Sheepshead scoring
Two kinds of points: the card points you count after each hand, and the score that goes on the sheet. Here is how both work, with examples.
Try a hand nowCount the card points
After the last trick, each side counts the cards it took. Only five ranks are worth anything:
| Card | Ace | 10 | King | Queen | Jack | 9, 8, 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 11 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
There are 120 points in the deck, so you only need to count one side: the other side has the rest. Count the aces and tens first, then the kings, queens and jacks. The two cards the picker buried count for the picker.
Who wins the hand
- The picker's side needs 61. At 60 to 60, the defenders win.
- Schneider: the picker's side takes 91 or more, or is held to 30 or less. The stakes double.
- Schwarz: one side takes every trick. The stakes triple.
To stay out of schneider, the picker's side needs 31 points and the defenders need 30.
What goes on the score sheet
Each defender pays the stake: 1 point, 2 for schneider, 3 for schwarz. The partner collects one defender's payment and the picker collects the rest. When the picker's side loses, it all runs the other way. In the usual five-handed game, that comes to:
| Picker's side | Picker | Partner | Each defender | Picker alone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All tricks (schwarz) | +6 | +3 | -3 | +12 |
| 91 to 120 (schneider) | +4 | +2 | -2 | +8 |
| 61 to 90 | +2 | +1 | -1 | +4 |
| 31 to 60 | -2 | -1 | +1 | -4 |
| 0 to 30 (schneidered) | -4 | -2 | +2 | -8 |
| No tricks (schwarzed) | -6 | -3 | +3 | -12 |
Three examples
- A normal win. The picker and the partner take 74 points. Each of the three defenders scores -1, the partner +1 and the picker +2.
- Alone, with schneider. The picker goes alone and takes 95. Each of the four defenders pays 2, so the picker scores +8.
- A set. The picker's side takes only 28, so it is schneidered: the picker scores -4, the partner -2 and each defender +2.
Every hand adds up to zero. If a hand on your sheet doesn't, somebody made a mistake.
Three and four players
The same idea, with fewer defenders to pay:
- Four-handed with a partner: two against two. The picker and the partner score +1 each, and each defender -1. Alone, the picker collects from three: +3.
- Three-handed: the picker always plays alone against two, for +2 or -2.
Schneider and schwarz double and triple these too. More in three- and four-handed Sheepshead.
Leasters
When everybody passes and the hand is played as a leaster, the winner scores one point from each other player: +4 at a five-handed table, and -1 for everybody else. If two players share the win, each scores +3 and the other three -2 each. More in leasters.
Doublers and other house rules
- Doublers: at a table that throws the cards in when everybody passes, the next hand counts double. Another throw-in doubles it again, up to eight times the usual score.
- A losing picker pays double: some tables double the score of a hand the picker's side loses. You can open a table with this rule.
Keeping score at a real table
Give every player a column and write each hand's score under their name. Add up the hand before you deal the next one: it should come to zero. At the end of the night, the highest total wins. At our tables the score keeps itself, and the Scores button shows the totals and the recent hands. Nothing is ever played for money: the scores are points only.