Reneging & Misdeals in Euchre
What counts as a renege, the left-bower mistake that catches honest players, what it costs, and what to do when the deal goes wrong.
Updated
What counts as a renege
Euchre has one rule about which card you may play: if you can follow the suit that was led, you must. If you can’t, you may play anything, trump or not. A renege is breaking that rule, playing something else while you held a card of the led suit. Strictly speaking that’s a revoke; Euchre players call it reneging.
Two things are not reneges:
- Not trumping when you’re out of the led suit. You may trump, but you don’t have to.
- Not winning the trick. Nothing in the rules makes you play a higher card, only a card of the led suit.
The catch is that you follow by effective suit. The left bower belongs to trump for the whole hand, not to the suit printed on it, and that’s where honest players get caught.
The left-bower trap
The left bower is the jack of the other suit of trump’s color. In both examples below hearts are trump, so the J♦ is the left bower: a heart, not a diamond. The highlighted card is the only one you may play.
Trap one: a diamond is led
An opponent leads the K♦. You hold:
Your only diamond is the 10♦, so you must play it. The J♦ isn’t a diamond this hand; playing it here is trumping, which you can’t do while you hold a diamond. Play the J♦, the A♣ or the 9♠ and you’ve reneged.
Trap two: trump is led
An opponent leads the A♥. You hold:
It looks as if you have no hearts, but the J♦ is your only trump, so you must play it. Throw the A♦ because you’re “out of hearts” and you’ve reneged.
The reverse is legal. If a diamond is led and the J♦ is your only “diamond,” you’re actually out of diamonds, so you can trump with it or throw anything else. The full ranking is in card rankings and trump order.
How a renege is claimed
A renege usually comes out at the end of the hand. Someone notices something that doesn’t add up, such as a player who didn’t follow clubs early on and later plays a club. Once the last trick is done, they claim the renege, and the tricks are turned up and checked to see what was played.
Checking only works if the tricks can be told apart, so keep each trick you win as its own stack. And check the left bower before you accuse anyone: a player who showed out of diamonds and later plays the J♦ with hearts trump hasn’t reneged. That jack was never a diamond.
The penalty
Penalties vary from table to table, but the common numbers are 2 points, or 4 when the renege was against a loner.
| Situation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Renege on an ordinary hand | 2 points to the other side, or 2 taken off the offenders’ score |
| Renege against a loner | 4 points at many tables |
| World Euchre Federation tournaments | The offending team forfeits 2 points, or 4 during a loner |
Giving the other side 2 and taking 2 off your own score both move the gap between the teams by 2. For the regular points each hand is worth, see Euchre scoring.
Misdeals
A deal goes wrong in one of two ways:
- A card is exposed during the deal, whether it’s flipped over or dropped face up.
- Someone has the wrong number of cards.
Either one is a misdeal, and the hand is dealt again. World Euchre Federation tournament rules are strict about the first: any card exposed during the deal is a misdeal, and the dealer deals again. At home, who redeals is a house rule, so settle it before the first hand. Count your cards before you bid; it takes a second.
The farmer’s hand (a house rule)
Some tables let a player who is dealt nothing but 9s and 10s declare a farmer’s hand. What happens next depends on the table: either the player forces a redeal, or they swap three cards for the three face-down cards in the kitty, known as “going under.” It isn’t part of the standard rules, so only play it if everyone has agreed. It sits alongside the other optional rules in variations and house rules.
Reneges and misdeals on our tables
- You can’t renege here. Cards you can’t legally play are dimmed and won’t play. Watch which cards stay playable when trump or the left bower’s suit is led, and the rule sinks in fast.
- No misdeals. The computer shuffles and deals, so no card is ever exposed and everyone gets exactly five.
- No farmer’s hands. They aren’t offered.
Common questions
What is a renege in Euchre?
Failing to follow the suit that was led when you held a card of that suit. Strictly it’s a revoke. Remember that the left bower counts as trump, not as the suit printed on it.
What is the penalty for reneging in Euchre?
Usually 2 points to the other side, or 2 taken off the offenders’ score. Many tables make it 4 when the renege was against a loner, and World Euchre Federation tournament rules do the same: 2 points, or 4 during a loner.
Do you have to trump if you can’t follow suit?
No. If you can’t follow suit you may play any card, trump or not. Throwing off instead of trumping is never a renege.
Can you play the left bower when its printed suit is led?
Only if you have none of that suit. With hearts trump, the J♦ is a heart. If diamonds are led and you hold a real diamond, you must play it; playing the J♦ instead is trumping when you could follow, which is a renege.
What happens if a card is exposed during the deal?
It’s a misdeal, and the hand is dealt again. World Euchre Federation tournament rules have the dealer deal again; at home, who redeals is a house rule.
What is a farmer’s hand in Euchre?
A house rule: a player dealt only 9s and 10s may declare it and, depending on the table, either force a redeal or swap three cards for the three face-down kitty cards, which is called going under.
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