How to Cheat at Euchre (Sorry, Mom!)

Learn how to pull off a Euchre cheat so simple, anyone can do it, with none the wiser!

Let me start this off by saying a few things first.

1. Mom, I’m sorry. You taught me that cheaters never win, and winners never cheat – that it’s best to do the right thing – that honesty is always the best policy! None of these lessons will be reflected in the following text…
2. It’s never, ever okay to cheat when playing Euchre for money (or any other game for that matter). Refer to the parental lessons above, and remember, karma is a b!tch. These roguish technique should only be applied in friendly games where no one is liable to get extremely upset if the truth comes out.

With that out of the way, let’s get right down to the bread and butter of today’s topic…

How to Cheat at Euchre Without Getting Caught

There are two key elements to this trick, and both rely singularly on you and your partner coming to an understanding prior to the game. If you happen to play regularly with different partners, this cheat isn’t going to get you very far. Only share the information with one person – the one you partner with most – or your secret will get out before long.

This cheat is not going to guarantee you will win every hand. That would look awfully suspicious, now wouldn’t it? But it will give you the distinct advantage of knowing how weak or strong your partner’s hand is at all times.

Relaying Number of Trump Held

At the start of every hand, before the first round of bidding starts, the dealer will turn one card face up on the kitty. As you know, this denotes the intended trump, should anyone choose to bid on it. At this point, you’re going to hold your cards in a particular manner that will reveal to your partner how many trumps you are holding, including the left bower if applicable.

To do this, when holding your cards, you will simply leave the corresponding number of fingers showing to your partner. This needs to be done in a very casual manner. Your fingers should not be held rigid or perfectly straight, but it should be clear enough to your partner exactly how many fingers are up, as referenced in the exemplary image below.

What If No One Takes Up Trump?

Things get a bit trickier if no one takes up Trump. If everyone passes on the bid and the dealer turns down the trump, it won’t matter how many of that suit you’re holding. The only information that will do your partner any good now is which suit you have the best cards in. you can relay this information with the same way as finger signaling detailed above.

It’s good to shift in your seat at this point so that you’re making an entire bodily adjustment. Simply moving fingers up or down may attract attention. Make it look like you’re re-thinking the situation. You may even wish to move cards around in your hand, fan them out differently, or something else to make the shift look organic. In doing so, show your partner the number of fingers that corresponds to the suit your hand best represents.

You’ll need to have a number, 1 thru 4, associated with each suit prior to using this Euchre cheat. Make sure you and your partner both know what numbers correspond to which suits. The easiest is probably going to be alphabetical association, like so:

• 1 = Clubs
• 2 = Diamonds
• 3 = Hearts
• 4 = Spades

If the best suits happen to be equal – such as Jack and Ace of Diamonds, and Jack and Ace of Hearts – try holding the cards with three fingers out, while tapping that third finger oh so casually. Play up your indecision. Tilt your head and give your lip a little bite so it looks like you’re really thinking about which way to go as you tap that finger ever so gently, yet visibly, making it known that the #2 and #3 are both good options.

If you’d like to learn more about Euchre, please refer to these additional sections:

• How to Play Euchre
• Common Euchre Variations
• Euchre History
• Euchre Strategy
• BC Euchre Clubs