How to Play Nate's Variation of Euchre

This is a variation of Euchre that my buddy and I came up with. It adds an extra element of strategy and forethought to traditional Euchre. Play is as conventional Euchre, with the exceptions outlined below.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 4 Players
• Deck of 25 cards (9,10,J,Q,K,A of each suit, plus a joker)
• a 4 and 6 each of two suits for scorekeeping

1. The Setup: Players sit at a table, with partners sitting across from each other. One player from each team has the 4 and the 6 of a suit for scorekeeping purposes (a face down card uncovers a spot of the face up card for each point scored. When all the points on that card are scored, it is used, face-up, to uncover spots on the other card, now placed face-up below it).

2. The Deal: Six cards are dealt to each player, clockwise, in two rounds of dealing (i.e. a round of four and a round of two, two rounds of three, etc.)

3. Determining Trump: After the deal, one card will be left. This card is placed face up in front of the dealer. Starting with the player at the dealer's left, each player has the option of making the suit of that card trump. (If the last card is the joker, proceed to the next step.) When a player calls this suit as trump, the dealer takes the card, places it in his own hand, and discards any card from his original hand, face down in front of him. In the event that all players pass, the card is turned face down, is no longer in play, and, starting with the player at the dealer's left, any trump suit may be called according to the procedure below.

4. Determining Trump (cont'd): Starting with the player at the dealer's left, any player has the opportunity to call trump. The trump suit may be a standard suit (i.e. spades), or a numeric denomination (i.e. tens, queens, etc.). Note that if a player calls a numeric donomination as trump, there now are, in effect, 5 suits, as the joker is always the lowest trump. The player calling trump must hold at least one card of the trump suit in his hand.

5. Rank of Cards: In a 4-suit round, the rank of cards in non-trump suits is A (highest), K, Q, J, 10, 9. The rank of the trump suit is J (high), J of same-color suit, A, K, Q, 10, 9, joker.
   
   In a 5-suit round where a numeric donomination is trump, the rank of cards in the non-trump suits are Ace high, 9 low, while the numeric denomination that is the trump suit is not included. The rank of the trump "suit" is, Trump of Spades, Trump of Hearts, Trump of Clubs, Trump of Diamonds, joker.

6. The Play: Play is exactly as in traditional Euchre. There are five tricks, so after the round is complete, each player will have one card remaining. Scoring is the same as in traditional Euchre as well.

7. Special "house" rules: With the possibility of calling numerals as trump, the "ace-no-face" redeal house rule should not apply to this variation of Euchre. Game may be played with the no-trump-called pass or "dealer-must-call" rules to taste.

Tips & Warnings

• Extra care must be taken when counting cards that have been played, as only 5 of the 6 cards that a player holds will be played in any hand!