I learned how to play Euchre in Manitoba.
Which, unless I’m badly mistaken, isn’t a part of the midwest.
Michigan here, been playing it since college.
My in-laws in WV play it as well.
Played a game online recently where I won in 3 hands. We euchred our opponents, then my partner and i each had a loner.
Fastest game in history.
I grew up in Michigan with Hoosier antecedents and I live in Ohio. Of course, I play Euchre.
Never got around to playing Euchre… play plenty of five-hundred, though, and they’re fairly similar from what I’ve seen. Some people around college play Euchre.
~ Isaac
Years ago I used to know lots of different groups who played regularly - some socially, some in work breaks. Everyone seemed to play back then. It was also easy to get a game of 500. Not so much now, although a couple of years ago a group of us at work played every lunchtime for a couple of months.
I used to be a professional 500 player. Well, when I was psych nursing sometimes we’d play cards for hours with the patients and I figured if I was making money playing cards I was a pro.
My husband’s family is from all around Indianapolis. They love euchre. They’ve taught me to play many, many times. I always forget.
I should mention that I hate playing cards. Except for Freecell on the computer. Actually handling cards is not my idea of fun. 
In the book, “According to Hoyle”, (I don’t remember the author) some cheating is allowed in Euchre. Specifically “Stealing the Deal” is the ONLY cheating allowed, but I think even the Hoyle book states that you can determine that rule ahead of time.
Count another Michigander here who plays. I learned when I was a counselor at camp. We would play most nights until 2 or 3 in the morning and have a blast.
I do, I do! Love it.
As for cheating, let em cheat. It’s easy enough to detect, and that’s the easiest 2 points in the world.
What’s 500? Is it what we call Rummy?
And, what’s “Stealing the Deal”?
I never play Euchre any more (all my friends but one got really sick of it in high school) and I’m getting quite a craving to play it now.
Thanks for shedding some light on the mystery - it does seem to be strangely regionalized.
Learned how to play from my family, they live in the Northern Kentucky region up around Cincy. I love to play it, but no one knows how to play here in Nashville. One of the things I look forward to the most every year is the late night Euchre games on Christmas eve.
I love Euchre. Of course living in Atlanta, I don’t get to play it much. I swear, the only card game people know how to play down here is hearts and spades. Furthermore if you asked somebody down here about hearts or spades, they’d invariably say “They’re almost the same game”. :rolleyes:
Back home in Oklahoma we’d play pitch with rules that I’ve never seen anywhere else. There were know 3’s, 4’s, or 5’s. We played with both jokers as well. Therefore each hand was a potential 7 points. Hi, Lo, 4 jacks and game. Anyone else play this way?
Bob McC
Third Virginian (well, OK, DC now) euchre player checking in. Learned to play it in Iowa City, forgot about it until I had Net access with my job and picked it right back up again. I know a couple people in my circle of friends who play it but we haven’t had a chance to organize a game yet. I play mostly on Yahoo these days.
I’ve also played Sheepshead on Yahoo; and IMHO it’s far, far different from euchre. Firstly, I’ve never been in a five-player game before (poker being the exception, but the rules don’t fix it at five), it uses the whole deck, and there are plenty of other specific variations that made it a whole new experience. Knowing how to play euchre didn’t help me in the least.
Another Michigan player here. We also play that “stealing the deal” is allowed if you don’t get caught, of course. (Stealing the deal just means that you are dealing when it’s not your turn, it’s easy to get away with if you are playing against less experienced players. Sometimes you and your partner can deal several times in a row before the other team realizes it.)
I’ve also played with crazy stuff like ‘Farmer’s hand’ and ‘Ace no face’ but I like straight up the best. The only rule we usually like to add if we are playing with experienced people is that if you go alone, you have to get all five tricks or the other team gets the 2 points. Otherwise we go alone practically all the time. This way you have to have a really good hand to go alone, and it makes that last trick all the more exciting.
I find that the biggest mistake people make with Euchre is to be too timid in their calling trump. Many people won’t call unless they have a really good hand, but if you have a good lead it doesn’t really take much to get 3 tricks. The worst thing you can do is let the other team call all the time. Plus it’s just more fun if you call.
I live in Northern Ontario and everyone around here plays Euchre. I learned when I was about 14 or 15, although I watched my parents and friends play all my life. It’s probably right up there in my top 3 favourite card games, and it hasn’t gotten old at all. I used to play it a lot in highschool but I can’t remember the last time I played it, now that I am in university. I prefer playing with the usual 4 people but my friend and I would play with just the 2 of us too sometimes.
Being from Toledo, Ohio, I learned Euchre at an early age. My mom’s whole family played it and a lot of my friends, too.
Now I live in Sparks, Nevada, and NOBODY here plays it…One of the (few) things I miss about Ohio.
I’d forgotten about all the different ‘house’ rules ! I don’t like playing no-ace-no-face, or No Trump (it seems to pollute the game, somehow …) but I always play cutthroat (where the dealer must call trump if it gets back to her). Farmer’s Hand I don’t know.
Velma, I completely agree about the timidity ! I had a friend that would habitually call trump with a 9, a J and a void (to the distress of his partner), and he’d win a lot, and another friend who would never call unless she herself had three winners (and she won, but not as often).
I think if we started stealing deals among my friends things would just have gotten ugly. When you always play with the same people, you need a certain level of trust or things could get really ugly ! Although, thanks for the heads-up for when I play with different people …
I grew up in the the U.P. of Michigan and we played euchre constantly. Unfortunately, I haven’t run into a single person from MN that can play.
Yeah, we always play cutthroat too (we call it ‘screw the dealer’). Farmer’s hand is a cheesy rule where if you get 3 nines or tens or a combination of the 2 you can trade them for the leftover cards that didn’t get dealt. I don’t like playing that way either.
Sometimes we play that if you are calling trump you have to have a card of that suit (left jack doesn’t count) in your hand. Sounds dumb, like who would call trump if they have nothing, but it prevents people ‘calling for their partner’ when they know each other well or have signals worked out.
I played all the time in college. In fact, for a couple of years in college this is pretty much ALL I did. Another native Hoosier.
Anyone ever play Double Bid Euchre? You use two Euchre decks and bid on the number of tricks you will take. All cards dealt with none left over, so 12 cards in a hand. Highest bid gets to name trump. In case of a "tie" (two of same highest card played), the first person to play that card wins the hand. YOu win either the number of tricks you take or minus your bid if you don't make it. The big changes, though, are that you can go high or low, meaning there is no trump and the highest or lowest card of the lead suit wins each trick. Finally, if you go alone, you have to take ALL 12 tricks. If you get them all, its plus 24, but if you miss even one, its minus 24. Game is to 52.
Once you get used to it, much more fun than plain Euchre. Not as much luck involved. You can do more with each hand.Native Michigander Eucher-player here.
My group of friends has always played ‘9s or 10s,’ where if you have three 9s or three 10s (no mix of 9s and 10s), you can trade it in for the hole cards. The fun part is that you can lie about it, but if the other team challenges, they get a point. If they challenge and you’re not lying, your team gets the point.
Nobody outside my circle of friends has heard of this variation, though.
Happy