Pepper

The Midwest’s bidding game with the Euchre deck. Six cards each, bid for the tricks your side will take, or call Pepper and take all six alone. 4 players, in partnerships.

Also known as Bid Euchre.

Who To Play With

or
bots

How to play Pepper

  1. 1Four players in two partnerships, using only the 9s through aces (24 cards). All the cards are dealt: six each.
  2. 2Starting left of the dealer, each player bids once: the number of tricks their side will take, at least 3 and more than the bid before, or Pepper, or pass. If the other three pass, the dealer must bid.
  3. 3The highest bidder names trump: any suit, or no trump.
  4. 4Pepper is a bid to take all six tricks alone. The bidder's partner passes them a card, the bidder passes one back, and the partner sits the hand out.
  5. 5With a suit as trump, its jack (the right bower) is the highest card, then the other jack of the same color (the left bower), which counts as a trump in every way. Then A, K, Q, 10, 9. At no trump, aces are high and jacks are plain.
  6. 6Before play, the defenders may fold and let the bidders score their bid. If either defender wants to play, the hand is played.
  7. 7The bidder leads the first trick. Follow suit if you can; the highest trump wins, otherwise the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads the next trick.
  8. 8Bidders who take at least their bid score a point per trick taken (Pepper scores 12). Short, and they lose the bid (12 for Pepper). Defenders score a point per trick, but lose the bid (6 for Pepper) if they play on and take none.
  9. 9The first side to 30 points wins. If both sides pass 30 on the same hand, the higher score wins.

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