Sheepshead Variants

Sheepshead is one game with a hundred house rules. Every tavern and family plays a slightly different shape, and arguing over the right one is half the fun. Here is a map of the common variants, with the deck, trump, and scoring all staying the same as on the rules page. At the bottom we are honest about exactly what Schmear deals today.

Player counts

• Three-handed. The leanest game: two defenders against one picker, no partner. The picker is always alone, so it is the most aggressive version, points fly fast, and the blind matters a lot.
• Four-handed. Played with a bigger blind and bury (often four cards), which gives the picker more to work with and a richer bury decision. Partner is usually called ace or the picker goes alone.
• Five-handed. The standard, and what most people mean by sheepshead: a two-card blind, a picker with one secret partner, three defenders. The balance of this game is why it became the default across Wisconsin.
• Six-handed. The common tavern and tournament format: the dealer sits out each hand and the other five play a normal five-handed deal, so the deal rotates and everyone gets a breather. Great for a full table.

Partner systems

• Jack of diamonds. Whoever holds the J♦ is the secret partner, revealed only when played. Simple, no announcement, lots of hidden-information drama. See partner timing on the strategy page.
• Called ace. The picker names a fail ace they do not hold; its holder is the partner. The picker must keep a card of that suit and the partner must play the called ace when the suit is led. More control for the picker, more politics at the table.
• Going alone. Any picker may decline a partner and take on the whole table solo for higher stakes, common when a hand is strong enough (see "gut hand" in the glossary).
• Called ten. A variation where the picker calls a ten instead of an ace to pick the partner, used when the standard called-ace rules would leave no legal call.

All-pass options

When nobody picks, the table needs a plan. Houses pick one:

• Leaster. Everyone for themselves, fewest points wins, must take at least one trick, and the blind goes to the last trick's winner. Leaster tactics invert the whole game; the strategy page covers them.
• Doubler. Throw the hand in and play the next one at doubled stakes. Schmear's default.
• Dealer stuck. The dealer is forced to pick the blind and play it out. No escape on the button.

The doubling family

These declarations raise the stakes, and houses mix and match. All of them are spelled out on the rules page.

• Crack. A defender doubles, betting the picker fails. Each crack doubles again.
• Recrack. The cracked picker doubles right back.
• Blitz. The picker shows both black queens to double the stakes.
• Indian blitz / Johnny blitz. Both red queens (Indian) or three jacks (Johnny) shown for the same double.
• Blitz crack. A defender showing a complete queen pair cracks at four times instead of two.
• Blitz recrack (house rule). A cracked picker showing a queen pair or three jacks recracks at four times.
• The sheepshead call. The boldest line: the picker shows all four queens at four times stakes, but must then take every trick or lose the hand outright, points be damned.

What Schmear supports today

We would rather tell you straight than oversell. Here is the current table:

Every player count from three to six is live right now: small tables so a few people can play without bots, the standard five-handed game, and the six-handed Sixpack where the dealer sits out each hand. New to the game? Start at the beginner walkthrough. Otherwise, pull up a chair and schmear something.

← back to playschmear.com