Double Deck Euchre
Double Deck Bid Euchre is a variation of the card game Euchre. There are many variations of Euchre and a few of Double Deck Euchre. This is the version used in HammerWalt events.
Double Deck Euchre consists of four players in teams of two. Team members are seated alternately so that each person is seated beside an opponent. The deck used is a double Euchre deck, also known as a Pinochle deck. This includes four suits (Spades, Diamonds, Clubs, and Hearts) of each face (9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace). Since we use a double deck, there is a duplicate of each card. Cards are dealt evenly to each player. There is no one 'correct' way of dealing. Dealing is clockwise starting with the player to the left of the dealer and ending with the dealer his/herself.
At the beginning of each round of play (after the cards are dealt), the players begin a round of bidding for the number of tricks. Starting to the left of the dealer, each player makes a bid. Bids consist of a number of tricks. The minimum bid is 6. A new bid must be a higher number than the previous bid. A player may pass on bidding and still bid in later rounds.
Bidding is limited to two rounds. Bidding ends if all other players pass after a bid. Bidding ends if someone bids “Going Alone”.
If no one has bid after two rounds the dealer is “stuck” with the bid but may bid 5.
The player who wins the bid “calls trump.” Valid calls include any of the 4 suits, high no-trump (highest card of the suit led wins), or low no-trump (lowest card of the suit led wins).
If the bidder bid “Going Alone” they pass 3 cards to their partner. Their partner takes those cards into their hand and then passes three cards back. The partner then discards their hand and does not play in this hand.
The player who made the bid leads the first trick. Subsequent tricks are led by the person who captured the previous trick.
Tricks are captured by playing the highest card on the trick. In high no-trump or a suited trump, the cards are ordered from ace being the highest card, to nine being the lowest. Suit is important in two ways. First, the lowest trump card is higher than any non-trump card. This means a nine of the trump suit is always higher than the ace of any other suit. The jacks are also special when trump is declared. The jack of the trump suit is the highest card, and is called the Right Bower. The jack of the suit which matches the color of the trump suit: clubs/spades (black Bowers) and diamonds/hearts (red Bowers) is called the Left Bower, and is the second highest card. When playing non-trump cards, the Ace is only highest if it matches the lead card's suit. In other words, if the lead card is the king of clubs, only the ace of clubs is higher. Players must follow the lead card suit if they have it, otherwise they may play as they wish. When low no-trump ace low is bid, nines are the highest card and aces are lowest. Finally, since we are playing with a double-deck, the first played card is always higher than its duplicate.
A team scores points by capturing tricks. The bidding team must capture at least the number of tricks they bid, otherwise they are 'euchred'. If the bidding team is 'euchred', they lose points equal to the number of tricks they bid. If they are not 'euchred', they earn points equal to the number of tricks captured. The opposing team always earns points equal to the number of tricks captured. In addition to tricks, “Going Alone” bids come with a 12 point bonus if they make their bid of every trick (a total of 24 points), or an extra 12 point penalty (score of -24 points) if they get 'euchred'.
A team wins by reaching 64 or more points. Since both teams can earn points, if both teams reach 64 points simultaneously, the team with the most points wins. If the teams are still tied at this point, the winning team is the one who made the bid. Conversely, if a team gets 64 points 'in the hole' (-64 points by being euchred), they lose automatically.
For tournament play games will be limited to 32 points or a set number of hands.