Sheepshead Glossary
Every game has its own kitchen-table dialect, and sheepshead has more than most. Here are the terms you will hear at the table and read on the rules and strategy pages, alphabetized and in plain English. The last few are specific to how Schmear runs.
- Bid / pick
- To take the blind and commit to the picking side, promising to gather 61 of the 120 points. The player who does it is the picker. In most sheepshead there is no auction; the first willing player simply picks.
- Blind
- The two cards dealt face down to the middle. The picker takes them into hand, then buries two cards back down.
- Blitz
- A declaration that doubles the stakes, shown by holding both black queens (Q♣ and Q♠). The Indian blitz is both red queens; the Johnny blitz is three jacks. See variants for the whole doubling family.
- Bury
- The two cards the picker sets face down after taking the blind. Buried points count for the picking side. Good practice: bury points and fail suits, never trump.
- Called ace
- In a call-an-ace game, the fail ace the picker names to choose a partner. The picker may not hold that ace and must keep a card of its suit; the holder is the secret partner and must play the called ace when its suit is led.
- Crack
- A defender's declaration that they think the picker will fail, doubling the stakes. Each crack doubles again. A bet on trump strength, not on points.
- Doubler
- An all-pass outcome where the hand is thrown in and the next hand is played at doubled stakes. Schmear's default when nobody picks.
- Fail
- Any non-trump card. The fail suits are clubs, spades, and hearts (their queens and jacks have left for trump), each ranking A, 10, K, 9, 8, 7. Also called "off." Fail can never beat trump.
- Fair-deal hash
- A Schmear feature: the sha256 commitment of each shuffle's seed, published before the hand and revealed after, so anyone can verify the deal was not stacked.
- Granny hand
- A hand so loaded with top trump that it cannot lose, the kind you could play face up. Named for the idea that even grandma could play it without thinking.
- Gut hand
- A hand strong enough to pick and go alone, no partner needed, trusting your own trump to carry all the way to 61.
- Jack of diamonds
- In a J♦ game, the partner-selecting card: whoever holds the jack of diamonds is the picker's secret partner, revealed only when played. If the picker holds or buries it, they are alone.
- Lay 'em down
- On Schmear, claiming the remaining tricks when every card left in your hand is unbeatable. The table verifies the claim and shows your cards, like calling it at a real table.
- Leaster
- An all-pass variant where everyone plays for themselves and fewest points wins. You must take at least one trick, and the blind goes to whoever takes the last trick.
- Mauer
- A player who sits on a pickable hand and passes anyway, declining to take a risk the table thinks they should. Gently pejorative: nobody loves a mauer who never picks. From the German for "to wall up."
- Overs / unders
- Informal shorthand for who is ahead on points as a hand plays out. The picking side wants to finish "over" 60; the defenders want the picker to come up "under" 61. Some clubs use the terms for being ahead or behind on the running tally.
- Partner
- The player secretly allied with the picker, chosen by the jack of diamonds or by a called ace. Together they are the picking side against the other three defenders.
- Picker
- The player who takes the blind and leads the picking side. Needs 61 points to win, with or without a partner.
- Recrack
- A cracked picker's right to double the stakes back at the defenders. Confidence answered with confidence.
- Ruff / trump in
- To play a trump on a trick when you are void in the suit led, taking a trick you could not win by following. The engine of defender pressure and picker control alike.
- Schmear
- To throw your fat cards (aces and tens) onto a trick your own side is winning, banking the points where they count. The soul of the game, and the name of this site. Come back and schmear something.
- Schneider
- A scoring threshold: the picking side reaching 91+ points (defenders held under 31) doubles the stakes. The losing side is "schneidered."
- Schwarz
- Taking every single trick, the maximum. Triples the stakes. To be schwarzed is to win nothing all hand.
- Sheepshead call
- The boldest declaration: the picker shows all four queens, quadrupling the stakes, but must then take every trick or lose the hand regardless of points. The ultimate "lay 'em down" dare.
- Trick
- One round of play: each player throws one card, highest card wins the pile. The cards (and their points) go to the winner's side. A five-handed hand has six tricks.
- Trump
- The fourteen-card super-suit that beats all fail: every queen, every jack, and every diamond, ranked Q♣ down to 7♦. All trump counts as one suit for following.
- Ranked vs practice tracks
- On Schmear, hands at all-human tables count toward the ranked leaderboard; hands that include bots count on a separate practice board. Sharpen up on practice, prove it on ranked.
- The Sheet
- Schmear's running score tally, shown on the right of every table. The digital version of the scrap of paper every kitchen game keeps.
Badges at the table
Little tags ride along next to a player's name. Tap any badge in game for a one-line reminder of what it means.
- Momentum (come and go with play)
-
- HOT: won the last 5 hands.
- COLD: lost the last 5 hands.
- STEAMROLLER: won the last hand with a schneider, 91 points or more.
- GUTTED: schneidered on the picking side last hand, under 31 points.
- SNAKEBIT: lost the last 3 hands as the partner. Blame the pickers.
- MAUER: 12 hands without picking once. Somebody is mauering.
- Status (earned and kept)
-
- 👑 crown: this week's ranked leaderboard #1.
- Regular / Sharp / Schneider / Legend: 100 / 1,000 / 5,000 / 10,000 lifetime hands played.
- M♣SHA: Missouri Sheepshead Association member.
- VIP / GOD / DIVINE: supporters keeping the lights on.
- ADMIN: site staff.
New to all this? Start with the beginner walkthrough, then read up on strategy.