Sheepshead Cheat Sheet
playsheepshead.orgCard Hierarchy — Trump (high to low, 14 cards)
Q♣ > Q♠ > Q♥ > Q♦ > J♣ > J♠ > J♥ > J♦ > A♦ > 10♦ > K♦ > 9♦ > 8♦ > 7♦
Fail suits (♣ ♠ ♥, 6 cards each, no Q/J): A > 10 > K > 9 > 8 > 7
Point Values
| Card | Pts | Card | Pts |
|---|
| Ace | 11 | Queen | 3 |
| Ten | 10 | Jack | 2 |
| King | 4 | 9 / 8 / 7 | 0 |
120 points in the deck. Picker's team needs 61+ to win the hand. 90+ = schneider. Under 31 = schneidered.
5-Handed Game Flow
- Deal — 6 cards to each player, 2 to the blind.
- Pick or pass — left of dealer first; bidding goes around once.
- Bury — picker takes blind, then buries 2 cards face-down (counted with picker's points).
- Call ace — picker calls a fail ace; that ace's holder is the secret partner.
- Play 6 tricks — left of dealer leads first; highest trump (or led suit) wins.
Following Suit
- Trump led — you must play trump if you have any.
- Fail led — you must follow that fail suit if able (Q/J are trump, not their printed suit).
- Can't follow — play anything; trump in to win or sluff a loser.
Common Variants — Quick Ref
- Leaster — nobody picks; play for fewest points (some house rules: most points), no partner, blind goes to last trick winner.
- JD Partner — instead of called ace, holder of J♦ is the secret partner.
- Forced Pick — if all pass, last hand (dealer) must pick.
The Q♣ Convention
Leading Q♣ (the “old lady”, top trump) asks your partner to schmear points on the trick. Never lead it as a defender — you give the picker's team a free 3-point gift on a trick they were going to win anyway.