If you’re new to Euchre, the card ranking is almost always the first thing that trips people up — and it’s the #1 reason beginners misplay a hand. Once a trump suit is set, the rankings shift in a way that doesn’t exist in most other card games. This guide breaks it down clearly, with examples.
For the full rules of how a hand is played, see our How to Play Euchre guide.
Why Euchre’s Ranking Is Different
In most trick-taking games, a suit’s ranking never changes: Ace is always high, cards rank straight down from there. Euchre breaks this rule for the trump suit by pulling in one extra card from a different suit — the same-color Jack — and reordering everything around it.
Print the Bowers Chart
The free cheat sheet puts the Right and Left Bower for all four trump suits on one page, plus the Left Bower rule with an example, so nobody misplays it mid-hand.
Download the Free Cheat SheetInstant PDF download · Free
The Trump Suit Order
Once trump is set for a hand, here’s the ranking from highest to lowest:
- Right Bower — the Jack of the trump suit itself
- Left Bower — the Jack of the other suit that’s the same color as trump
- Ace of trump
- King of trump
- Queen of trump
- 10 of trump
- 9 of trump
The two bowers are the cards that make Euchre unique, so let’s look at each closely.
The Right Bower
This is simply the Jack of whatever suit is trump. It is always the single highest card in the entire hand, no exceptions.
The Left Bower
This is the Jack of the suit that shares trump’s color, and it’s the part that confuses new players. Diamonds and Hearts are both red; Clubs and Spades are both black. So:
- If Hearts is trump, the Jack of Diamonds is the Left Bower.
- If Diamonds is trump, the Jack of Hearts is the Left Bower.
- If Spades is trump, the Jack of Clubs is the Left Bower.
- If Clubs is trump, the Jack of Spades is the Left Bower.
For the rest of that hand, the Left Bower is treated as a trump card, not a card of its printed suit. If someone leads a Diamond and Hearts is trump, the Jack of Diamonds does NOT count as a Diamond — it’s trump, and can’t be used to follow a Diamond lead.
Get used to the bowers — play free
The Right and Left Bower feel strange until you’ve played a few hands with them. Practice on Tableza against the computer or with friends, on desktop or mobile.
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Quick Reference Table
| Trump Suit | Right Bower | Left Bower |
|---|---|---|
| Hearts | Jack of Hearts | Jack of Diamonds |
| Diamonds | Jack of Diamonds | Jack of Hearts |
| Spades | Jack of Spades | Jack of Clubs |
| Clubs | Jack of Clubs | Jack of Spades |
Non-Trump Suits
Any suit that isn’t trump, and isn’t the “donor” suit for the Left Bower, ranks normally:
Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9 (highest to lowest)
Remember: if that suit’s Jack happens to be the Left Bower for this hand, it’s removed from this suit and playing as trump instead — so that suit is effectively missing its Jack for the rest of the hand.
Worked Example
Say Spades is trump and a Heart is led. Here’s how these cards rank for that trick:
- Jack of Spades (Right Bower)
- Jack of Clubs (Left Bower — Clubs is the same color as Spades)
- Ace of Spades
- King of Spades
- Ace of Hearts (the highest card of the suit led)
- Ace of Diamonds and King of Clubs — neither trump nor the suit led, so they can’t win this trick
- King of Clubs
Notice the Jack of Clubs jumps all the way to #2, ahead of every other card except the Right Bower — even though on paper it “looks like” a Club.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
For a longer list beyond just card ranking, see our full Common Euchre Mistakes guide. The ranking-specific ones:
- Forgetting the Left Bower counts as trump. New players often try to follow suit with it when a card of its printed suit is led — but if it’s the Left Bower this hand, it can’t be played that way.
- Assuming Aces always win. In non-trump suits, yes. But any trump card, even the lowly 9 of trump, beats every card in every other suit.
- Mixing up which color goes with which. Remember: Hearts/Diamonds are red, Clubs/Spades are black. The Left Bower always comes from the suit sharing trump’s color.
📘 Beginner Guide
Euchre Made Simple
Never ask “which Jack is that?” again. This printable guide makes the bowers clear for every trump suit.
- A Right and Left Bower table for every trump suit
- 6 trick examples, including the Left Bower rule
- A one-page quick reference for the table
Printable PDF · 10% off applied at checkout
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a bower in Euchre?
“Bower” refers to either of the two Jacks that become the top two cards once trump is set: the Right Bower (Jack of the trump suit) and the Left Bower (Jack of the same-color suit).
Does the Left Bower count as its printed suit or as trump?
As trump, for the entire hand. It can’t be used to follow suit in its original suit, and it’s beaten only by the Right Bower.
What’s the highest card in Euchre?
The Right Bower — the Jack of whatever suit was named trump for that hand — is always the single highest card, above even the Ace of trump.
Ready to put this into practice? Head back to our How to Play Euchre guide, or check the Euchre Terms & Glossary for more definitions.