After discarding, the declarer chooses their game. The cards discarded can be the one’s picked up. Add them to hand and discard two unwanted cards face-down. The declarer has the right to pick up the two skat cards.

If M and R both pass, F may be declarer by bidding 18 or cards are thrown in and re-dealt.

Whoever does not pass becomes the declarer, or the winner of the bid. R must increase their bids as the junior, to which F or M must match. The second portion of the bid is between R and the winner of F and M’s bid. If a player passes they can no longer bid on the hand. This continues until either F or M drops out by passing. F decides whether to pass or match M s bid again. If F says yes, M may either pass or increase their bid. F may either pass, and decide to not have the opportunity to be declarer, or say yes and match M’s bid. M bids first, either passing or bidding (typically bidding the minimum of 18). Junior players must exceed the bids of seniors to win.Īuctions begin with F and M. Senior players only have to match the bid of their junior’s to win the bid. The player to the left of the dealer is the forehand (F), the player to the left of the forehand is the middlehand (M), and the player to their left is the rearhand (R). If there are only 3 players, the dealer is the rearhand. THE AUCTION/THE BIDĪ bid is a possible value of points that are available within the game. If the dealer is the fourth player, they deal to each other player and sit out. The dealer deals 3 cards to each player, 2 cards to the center (this is the skat), then 4 cards to each player. The dealer shuffles and then the player to their right cuts the deck. The first dealer is chosen randomly, the deal passes left. In suit and grand games, cards have the following point values: The four jacks are the only trumps, ranking in this order: Club, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds Trumps Ranking: Jack of Clubs, Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds, A, 10, K, Q, 9, 8, 7 Jacks rank in this order: Clubs, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds No matter the suit chosen for trumps, the four Jacks are top trumps. Below outlines the corresponding suits.Ĭard rankings depend on which game the declarer wants to play.

The game was traditionally played with German cards which use different kinds of suits. There are three different ways to play skat, which change the value of the cards: suit games, grand, and null. The game is a mixture of Schafkopf, Tarok (Tarot), and l’Hombre. Skat is not to be confused with the American card game Scat. Skat uses three hands with 3 active players, the fourth being the dealer who sits out. It was created in 1840 in Altenburg, Germany by Brommesche Tarok-Gesellschaft members. Skat is a popular German trick-taking game that accommodates 3 players. OBJECTIVE OF SKAT: Fulfill your contract by winning or losing tricks.

The skat players