Left Bower and Right Bower in Euchre
Bowers are the two Jacks that sit on top of the trump suit. Master them and the rest of Euchre ranking falls into place.
Right Bower and Left Bower defined
Right Bower = The Right Bower is the Jack of the trump suit. It is the highest card in the hand.
Left Bower = The Left Bower is the other Jack of the same color as trump. It ranks second, counts as trump, and follows trump for suit — not its printed suit.
Bower pairs by trump suit
| Trump | Right Bower | Left Bower |
|---|---|---|
| Hearts | J♥ | J♦ |
| Diamonds | J♦ | J♥ |
| Spades | J♠ | J♣ |
| Clubs | J♣ | J♠ |
Trump ranking selector
Choose a trump suit to highlight its order. Every suit's full ranking is also listed in plain text underneath for search engines and readers who skip the control.
Hearts trump: Right Bower J♥, Left Bower J♦.
- J♥
- J♦
- A♥
- K♥
- Q♥
- 10♥
- 9♥
Trump order for every suit
The same rankings appear below without needing a selection — useful for printing or reading offline.
Hearts trump
J♥ → J♦ → A♥ → K♥ → Q♥ → 10♥ → 9♥
Diamonds trump
J♦ → J♥ → A♦ → K♦ → Q♦ → 10♦ → 9♦
Spades trump
J♠ → J♣ → A♠ → K♠ → Q♠ → 10♠ → 9♠
Clubs trump
J♣ → J♠ → A♣ → K♣ → Q♣ → 10♣ → 9♣
The Left Bower changes suit
If hearts are trump, J♦ is treated as a heart. It is not a diamond for following suit.
Worked trick — diamonds led, hearts trump
- Clara leads A♦.
- You hold J♦ and 9♠ only. J♦ is the Left Bower (a heart), so you are void in diamonds and may trump with J♦ or discard the spade.
- You play J♦. Miles follows with 10♦. Quinn plays K♥.
- J♦ wins: Left Bower outranks the King of trump.
Common Bower mistakes
- Playing the Left Bower as its printed suit when the lead was that color’s off-suit.
- Thinking the Ace of trump beats the Left Bower.
- Forgetting that ordering hearts also promotes the Jack of diamonds into trump.
- Leading an off-suit Jack after trump is set and expecting it to still be a “high jack.”
- Counting only six trump cards — the Left Bower makes seven.
Bower FAQ
- What is the Right Bower in Euchre?
- The Right Bower is the Jack of the trump suit. It is the highest card in the hand.
- What is the Left Bower in Euchre?
- The Left Bower is the other Jack of the same color as trump. It ranks second, counts as trump, and follows trump for suit — not its printed suit.
- If hearts are trump, is the Jack of diamonds a diamond?
- No for follow-suit. It is the Left Bower and counts as a heart (trump) for the hand.
- Which bower is stronger?
- The Right Bower always outranks the Left Bower. Both outrank the Ace of trump.
- Does every suit have both bowers?
- Each hand has one Right and one Left Bower, determined by whichever suit becomes trump. The table of pairs is fixed by color: hearts with diamonds, spades with clubs.
Put it into practice at the Euchre table, review full Euchre rules, or move on to Euchre strategy.