How to Play

Pepper is an Upper-Midwestern Euchre-family trick-taking game for 4 players in partnerships using a 24-card deck. Each player is dealt 6 cards, bids for the right to name trump, and tries to make a contract worth anything from 1 trick up to Big Pepper (all 5 tricks at no trump for 14 points).

Pepper is an Upper-Midwestern (Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas) partnership trick-taking game in the Euchre family, played with a 24-card deck (9 through Ace of each suit) by 4 players in two fixed partnerships. Each player is dealt 6 cards and a single round of ascending bidding decides who names trump and how many tricks that team must win. The scale of bids runs from 1 up to Pepper (Big Pepper), with Little Pepper (all 5 tricks) scoring 12 points and Big Pepper (a no-trump clean sweep of all 5 tricks) scoring 14 points. Trump ranks follow classic Euchre conventions: the Right Bower (Jack of trump) is the top card, the Left Bower (Jack of the same colour) is the second, then Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9. Games are typically played to 42 points, and failing your bid costs the full bid amount as a 'set' penalty, making overbidding expensive.

Players

Exactly 4 players, in two fixed partnerships seated across from each other. There is no solo or three-handed variant in canonical Pepper. Deal rotates clockwise each hand, starting with whichever player cuts the lowest card.

Card Deck

A 24-card Euchre deck consisting of 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in each of the four suits. Ranking in the trump suit (high to low): Right Bower (Jack of trump), Left Bower (Jack of the same colour as trump), Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9. Ranking in each non-trump suit: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9; but note that the Jack of the same colour as trump is not in its natural suit during the hand (it is the Left Bower and belongs to trump).

Objective

As a partnership, win exactly (or more than) the number of tricks your team's high bidder called for. Score your bid's worth if you make it; subtract the full bid as a set penalty if you fall short. First partnership to reach 42 points (the usual target) wins the match.

Setup and Deal

1. Partners sit opposite each other; decide partnerships by cutting the highest two and lowest two cards pair off.
2. Shuffle the 24-card Euchre deck. The player to the dealer's right cuts.
3. Deal 6 cards to each of the 4 players, clockwise, starting from the dealer's left. Batches of 3-3 or 2-2-2 are both common.
4. No cards remain; the deck is entirely dealt.
5. The player on the dealer's left (eldest) bids first; bidding proceeds clockwise.

Bidding

1. Each player in turn either bids a higher contract than any prior bid or passes. Passed players cannot re-enter the auction.
2. Legal bids in ascending order: 1, 2, 3, 4, Little Pepper (5), Big Pepper.
3. 1-4: The bidding team promises to win that many tricks (at the named trump suit).
4. Little Pepper: The bidding team promises to win all 5 tricks at the named trump suit. Scores 12 points on success, -12 on failure.
5. Big Pepper: The bidding team promises to win all 5 tricks with no trump suit at all. Scores 14 points on success, -14 on failure.
6. The highest bidder is the maker for that hand. They announce the trump suit (or 'no trump' for Big Pepper) immediately after the auction closes.
7. If all four players pass, the hand is thrown in and the deal passes; no score.

Trump Conversion and Discard (Optional House Rule)

1. In most Pepper circles there is no card exchange; the maker names trump and play begins immediately. This is the form described here.
2. A widely known house variant allows the dealer to pass a single card face-down to their partner in exchange for a card back; the purpose is to strengthen the maker's side. Agree before play whether to use this rule.

Gameplay

1. After the auction, the player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick by playing one card face-up. (Some circles have the maker lead instead; confirm locally.)
2. Each player in clockwise order plays one card, forming a trick of four cards.
3. Must follow suit if able. Remember that the Left Bower is a trump, not a card of its printed suit; if trump has been led, any Jack of the same colour as trump must be played if held.
4. If you cannot follow suit, you may trump or discard freely.
5. Trick winner: Highest trump wins (Right Bower is the single highest card); if no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins. Winner leads the next trick.
6. In Big Pepper, there is no trump suit, so every trick is won by the highest card of the led suit. The Jacks rank in their natural positions (between 10 and Queen in each suit); there are no Bowers in a Big Pepper hand.
7. Play continues for all 5 tricks; both sides count their tricks won.

Scoring

1. Making a 1-4 bid: Score the number of tricks your team actually won, not merely the bid amount. (So a 3-bid taking 4 tricks scores 4 points.)
2. Failing a 1-4 bid: Your team subtracts the full bid amount (not the shortfall). A 3-bid that wins only 2 tricks scores -3.
3. Little Pepper: Making all 5 tricks scores +12. Failing (i.e., losing any trick) scores -12. No partial credit.
4. Big Pepper: Making all 5 tricks without a trump suit scores +14. Failing scores -14. No partial credit.
5. Defenders' tricks: The non-making team scores nothing for tricks; they score only indirectly when the maker fails (via the set penalty, not via addition).
6. Accumulate across deals until one partnership reaches 42 points (the usual Iowa target); some circles play to 21, 30, or 50 instead.

Winning

• A single hand is scored by the rules above.
• The match is won by the first partnership to reach the agreed target (42 being standard).
• Crossing the target simultaneously: If both sides would pass 42 on the same deal, the bidding team wins if they made their bid, otherwise the defending team wins. Many circles resolve this the other way, by playing one additional 'shoot-out' deal; agree before starting.
• Misdeal: A misdealt hand (wrong count, exposed card during deal) is void and the same dealer redeals.

Common Variations

• Super Pepper: Some Iowa groups recognise a 'Super Pepper' (all 5 tricks, no trump, playing alone without your partner's hand at all) for 20 points. Rare but aggressive.
• Lone Pepper: Any Pepper bid (Little or Big) may be announced alone; the bidder's partner turns their hand face-down, and the bidder plays the 5 tricks by themselves. Doubles the point value to +24 or +28 respectively on success, or loses the same amount on failure.
• 32-card Pepper: A version played with 32 cards (7 through Ace) and 8 cards per player; maximum bid is 8 and Big Pepper is 16 points. Slower but richer in strategy.
• No-trump Pepper: Some rulebooks allow any bid (not only Big Pepper) to be declared at no trump for +50% of its value.
• Forced bid: In dealer-is-last-bidder style, the dealer (if first three players all pass) must bid at least 1 or pass-out; some Iowa rules make the dealer mandatory bidder to prevent throw-ins.
• Target 21: Faster games play to 21 points instead of 42; often played first-to-21 for short sessions.

Tips and Strategy

• Count your trumps. With only 6 cards each, you usually hold 2 or 3 trumps after the deal. A hand with Right Bower + Left Bower + one extra trump is a strong candidate for a 3-bid, possibly a 4-bid; without at least one Bower, bidding is gamble territory.
• Left Bower illusion. When you hold, for example, the Jack of Diamonds and trump is Hearts, that Jack is the Left Bower and must be played if you hold only off-suit cards when Hearts is led. Account for it on both sides of the table.J♦
• Little Pepper needs both Bowers and at least two more trumps, or both Bowers plus all four Aces, or an exceptionally trump-rich hand. A hand with only one Bower almost always falls short.
• Big Pepper needs five guaranteed top cards in five distinct suits: functionally it requires both Aces and the Queen or King in your weakest suits, plus the assumption that no opponent holds a single Ace outside them. It is a gambling bid more than a calculated one; call it only when you hold all four Aces and at least one more lock winner.
• Set strategy for defenders. Against a 3-bid, if your team can force a single trick off the maker's plan (by forcing a trump ruff or an unexpected Ace capture), you swing 6 points your way (-3 to them, plus the tricks you now control). Concentrate on denying one pivotal trick rather than winning all five.
• Lead the Right Bower on trick 1 if your partnership made the bid; it draws out every Left Bower and off-colour Jack, clearing a path for your other trumps to mop up the remaining tricks.

Glossary

• Bower: Jacks of the trump suit and its same-colour partner, promoted above all other trumps during a hand.
• Right Bower: Jack of the trump suit; the single highest card in the hand.
• Left Bower: Jack of the same-colour suit as trump (e.g., Jack of Spades when trump is Clubs); the second-highest card and belongs to the trump suit for that hand.J♠
• Maker: The player who wins the auction and declares trump (or no trump); bids for their partnership.
• Set: Failing to win the number of tricks you bid; costs the full bid amount as a negative score.
• Little Pepper: Bid to take all 5 tricks with a named trump suit; scores ±12.
• Big Pepper: Bid to take all 5 tricks at no trump; scores ±14.
• Lone / Alone: An optional variant where the maker plays a Pepper bid without the partner's hand, doubling the score.
• Partnership: The two-player team (partners seated opposite each other); trick wins and scoring are pooled.
• Trump: The named suit whose cards (plus the two Bowers) beat all cards of other suits.