How To Play Sheepshead — Gather Together Games
Needed
32 card deck (Aces down to the 7s); five players, pen and paper for scorekeeping
Deal
Each player is dealt six cards, three cards at a time. Three cards to each player, two cards to the middle, three more cards to each player.
Objective
The objective of the game is to win 61 or more card points in a round. Card points are awarded based on the value of the cards won in the tricks taken. The total points possible by cards are 120 each round.
Card Rank
Trump: Queens (clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds), Jacks (clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds), Ace (diamonds), 10 (diamonds), King (diamonds), 9 (diamonds), 8 (diamonds), 7 (diamonds)
Non-Trump (clubs, spades, hearts): Ace, 10, King, 9, 8, 7
Bidding
The player left of the dealer has the first option to take the two cards in the middle to become the picker or pass on picking. A player should become the picker if they think he/she can win 61 or more card points in the round.
The picker will get a partner for the round. The picker and partner’s card points are combined. The other three players are on a team for the round and will combine their card points.
To pick a partner, the picker will call a non-trump ace in a suit that matches a non-trump card in hand. Players will not know who the partner is until the ace is played.
After a partner is picked, two cards are buried by the picker. These two cards count towards the pickers card point total.
Game Play
The player left of the dealer leads the first trick. Every player is required to play a card in the same suit as the first card played whenever possible. If a player does not have a card in the lead suit, he/she can play any card. The winner of the trick is the player with the highest ranking trump suited card. If no trump suited card was played, the winner of the trick is the player with the highest ranking card in the lead suit. The player that wins the trick leads the next trick.
Scoring
At the end of the round, players will count the card points won during the round, plus the picker adds the cards buried at the beginning of the round.
Card Point Values
Each Ace: 11 points
Each 10: 10 points
Each King: 4 points
Each Queen: 3 points
Each Jack: 2 points
Players will receive game points based on the amount of card points won during the round by the picker and partner.
