Euchre Scoring: Points, Loners & Keeping Score
Every way a hand can score, how a game is won, and the two-card way of keeping score without a pencil.
Updated
The Euchre scoring table
The makers are the side that named trump; the defenders are the other side. Cards carry no point value in Euchre, so the only thing that counts is how many of the five tricks each side took.
| What happened | Makers’ tricks | Who scores | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makers make it | 3 or 4 | Makers | 1 |
| March | All 5 | Makers | 2 |
| Lone hand makes it | 3 or 4 | Loner’s side | 1 |
| Lone march | All 5 | Loner’s side | 4 |
| Euchre | 0, 1 or 2 | Defenders | 2 |
| Loner euchred | 0, 1 or 2 | Defenders | 2 |
Two things are worth noticing. A fourth trick is worth nothing extra: 3 tricks and 4 tricks both score 1. And the makers risk 2 points to win 1, because a euchre pays the defenders double what an ordinary made hand pays the makers.
Every outcome, worked through
Here’s one game to 10, hand by hand, from your side of the table. Between them, these eight hands cover every row of the table above.
| Hand | What happened | Points | Us | Them |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | You order up hearts; your side takes 4 tricks. | +1 us (made it) | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | They name clubs and take all 5. | +2 them (march) | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Your partner calls spades; your side takes only 2. | +2 them (euchre) | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | An opponent goes alone and takes 3. | +1 them (lone hand made) | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | You go alone and take all 5. | +4 us (lone march) | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | An opponent goes alone; your side takes 3. | +2 us (loner euchred) | 7 | 5 |
| 7 | Your partner orders up; your side takes all 5. | +2 us (march) | 9 | 5 |
| 8 | You name diamonds and take 3. | +1 us: game | 10 | 5 |
- Hands 1 and 8 score the same single point, even though hand 1 took an extra trick.
- Hand 4 is a loner who made it but didn’t sweep: 1 point, the same as a partnership gets for 3 or 4 tricks.
- Hands 3 and 6 are the only times the defenders score, and a euchred loner costs the same 2 as any other euchre.
- Hand 5 is the big one: a lone march turned a 1–5 deficit into a 5–5 tie in a single hand.
Scoring a loner
Going alone changes only the top prize. Take all five tricks alone and your side scores 4 instead of 2. Take 3 or 4 and it’s still 1, the same as with a partner. Get euchred and the defenders score 2, the same as any euchre.
So a loner pays extra only for a sweep, and you’re playing one against two for all five tricks with your partner’s cards face down. When that’s worth trying is covered in when to go alone. Our tables score loners exactly this way: lone 3 or 4 tricks is 1, a lone march is 4, and a euchred loner gives the defenders 2.
How many points win the game
10 points is the standard game. Bicycle’s rules list 5, 7 or 10, “as agreed”; British Euchre plays to 11; long games go to 15. Whatever the target, the first side to reach it wins. Only one side scores on a normal hand, so the two sides can’t both get there at once.
Our tables play to 10 by default; you can pick 5 or 7 for a quick game, or 11 or 15 for a longer one.
Keeping score with two cards
Euchre has a way of keeping score that needs no pencil. Each side takes two spare low cards from the part of the deck you stripped out. Pagat lists three pairs: a 6 and a 4, two 5s, or a 2 and a 3. One card lies over the other and slides to leave the pips for your score showing, and you adjust it every time your side scores.
A 6 and a 4, or two 5s, carry ten pips between them, one for each point in a standard game. The cards come from the 2s through 8s you took out, so they aren’t needed for play. There’s more than one way to lay them out, so if you’re new, ask whoever is keeping score to show you theirs. Or keep score on your phone with our free Euchre score keeper.
House rules that change the score
None of these are standard. If your table plays any of them, agree before the first deal.
- Defending alone. A defender may play alone against the makers, announced before play begins. A lone defender who euchres the makers scores 4.
- Super-euchre. Holding the makers to zero tricks scores 4 for the defenders instead of 2.
- Renege penalties. The common penalty for failing to follow suit is 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. See reneging and misdeals.
- Canadian loner. In Canada, Australia and England, a dealer’s partner who orders up must play alone, so that hand is scored as a lone hand.
Our tables don’t offer defending alone; the Canadian loner is a table setting, off by default. You can’t renege there either: cards you can’t legally play are dimmed and won’t play. More on all of these in variations and house rules.
Common questions
How many points is a euchre?
Two, to the defenders. Under standard rules it makes no difference whether the makers took 0, 1 or 2 tricks, or whether they went alone. Some house rules pay 4, such as a super-euchre (makers held to zero tricks) or a euchre by a lone defender.
What is a march in Euchre?
Taking all five tricks as the makers. A march scores 2 points, or 4 if the maker went alone.
How many points is a loner worth?
4 if the lone player takes all five tricks, 1 if they take 3 or 4. If they’re euchred, the defenders score 2.
Do you get an extra point for taking four tricks?
No. Three tricks and four tricks both score 1. The jump comes only with all five.
What do you play to in Euchre?
10 points is standard. Bicycle’s rules list 5, 7 or 10 “as agreed”, British Euchre plays to 11, and long games go to 15. Our tables play to 10 by default and offer 5, 7, 11 and 15.
Why do Euchre players keep score with 5s?
Because the cards are spare. The 2s through 8s aren’t used in Euchre, so each side takes two of them (two 5s, a 6 and a 4, or a 2 and a 3) and lays one over the other to show the pips for their score.
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