither
Some groups play both high and low no-trump, some allow only high no-trump, and some do not use no-trump contracts.
Partner Plays or Sits Out
In some contracts, the normal partnership remains intact. In others, the partner may give the bidder one or more cards and then sit out the hand.
Scoring the Bid or Scoring the Tricks
Some games score the number bid, while others score the number of tricks actually taken. That difference can significantly affect how aggressively players bid.
Different Set Penalties
Losing the amount you bid creates a different risk than facing the same fixed penalty no matter how high you bid. This is one of the scoring rules that should always be clear before play begins.
Before You Play, Agree on These Rules
Bid Euchre has enough variations that a two-minute rules conversation before the first deal can prevent a twenty-minute argument later. Before you start, make sure everyone agrees on:
What deck are we using?
How many players and teams are there?
How many cards does each player receive?
Is there a kitty?
What's the minimum bid?
Is bidding one round or continuous?
Can you bid again after passing?
Is anyone forced to bid if everyone passes?
Do you name trump during bidding or afterward?
Is high no-trump allowed?
Is low no-trump allowed?
How do solo or shoot-the-moon bids work?
Who leads the first trick?
If two identical cards are played, which one wins?
How are successful contracts scored?
What happens when the bidder gets set?
What score wins the game?
If everyone agrees on those points, you've settled most of the differences that separate one Bid Euchre variation from another.
Is Bid Euchre the Same as Auction Euchre, Pepper or Hasenpfeffer?
Not necessarily. You'll encounter names including Bid Euchre, Auction Euchre, Pepper, Hasenpfeffer, Pfeffer, Hoss, Horse and Double Deck Bid Euchre. Some of those names have specific documented rules, but in everyday play there's a lot of overlap.
Two groups can both say they're playing "Pepper" and still use different bidding or scoring rules. Likewise, two groups can both say "Bid Euchre" while one plays with 24 cards and the other plays with 48.
Historically, auction-based Euchre games have been around for more than a century. Auction Euchre was documented as early as 1914, and later games such as Hasenpfeffer and today's regional Bid Euchre variations developed different rules around the same basic idea. That's why the name of the game is often less useful than knowing its actual rules.
So Which Bid Euchre Rules Should You Use?
If you're joining an established group, use their house rules. That's part of Bid Euchre.
If you're teaching a group from scratch, choose one complete ruleset before you begin rather than piecing together rules from several different websites. That's especially important with scoring—you don't want to discover halfway through the game that one person expected to score every trick while another thought you only scored the amount you bid.
The common foundation is simple: bid for control of the hand, establish the contract, play the tricks and make your bid. Everything around that foundation can vary.
Playing Bid Euchre With What's Trump?
What's Trump? is designed with those variations in mind. When setting up a Bid Euchre game, you can configure the game to fit different styles of play, including four-player and six-player games, single-deck and double-deck formats, different numbers of tricks, and whether high or low no-trump is allowed.
That flexibility is important because there isn't one "correct" version of Bid Euchre that everyone plays. The goal is to let the app match the version your group already plays rather than force everyone into one ruleset.
Two variations we play are Shoot the Moon, a four-player Bid Euchre game, and Pigs and Hogs, a six-player version. We’ll be covering the complete rules for both in separate guides.
And if your group plays differently, What's Trump? can be set up to accommodate many other Bid Euchre variations as well.
The Most Important Bid Euchre Rule to Remember
If you're coming back to Bid Euchre after not playing for a while, don't worry about memorizing every regional variation. Remember the basic flow:
Deal → Bid → Establish the contract → Play the tricks → Make the bid → Score the hand
When you're playing with a new group, ask about the house rules before the first hand. There is no universal Bid Euchre rulebook that every table follows, and the variations are part of what has allowed the game to develop into so many different forms.
Once everyone agrees on the deck, bidding, no-trump options, special contracts and scoring, the rest will feel a lot like Euchre.