These tournament rules are subject to updates or modifications by the organizing team without prior notification
1. 1st Monday of each month
2. Shamrock’s Ale House 7805 Temple Terrace Hwy, Temple Terrace, FL 33637
3. Check-in 6:30pm-6:50pm – NO CHECK-IN ALLOWED AFTER 6:50pm
4. Play starts promptly at 7pm
5. Players must personally check-in to play
6. $10 entry fee
7. Violation of rules or unsporting conduct may result in DISQUALIFICATION
8. NO GAMBLING or SIDE BETS PERMITTED
9. Players must treat all participants with respect!
10. No participant will harass other tables for playing speed, number of hands remaining or score
11. Players should be EXPERIENCED Euchre players
12. NO FOOD at playing table during playing rounds (there are tables nearby to place food)
13. The tournament will consist of 5 rounds of play with 8 hands per round
14. Each round will be limited to 25 minutes
15. A 5 minute break between rounds will be provided
16.
Cheating in any form will be grounds for disqualification
This includes:
Overt or subtle talk or noise intended provide information to one’s partner
Hand signals or motions intended to communicate non-verbally
Pattern of repeated reneging during the tournament in an attempt to affect the outcome of a hand(s)
17. No electronic devices {except auto-shuffler provided by tournament} or phone calls at table during gameplay.
18. Tournament judges’ decisions are final.
19. It is preferred to have even number of players divisible by 4
20. Options MAY be available for odd count of players (3 player table)
21. At check-in, each participant will be randomly assigned a table and seat number by randomly selecting a numbered chip from the assignment container
22. The player in seat one will shuffle the playing deck and deal out a single card face up to each player position starting to the left.
23. The first player to be dealt a black J (jack of spades or clubs) will be the first dealer.
24. Partners and players change every game
25. A player’s new partner is the player seated opposite or across the table to them.
26. A 24-card deck consisting of A, K, Q, J, 10, and 9 of each suit is used
27. No jokers are permitted
28. Dealer shuffles and offers cut to the player on the right
29. Any player cutting the shuffle must cut at least four cards or more and leave a minimum of 4 cards or more
30. Players will not touch or pickup their cards until deal is complete and the ‘up card’ has been revealed
31.
Five cards are dealt to each player
Cards are dealt in combinations of 2 or 3 at a time. No cards will be dealt one
at a time to a player
32. Upon completion of deal to players, dealer will ensure there are 4 cards left in the ‘kitty’
33. Dealer reveals the top card for trump determination
34. Beginning to the left of the dealer, each player has an opportunity to ‘order up’ the turned up card to declare trump
35. Continuing clockwise around the table, each player may accept or pass on the revealed suit
36. If all players pass on the revealed trump, the card is turned face down on the ‘kitty’ pile
37. A second opportunity to declare any other suit than the one turned down as trump goes around the table.
38. STICK the DEALER: If trump is not declared by anyone before coming back to the dealer, the dealer must declare trump from the remaining three suits.
NOTE: When using a ghost player and the ghost player is the dealer and no trump has been declared, the partner of the ghost will draw a single card from the ghost hand turning it face up. This suit will become trump. The ghost is exempt from not declaring the turned down suit as trump. The ghost player hand is then shuffled and placed face down in front of the ghost player position.
39. Once trump is declared, the trump PIP is turned to show the suit declared as trump.
40. If the turned up card is ordered up, the dealer will lay their discard facedown on the table before placing the up card in their hand
41. Highest trump: Jack of trump suit ('Right Bower').
42. Second highest trump: Jack of same color ('Left Bower').
43. Remaining trump order: A, K, Q, 10, 9.
44. Non-trump order: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9.
45. Games are played with four players organized into teams of two
46. Each partnership aims to accumulate as many points as possible during each round
47. A 'trick' is a hand of cards played. The highest-ranking card of the lead suit or highest trump wins the trick
48. Partnerships strive to win at least three tricks per hand
49. A tournament round consists of 8 hands.
50. Each hand will result in a score of 0,1,2 or 4 points
51. Points are awarded based on tricks won and whether the hand was called alone
52. Winning 3 or 4 tricks as a team or individual or team earns the team 1 point
53. Winning all 5 tricks as a team earns the team 2 points
54. A player may declare they are 'going alone.' Successful alone hands (taking all 5 tricks without help from partner) score 4 points.
55. A team declaring trump but failing to win at least three hands results in a Euchre and opposing team scores 2 points
56. At the end of each hand, each player will record their team’s score for the hand on the scoresheet
57. At the end of the round, each player will confirm the scores of each hand and round totals
58. A table utilizing a ghost player will guarantee each player at the table a minimum of 7 points for the round
59. The team with the highest total round score wins the round
60.
In the event of teams being tied at the end of a round, a single
play-off hand will be played to determine round winner.
If the time limit for the round is close to expiring, then each player will
randomly draw a card. Highest card pulled will win for that team.
61. Play begins with the player to the dealer's left.
62. Players must follow suit if possible.
63. All cards dealt must be played individually and one at a time – NO THROWING IN CARDS EARLY
64. Anyone collecting a winning trick will ensure all players have seen all cards played
65. Each hand won by a team, will be collected into neat alternating stacks in front of only one of the team
66. Once a card is laid on the table, it has been played and cannot be returned to player’s hand
67. Any player that plays a card out of order of play or fails to follow suit when able to has reneged.
68. Reneging results in forfeiture of the trick and of the hand and a penalty of 2 points is awarded to the reneging player’s opponents.
69. Any player can claim a renege has occurred but if incorrect, the claimant’s team will be penalized by awarding their opponents 2 points
70.
When using a ghost player, all players play as normal and must follow
normal play rules EXCEPT for the ghost player.
When play comes to the ghost player, the top card of the ghost players hand is
turned over.
The ghost player will play each card in the order of the pile
The ghost player will not renege on any trick as their cards are played
randomly
71. Mobility accommodations will be honored throughout the tournament
72. Table and partner assignments rotate according to tournament structure
73.
At the end of a round,
All game and round scores will be agreed-upon by all players at the table prior
to arriving at final round score.
The team with the highest score will remain at the table and the other team moves to the next table.
74. One of the remaining players will change seats to prevent partnering with the same player again
75.
When a ghost player is used:
The ghost player does not move (win or lose)
The player that partnered with the ghost the previous round, moves to be an opponent of the ghost
76. Each player moving to a new table will take a seat opposite of one of the remaining players
77. Each player will list their partner’s name on the round of their scoresheet
78. Dealer for the next round would follow the same procedure as the first round
· After all players have completed their 5th round, each player will add each of the round totals together to create their overall tournament score.
· Each player will turn in their completed scoresheet to the tournament organizers
· Scoresheets will be collected and totals confirmed
· After all scoresheets have been collected, scoresheets will be sorted by highest total score to lowest
·
The prize pool (less a maintenance fee) will be distributed as
follows:
12-20 players 1st and 2nd
24+ 1st, 2nd and 3rd
· Additional drawings for non-monetary prizes could be held