Matador
German: Spanish "matador" — killer; the highest cards that "kill" any trick
Definition
In Schafkopf, an unbroken sequence of the top trumps starting from Q♣. A player with Q♣, Q♠, and Q♥ has "three matadors"; the count affects the bonus added to or subtracted from the base game value.
Matador in play
Matadors are counted as an unbroken run from the top trump downward: hold the Ober of Acorns and you have one matador, add the next Ober for two, and so on through the Unters and trump suit. If you lack the top trump you are counted 'ohne' (without) however many you are missing before your run begins. Because Sheepshead's Queen of Clubs is the same card as the Bavarian Eichel-Ober, the matador chain maps directly onto Sheepshead's boss order, even though American play uses the count to gauge hand strength rather than to adjust a payout.
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Related Terms
Schafkopf
The German ancestor of Sheepshead, originating in Bavaria in the 1700s. The name likely refers to playing on a barrel head ("Schaff" = barrel, "Kopf" = head), though it's often translated as "sheep's head."
Queen of Clubs (Q♣)
The highest-ranking card in Sheepshead and the boss of the entire deck. Q♣ wins any trick it is played on and is the cornerstone of the trump hierarchy, followed by Q♠, Q♥, and Q♦. Holding Q♣ alongside Q♠ unlocks a Blitz declaration.
The Ma's
Slang for the two black Queens (Q♣ and Q♠), the two highest cards in the game. Having "The Ma's" lets you declare a Blitz.