Bid Euchre rules
What it is
Bid Euchre is a four-player partnership game that takes Euchre's short deck and its bowers and replaces the turn-up with a proper auction. Each player is dealt six cards, teams bid for how many of the six tricks they will take, and the winning bidder names trump. It is played across Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, often under the name Pepper, and it is a longer, sharper game than Euchre because falling short of your bid costs you real points rather than merely handing over two. This page describes the game as it is played at jpgames.app, which is the 24-card single-deck partnership form.
The deck
Twenty-four cards — 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in each suit. The same deck as Euchre, and the same bower rule on top of it.
Once trump is named, the trump suit reorders and gains a card:
| Trump suit rank | Card |
|---|---|
| Highest | Jack of trump — the right bower |
| then | other Jack of the same colour — the left bower |
| then | Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9 of trump |
That makes nine trump cards, not six. The left bower genuinely changes suit for the hand: if hearts are trump, the Jack of diamonds is a heart. Holding it while diamonds are led leaves you void in diamonds, and you may play anything.
The other three suits rank plainly — Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9 — except the suit that lost its Jack to trump, which is a card short.
The deal
Six cards to each of the four players. There is no turn-up and no kitty; every card in play is in somebody's hand, and the auction begins with no shared information at all.
The auction
Starting to the dealer's left, each player passes or bids. A bid is a promise to take that many of the six tricks:
| Bid | Promise |
|---|---|
| 3, 4, 5 or 6 | that many tricks, with your partner |
| Alone | all six tricks, without your partner |
Each bid must beat the current high, and alone outranks every numeric bid — a 6 can be beaten by alone, and alone cannot be beaten at all.
The dealer cannot pass the auction out. If the first three players all pass, the dealer must bid at least 3. There is no throw-in hand.
Whoever wins the auction names trump and leads to the first trick.
Play
The bidder leads. After that the winner of each trick leads the next.
You must follow the suit led if you can, remembering that the left bower is trump and not its printed suit. If you cannot follow, play anything; nothing obliges you to trump in. Highest trump takes the trick, and with no trump in it the highest card of the suit led takes it.
If the bid was alone, the bidder's partner sets their cards down and sits out. One player takes on the other two for all six tricks.
Scoring
Both teams score their tricks — this is the part that surprises Euchre players. Defenders are not playing only to set the bidders; every trick they take is a point in their own column.
| Outcome | Bidding team | Defending team |
|---|---|---|
| Bid made | 1 point per trick taken | 1 point per trick taken |
| Bid missed — set | −6, flat | 1 point per trick taken |
| Alone made — all six | 12 | nothing |
| Alone missed | −12 | nothing |
Two worked examples. Bid 4 and take 5: the bidders score 5, the defenders score 1 for their single trick. Bid 5 and take 3: the bidders score −6 regardless of the three tricks they did take, and the defenders score 3.
Being set costs a flat six whether you missed by one trick or by four, which is what keeps the bidding honest. Scores can go negative, and there is no floor — a team set twice early is genuinely behind.
Ending the game
First team to 42 points wins. If both teams cross 42 on the same hand, the bidding team wins it, because their bid closes first. The target is set at the table and 42 is the default.
Variants we implement
- The 24-card single-deck partnership game, which is the form this page describes. It is the Pepper-family game rather than the double-deck one.
- Alone bids, scoring ±12.
- Target score — 42 by default.
Where we differ from the common rules
- No no-trump bids. Some tables put "no-trump low" and "no-trump high" at the top of the bidding ladder. Not implemented — they need a whole second card comparator, and the deferral is deliberate.
- No 40-card double-deck game. The Indiana / Michigan Double-Deck variant is a different game with different scoring (there, a set costs you your bid rather than a flat six). We implement the 24-card game only.
- No small pepper. The variant where an alone bidder exchanges a card with their partner for ±7 is not implemented.
- Fixed partnerships by seat — you and the player opposite.
- Four players only. Bots fill any empty seat.
Ready to play? Start a Bid Euchre table — bots fill the empty seats, so a four-handed game starts whenever you do.
For the wider game, including the double-deck variants above that we do not implement, see Bid Euchre on Wikipedia.
Common questions
How is Bid Euchre different from Euchre?
There is no turn-up card. Each player gets six cards instead of five, the teams bid against each other for the right to name trump, and both sides score the tricks they take rather than only the makers. Missing your bid costs a flat six points.
How many tricks do you have to bid in Bid Euchre?
At least three, up to six, or alone. Alone is a promise to take all six tricks without your partner and it outranks every numeric bid.
What happens if you miss your bid in Bid Euchre?
Your team loses six points flat, no matter how badly you missed, and the defenders still score a point for every trick they took. A missed alone bid costs twelve.
How many points do you need to win Bid Euchre?
Forty-two. If both teams cross 42 on the same hand, the bidding team wins, because their bid settles first.
Can your score go negative in Bid Euchre?
Yes. Being set costs six points and there is no floor, so a team that overbids twice early can be well below zero.