Dirty clubs

Dirty clubs is the name given to a number of variations of Euchre popular in the midwest United States. Like Euchre, these games are trick-taking card games; unlike Euchre, the players must bid on how many tricks they will take. In this respect, dirty clubs bears a superficial resemblance to contract bridge.

Rules

The set of rules here are just an example; there is considerable regional variation.

Dirty clubs can be played with between 3 and 6 players, depending on the variation. The game uses the same cards as Euchre: the 10, J, Q, K, and A of each suit (three players), with lower cards (9, 8, 7, etc.) added if necessary for more players. The first hand, the dealer is chosen at random, then the deal proceeds clockwise.

Each hand, one suit is "trump" (but see variations below); trump cards are higher than non-trump. The order of cards for the trump suit is the same as Euchre: J of the trump suit ("right bauer")-J of the other suit of the same color ("left bauer")-A-K-Q-10-etc. The order of cards for non-trump suits is A-K-Q-(J)-10-etc.

Each hand, five cards are dealt to each player; the remaining cards are placed face down (the "blind"), except the top card, which is flipped face up. If this face up card is a club - this is called "dirty clubs" - there is no bidding and clubs is automatically trump. Otherwise, each player in clockwise order bids a number of tricks they think they can take. The bid can go around a second time, giving players the chance to raise their bid. The high bidder gets to call trump.

Play begins with the player to the left of the dealer. This player "leads" with a single card, and play proceeds clockwise. Players must "follow suit" if possible. The player that takes the trick gets to lead for the next trick.

Scoring is as follows. Each player starts with the same number of points, for example 15. The goal is to get to 0. Each player subtracts the number of tricks taken from his score each hand. However, the high bidder must take at least the number of tricks he bid. If he fails to take this many tricks, instead of subtracting points, he must add 5 to his score. Therefore, being the high bidder is helpful in that it lets you call trump, but it is also dangerous as you are the only player held to your bid.

Variations

Dirty clubs is more flexible than Euchre. Because there are no partners, an even number of players is not needed. More players can be added by adding more cards to the deck, though more than six players makes for a slow game. Some players like to play more than five cards a hand because it gives a wider range for bids; of course, this also means that each hand takes longer to play.

One popular variation is that a player that takes no tricks is penalized 5 points, regardless of his bid. When this rule is in place, the players are usually given a chance to drop out after trump is called. A player that drops out can not be penalized, but also can not take any tricks.

Another popular variation is that if the call goes all the way around without a bid, there is no trump. Players do not get a chance to drop out.