Keeping score in euchre with a 6 and a 4
A euchre deck only needs 24 cards, so the 2s to 8s are spare. Each team takes a 6 and a 4 of one color and uses them as a counter. This is the classic method in Ohio and Indiana, and it shows any score from 0 to 10.
The idea
One card lies face down on top of the other. You slide it to show the right number of suit symbols (pips) on the card underneath. When the bottom card is used up, you turn the top card face up and count both.
Every score
| Score | How the cards lie |
|---|---|
| 0 | The 4 face up, the 6 face down on top of it, covering all pips. |
| 1–4 | Slide the face-down 6 to show 1, 2, 3 or 4 pips of the 4. |
| 5 | The 6 face up, the 4 face down on top, showing 5 pips (cover one pip). |
| 6 | The 6 face up, nothing covered. |
| 7–9 | The 6 face up and the 4 face up on top, showing 1, 2 or 3 pips of the 4 next to the 6 (6+1, 6+2, 6+3). |
| 10 | Both cards face up side by side: 6 + 4. You win! |
Families do the in-between steps a little differently. The rule is simple: count the pips you can see.
Other ways to keep score
- Two 5s: common in Canada, Michigan and Nebraska.
- A 2 and a 3: used in Western New York and Ontario: count pips up to 5, then cross the cards for 5 and count again.
- A 5 and a 6: the British way for a game to 11.
- Paper: print our euchre score sheet with a row for every hand.