The pack consists of 25 cards, created by discarding all twos through eights and adding in the joker. Cards rank as in the basic rules with the joker always being the highest trump. Each player is dealt six cards, three at a time. The last card becomes the widow and is placed face down on the table. The player to the dealer's left bids first, and each player has one chance to bid.
Bids are a number from one to six.
The high bidder picks up the widow, names trump, and discards one card face down. The high bidder also leads to the first trick and play follows that of standard Euchre. A team my have a negative score, called being in the hole . A 48-card Pinochle pack is used, ranking as in the basic rules , with no joker. All the cards are dealt.