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winners take every trick, making 130 points, they score three.
Sometimes an extra point is scored for winning the Ten of trumps:
but such a count is quite foreign to the game.
 NATIONAL GAMES.
There are certain games of cards which do not seem to belong to
any particular family, but stand apart from other games, and have
been played since their first invention with only trifling variations,
giving rise to no offshoots bearing other names. These are usually
the most popular games with the middle and lower classes in the
countries in which they are found, and may be considered as
distinctly national in character. Games that become popular with the
masses always last longer than others, and the rules governing them
are much better understood, and more firmly established. In the
course of a century the English aristocracy have run the gamut of
Quadrille, Ombre, Whist, Écarté, Bézique, Piquet, Rubicon, and
Bridge; while the middle classes have stuck steadily to Cribbage for
nearly two hundred years.
Six of these popular games are strikingly typical of the national
character, both in their construction, and in the manner of playing
them. These are: Skat in Germany; Cribbage in England; Piquet in
France; Conquian in Mexico; Calabrasella in Italy; and Cassino in
America. All these are excellent games, and have deservedly
survived much more pretentious rivals.
With the exception of Skat, little is known of the exact origin of
any of these games, although most of them may be traced by their
resemblance to more ancient forms. Skat is the most modern, and
to-day the most popular, many persons thinking it superior to Whist.
The game seems to have originated among the farmers of Thuringia,
a province of Saxony, and was probably a variation of the Wendish
game of Schapskopf. The first mention of Skat that we can find is in
an article in the “Osterländer Blättern,” in 1818. Thirty years later
Professor Hempel of Altenburg published the rules and principles of
the game under the title: “Das Skatspiel, von J.F.L.H.” It is said that
he learned the game from a friend, who had been taught it by a
Wendish coachman in his employ. The game spread rapidly, and
soon became popular all over Germany, but with many minor
variations in the details of play. To settle these, a Skat congress was
finally held in Altenburg in 1886. This was succeeded by others in
Leipzic and Dresden, and the result of these meetings has been to
weed out all the minor differences in play, and to settle upon a
universal code of laws for the game, which is called Reichs-Skat.
In America, Reichs-Skat is no longer played; the value of some of
the games is changed, and all the bidding is by Zahlen-reizen. In all
the text-books on Skat which we have examined, this fact has been
entirely overlooked.

SKAT.
The etymology of the word Skat, sometimes spelt Scat, is a matter
of doubt, but the most plausible explanation is that it is a corruption
of one of the terms in the parent game of Taroc; “scart,” from
“scarto,” what is left; or “scartare,” to discard or reject. “Matadore” is
another word from the game of Taroc, still retained in Skat. Others
attribute the word to “Skatt,” the Old-German or Anglo-Saxon for
money; the modern German, “Schatz,” a treasure, referring to the
forms of the game in which good counting cards are laid aside in the
skat for the count at the end of the hand. This derivation would
account for both spellings of the word, with a “k” and with a “c.”
The student is advised to make himself familiar with the German
terms in the following description, as they are in common use
wherever skat is played. Many American players who use the English
language in bidding by figures, still adhere to the German names for
the suits and positions at the table.
CARDS. Skat is played with a pack of thirty-two cards, all below
the Seven being deleted. The rank of the cards differs according to
whether the players are attempting to win or to lose tricks. If the
object is to win tricks, it is known as a “game;” if the object is to
lose, it is called a “nullo.” In nullo the cards rank in their natural
order; A K Q J 10 9 8 7, the Ace being the highest. In the various
“games,” the four Jacks are always the best trumps, and are known
as Wenzels. The other cards follow the usual German rank; A 10 K
Q 9 8 7, the Ace being the highest in plain suits.
The German names for the cards are as follows;—Jack: Wenzel,
Bauern, Bube, Jungen, or Unter. Ace: As, or Daus. Ten, Zehn. King,
König. Queen: Dame, Ober, or Königen. Nine, Neun. Eight, Acht.
Seven, Sieben. The most common terms are; Bube, As, Zehn,
König, Dame, etc. The words Unter and Ober for the Jack and
Queen, refer to the manner of marking the suits on the German
cards. In the Queens, the mark of the suit is always above the
figure, which has a single head; in the Jacks the suit mark is always
under the figure. This distinction is necessary, because in the
German cards the Queen is a male figure. The King has two suit
marks, one on each side of the head. When the French or American
double-head cards are used, with suit-marks in both corners, the
words “ober” and “unter” have no meaning; Dame and Bube being
used instead.
Rank of the Suits. In addition to the rank of the cards
themselves, the suits outrank one another, except in Nullo, clubs
being always the best, then spades, hearts and diamonds. The
Germans have various names for the suits, that first given in each
instance being in common use among modern Germans. Clubs:
Kreuz, Trefle, Eicheln, Eckern, or Braün. Spades: Pique, Schüppen,
Laub, or Grün. Hearts: Hertzen, Cœur, or Roth. Diamonds:
Carreau, Schellen, Eckstein, Ruthen, or Gelb. In the German notation
of card games and problems, the suits are indicated by the French
terms: clubs, tr for trefle; spades, p for pique; hearts, co for cœur;
diamonds, car for carreau. The cards are indicated by the initials; A
K D B Z 9 8 7, which stand for As, König, Dame, Bube, Zehn, etc.
The winning card in each trick is always printed in full-faced type.
The cards of each suit are divided into two parts, known as
counting cards, Zahlkarten, and those having no counting value;
Fehlkarteten or Ladons. The counting cards and their values are as
follows:—Ace 11, Ten 10, King 4, Queen 3, and Jack 2. These are
used in reckoning up the value of the tricks won by each side in
counting toward 61 in all the “games,” but not in Nullo. The Seven,
Eight and Nine have no counting value.
The rank of the suits has no influence on their trick-taking powers,
nor on the value of the Zahlkarten; but it increases or diminishes the
value of the “game” played for. When any suit is made the trump, it
takes the precedence of the three others only in so far as trumps will
win other suits, and the suits which are not trumps are equal in
value so far as trick-taking is concerned. As the four Wenzels are
always the highest trumps, there will always be eleven cards in the
trump suit, and seven in each of the plain suits; so that if clubs were
trumps, the rank of the cards would be:—

In any of the other suits the rank would be:—

Matadores. The club Jack is always the best trump, and every
trump card in unbroken sequence with the club Jack is called a
Matadore, provided the sequence is in the hand of the same player.
This rule holds whether the sequence was in the hand originally
dealt to him or part of it is found in the Skat, should he become
possessed of the Skat cards. For instance: Clubs are trumps, and a
player holds these cards:—
 He has only one Matadore; but as the Skat cards will belong to
him if he has made the trump, he may find in them the spade Jack,
which would complete his sequence, giving him six Matadores,
instead of one. As one side or the other must have the club Jack in
every deal, there must always be a certain number of Matadores,
from one to eleven. If the player who makes the trump has them, he
is said to play with so many; if his adversaries hold them, he is said
to play without just as many as they hold. The difficult thing for the
beginner at Skat to understand is that whether a player holds the
Matadores or not, the number of them has exactly the same
influence on the value of his game. If one player held these cards

and wished to make hearts trumps, he would be playing “with two.”

If another player wished to make the same suit trumps with these
cards:—

he would be playing “without two,” and the value of each game

would be exactly the same, no matter which player actually made
the trump. Matadores must be held; they do not count if won from
the adversaries in the course of play.
MARKERS. Counters of any kind are not used in Skat, as the
score is kept on a writing pad, which should be ruled into vertical
columns for the number of players engaged.
PLAYERS. Skat is played by three persons. If there are four at
the table the dealer takes no cards, but shares the fortunes of those
who are opposed to the single player, winning and losing on each
hand whatever they win and lose. If there are five or six at the
table, the dealer gives cards to the two on his left, and the one next
him on the right. Those holding no cards share the fortunes of the
two who are opposed to the single player.
After the table is formed, no one can join the game without the
consent of all those already in, and then only after a round; that is,
after each player at the table has had an equal number of deals.
Should any player cut into a table during the progress of a game, he
must take his seat at the right of the player who dealt the first hand.
When six persons offer for play, it is much better to form two tables,
but some persons object to playing continuously, and like the rest
given to the dealer when more than three play.
There are always three active players in Skat. The one who makes
the trump is called the player, or Spieler; the two opposed to him
are called the adversaries, or Gegners; while those who hold no
cards are called im Skat, or Theilnehmer. Of the three active
players, the one who leads for the first trick is called Vorhand; the
second player is called Mittelhand, and the third Hinterhand. The
person sitting on the dealer’s right, to whom the cards are presented
to be cut, is called the pone.
No person is allowed to withdraw from the game without giving
notice in advance, and he can retire only at the end of a round of
deals. It is usual to give notice at the beginning of a round, by
saying: “This is my last.”
CUTTING. Positions at the table are drawn for, the cards ranking
as in play, Jacks being the best, and the suits outranking one
another in order, so that there can be no ties in cutting. The lowest
cut has the first choice of seats, and also deals the first hand. It is
usual for the player sitting on the right of the first dealer to keep the
score, so that one may always know when a round ends.
STAKES. Skat is played for so much a point, and the single player
wins from or loses to each of the others at the table. A cent a point
is considered a pretty stiff game, half a cent being more common in
good clubs. Many play for a fifth, or even a tenth of a cent a point.
At half a cent a point, ten dollars will usually cover a run of pretty
bad luck in an evening’s play.
DEALING. At the beginning of the game the cards should be
counted and thoroughly shuffled, and shuffled at least three times
before each deal thereafter. The dealer presents the pack to the
pone to be cut, and at least five cards must be left in each packet.
The cards are dealt from left to right in rotation, and the deal passes
to the left in regular order.
Only three persons at the table receive cards, no matter how
many are in the game. If there are four players, the dealer gives
himself no cards. If there are five or six players, the first two on the
dealer’s left and the pone receive cards. The other persons at the
table are said to be “im Skat,” because they are laid aside for that
deal.
The cards may be distributed in several ways, but whichever
manner the first dealer selects must be continued during the game,
both by the original dealer, and by the others at the table. Ten cards
are given to each player, and two are dealt face downward in the
centre of the table for the Skat. No trump is turned. The cards must
be dealt, three cards to each player, then two to the Skat; then four
to each player again, and finally three.
Irregularities in the Deal. If the pack is found to be imperfect,
the deal in which the error is discovered is void; but any previous
scores or cuts made with that pack stand good. If the cards have not
been cut, or if a card is found faced in the pack, or if the dealer
exposes a card in dealing, any active player who has not looked at
his cards may demand a fresh deal by the same dealer. If the dealer
gives too many or too few cards to any player, he must shuffle and
deal again. If the error is not discovered until the hand is partly
played out, the deal is void, and the misdealer deals again. A
misdeal does not lose the deal under any circumstances, but it is
usual to exact a penalty of ten points for a misdeal.
 OBJECTS OF THE GAME. The object of each player is to obtain
the privilege of attempting to accomplish a certain task, which is
known as his “game,” and which he must be able to carry through
successfully against the combined efforts of the two other players.
The more difficult the task undertaken, the greater the number of
points scored for it, and the player who will undertake the game
which is of the greatest value of those offered must be allowed the
privilege of trying it. In order to determine which player this is, they
may all bid for the privilege by naming a certain number of points,
usually well within the actual value of the game they intend to play.
If a bidder meets with opposition, he gradually approaches the true
value of his game, and the player whose game is worth the most will
of course be able to bid the greatest number of points, and must be
selected as the player, the two others being his adversaries.
Games. These games are divided into two principal classes, those
in which the player undertakes to win, and those in which he tries to
lose. When he plays to lose, it is to lose every trick, there being no
trump suit, and the cards in each suit ranking A K Q J 10 9 8 7.
These games are called Null, or Nullo, and Null Ouvert, the latter
being played with the successful bidder’s cards exposed face upward
on the table, but not liable to be called. The moment he wins a trick
in a Nullo, he loses his game. Nullos are quite foreign to Skat, and
appear to have been introduced as a consolation for players who
always hold bad cards.
When Ramsch is played, the object is to take less than either of
the other players; but the cards rank as in the ordinary game, except
that the four Jacks are the only trumps.
In all other games the successful bidder undertakes to win; but his
success does not depend on the number of tricks he takes in, but on
the total value of the counting cards contained in those tricks. The
total value of all the counting cards is 120 points, and to be
successful, the single player must win at least 61. If he succeeds in
winning 61 or more points, he wins his game, whatever it may be. If
he can get 91 points, he wins a double game, which is called
schneider. If he can take every trick, he wins a treble game, which
is called schwartz. It is not enough to win 120 points, for if the
adversaries win a single trick, even if it contains no counting cards,
they save the schwartz.
If the single player fails to reach 61, he loses. If he fails to reach
31, he is schneider; and if he fails to take a trick he is schwartz.
These various results increase the value of the game, as will
presently be seen.
There are four varieties of games in which the successful bidder
plays to win, the difference being in the manner of using the skat
cards, and making the trump. These games are called Frage,
Tourné, Solo, and Grand, and they outrank one another in the
order given, Frage being the lowest. The first three: Frage, Tourné
and Solo, are each again divided into four parts, according to the
suit which is trumps; a Tourné in clubs being better than one in
spades; a Solo in hearts being better than one in diamonds, and so
on. This is in accordance with the rank of the suits already
mentioned in the paragraph devoted to that subject.
In a Frage, or Simple Game, the successful bidder takes both the
skat cards into his hand, and then declares which suit shall be the
trump; discarding two cards face downward for his schatz, or
treasure, before play begins. The two cards thus laid aside count for
the single player at the end of the hand, provided he takes a trick,
and they cannot be won by the adversaries unless they make the
single player schwarz. Frage is no longer played.
In a Tourné, the successful bidder turns one of the skat cards
face upward on the table before looking at the second card. He may
turn over whichever card he pleases, but the one he turns fixes the
trump suit for that hand. If the card turned over is a Jack, he may
change to a Grand; but he must do so before he sees the second
card in the Skat.
If the player does not like the first card he turns, he need not
show it, but may put it in his hand and turn the other. This second
one must be the trump; or a Grand may be played if the card is a
Jack. In case the game is lost after taking the second card, it costs
double. This is called Passt mir Nicht.
In a Solo, the skat cards are not touched, the successful bidder
naming the trump to suit the hand of ten cards originally dealt him.
The Skat belongs to him, as in Frage and Tourné, but he must not
see its contents until the hand is played out, when any points and
Matadores it may contain will count for him.
In a Grand there is no trump suit, the four Jacks being the only
trumps in play. These four cards preserve their relative suit value,
the club Jack being the best, and they are still Matadores. There are
four varieties of Grand: A tourné player may make it a Grand if he
turns up a Jack. This is called a Grand Tourné. A player may make
it a grand without seeing either of the skat cards. This is called a
Grand Solo. A player may announce a Grand and lay his cards face
up on the table; exposed, but not liable to be called. This is called a
Grand Ouvert. A Frage cannot be played as a Grand under any
circumstances. A player may announce Gucki Grand, which means
that he will take both the skat cards into his hand at once, in order
to get the privilege of laying out any two cards he pleases, but that
Jacks will be the only trumps. If a Gucki Grand is lost, it costs
double.
A player may announce a Gucki Nullo, in which he takes both
the skat cards into his hand and lays out any two cards he pleases.
This loses double if it is not successful.
Revolution is seldom played. It is a Nullo in which the
adversaries put their twenty cards together as one hand to see if
they can make the player take a trick.
Uno and Duo are Grands, in which the single player engages to
take one trick in Uno, or two in Duo, neither more nor less.
GAME VALUES. Each of the foregoing games has what is called a
unit of value, which is afterward multiplied several times according
to the number of Matadores, and whether the game was schneider
or schwarz.
These unit values are as follows, beginning with the lowest:

Suits Trumps:— Jacks Trumps:— No Trumps:—

Turn Solo Turned Grand 12 Gucki Nullo 15
♢ 5 9 Gucki Grand 16 ” if played open 30
♡ 6 10 Solo Grand 20 Solo Nullo 20
♠ 7 11 Open Grand 24 ” if played open 40
♣ 8 12 Ramsch 20 Revolution 60

When one player takes no trick in a Ramsch, the player with the
greater number of points loses 30. If two players take no trick, the
loss is 50 points.
All Guckis lose double if they fail, so that if a player
announces a Gucki Nullo and loses it, he will lose 30; but if he won it
he would get 15 only. If a player has a Gucki Null Ouvert, he must
announce that it is to be played open before he touches the skat
cards. It is then worth 30 if won; 60 if lost.
Passt-mir-nicht tournées all lose double if they fail, but win
the usual number of points if they succeed.
Multipliers. The foregoing are simply the standard counting
values of these various games. In calculating the actual value of a
player’s game, in order to see how much he may safely offer in the
bidding, and how much he would win if successful in his
undertaking, these standard values are multiplied as follows:—
Five classes of games are recognized, beginning with the lowest,
in which the player gets the necessary 61 points, but does not make
his adversaries schneider. This is simply called “game,” and as it
must always be either won or lost, it is a constant factor. The value
of the game is 1, and each better game is numbered in regular
order, the five varieties being as follows:
 The Game, 1. Schneider, 2. Schwarz announced or Schwarz, 3.
Schwarz after announcing Schneider, 4. Schwarz announced, 5.
These numbers are added to the number of Matadores, and the
total thus found is multiplied by the unit value of the game. For
instance: A player has obtained the privilege of playing on a bid of
thirty. His game is a Solo in hearts, in which he holds the three
highest Matadores and announces schneider in advance. His game
multiplier is therefore 3 (for the announced schneider), to which he
adds 3 more for the Matadores, 6 altogether. The unit value of a
heart Solo being 10, he could have gone on bidding to 60 had it
been necessary, and he will win 60 from each of his adversaries if he
succeeds in reaching 91 points in the counting cards he takes in in
his tricks, together with what he finds in the Skat.
If his adversaries got to 30 with their counting cards, he would
have lost 60 to each of them, although he bid only 30, because he
announced his game as schneider, and did not make it. Had he not
announced the schneider, and reached 91 or more in his counting
cards, he would have won a game worth 50, losing the extra
multiplier by not announcing the schneider in advance; for a
schneider made without announcing it is worth only 2.
In reckoning the value of a game it is always safer to bid on
playing “with” than “without” Matadores in a Solo or Tourné;
because, although you may have a hand “without four,” you may find
a Wenzel in the Skat, and if it is the club Jack you lose three
multipliers at once.
BIDDING. The players must be familiar with the manner of
computing the various games in order to bid with judgment, and
without hesitation. Suppose you hold the three highest Matadores
with an average hand, not strong enough in any one suit to play a
Solo, but good enough for a Tourné. Your smallest possible game
will be diamonds with three; which will be worth 5 multiplied by 4; 1
for the game, and 3 for the Matadores, 20 points. If you can get the
game on any bid less than 20 you are absolutely safe, provided you
can reach 61 in your tricks. But the opposition of another player may
irritate you, [reizen,] and provoke you to bid 24, or even 28, in the
hope of turning a heart or a spade. If you go beyond 20, and turn a
diamond, you must either find the fourth Matadore in the Skat, or
make your adversaries schneider, in order to secure another
multiplier. If you fail, you lose 24, or 28, according to your bid.
The great difficulty in Skat is to judge the value of a hand, so as
neither to under nor overbid it, and also to get all out of it that it is
worth. A person who plays a Frage in hearts when he could easily
have made it a Solo, reduces the value of his game just eighty per
cent. A player with the four Wenzels, A K Q 9 8 of diamonds, and a
losing card, would be foolish to play a diamond Solo with five,
schneider announced, worth 72; while he had in his hand a sure
Grand, with four, schneider announced, worth 140. Of course the
schneider is not a certainty. The risk is that the Ten of diamonds will
be guarded, and that an Ace and a Ten will make, both of them on
your losing card, or one of them on the diamond Ten. A careful
player would be satisfied with 100 on such a hand, for if he fails to
make the announced schneider, he loses everything.
A player is not obliged to play the game he originally intended to,
if he thinks he has anything better; but he must play a game worth
as much as he bid, or the next higher, and having once announced
his game, he must play it.
Suppose Vorhand has a spade Solo with two, and on being offered
33 says, “Yes,” thinking the bidder will go on to 36, instead of which
he passes. It is very probable that the bidder has a spade Solo
without two, and will defeat a spade Solo announced by Vorhand. If
Vorhand has almost as good a game in hearts, he should change,
hoping to make schneider, or to find another Matadore in the Skat. If
he loses the game, a heart Solo with two costs 30 points; but as
Vorhand refused 33, and the next best game he could have made
with a heart Solo is 40, that is the amount he loses, although he
refused only 33.
Method of Bidding. The Vorhand always holds the play, and the
Mittelhand always makes the first bid, or passes, the Hinterhand
saying nothing until the propositions made by the Mittelhand have
been finally refused or passed by the Vorhand. The usual formula is
for the Vorhand to say, “How many?” or, “I am Vorhand,” thereupon
the Mittelhand bids or passes. If Vorhand has as good a game as
offered him he says, “Yes,” and Mittelhand must bid higher or pass.
If Vorhand has not as good a game he may either pass, or bluff the
bidder into going higher by saying, “Yes.” As soon as one passes, the
other turns to the Hinterhand, who must either make a higher bid
than the last, or pass. The survivor of the first two must either say,
“Yes,” to the offers made by Hinterhand, or pass. The final survivor
then announces his game. It is usual for the last one to pass to
signify that he is done by pushing the skat cards toward the survivor,
indicating that they are his, and that he is the player. If a player is
offered a game equal to his own he may still say, “Yes;” but if he is
offered a better game, and still says, “Yes,” he runs the risk of being
compelled to play.
The old German way of bidding, adopted at the Skat Congresses
in Altenburg, Leipzig and Dresden, was to bid in suits; a bid of club
Solo outranking one of spade Solo, no matter what it was worth.
This has long been obsolete, the objection to it being that a player
might get the play on a game of much inferior value. A player with a
spade Solo, six Matadores, and schneider announced could offer
only a spade Solo, without mentioning its value, and although his
game was worth 99, he could be outbid by an offer of Nullo, which
was then worth only 20. This is contrary to the spirit of the game,
which requires that the person offering the game of the greatest
value shall be the player. The rank of the bids in the old German
game was as follows, beginning with the lowest:—

Frage, in the order of the suits.

Tourné, in the order of the suits.
Grand Tourné.
Solo in diamonds, hearts and spades.
Nullo, worth 20.
 Solo in clubs.
Grand Solo, worth 16.
Null ouvert, worth 40.
Grand ouvert.

The multipliers were the same as those used in the modern game,
but the player had no means of using them in his bids. It will be
observed that the modern value of the various games seeks to
preserve the old rank by assuming the lowest possible bid on any
given game.
In some parts of Germany it is still the custom to reckon Solos at
the tourné values, simply adding one multiplier for “out of hand.”
Thus a spade Solo with two would be reckoned; “with two, one for
game, one for out of hand; four times seven, or twenty-eight.” Note
that seven is tourné value for spades.
THE SKAT CARDS. The successful bidder determined, the skat
cards are pushed towards him, and the manner in which he uses
them limits the game he is allowed to play. While the player must
win or lose a game worth as many as bid, he may attempt to win as
many more as he pleases. If he has got the play on a bid of ten, that
does not prevent him from playing a club Solo, with schneider
announced. But if he has bid or refused eleven, and plays a tourné
in diamonds, he must make schneider or play with or without two
Matadores in order to bring his multipliers up to three. It both these
fail him he loses 15, the next higher game than his bid possible in a
diamond tourné.
As Frage is no longer played on account of its small value, if the
player takes both the skat cards into his hand at the same time,
without showing them, his game must be a Gucki Grand, unless he
has previously announced that it is a Gucki Nullo. His game
announced, he lays out any two cards he pleases for his skat, so as
to play with ten only.
 If the player turns over either of the skat cards, his game is
limited to a tourné. If he turns a Jack, he may change to Grand, but
not to Grand Ouvert. Neither schneider nor schwarz can be
announced in any game in which the skat cards are used. A tourné
player must lay out two skat cards to reduce his hand to ten cards.
If the player neither turns over nor takes into his hand either of
the skat cards, he may play any of the suit Solos, Grand Solo, Grand
Ouvert, Nullo, or Null Ouvert. He may announce schneider or
schwarz in any Solo.
Any player looking at the skat cards before the beginning of the
play is debarred from bidding that deal, and is penalised ten points
in the score. In addition to this penalty, either of the other players
may demand a fresh deal. If a player looks at the skat cards during
the play of a hand the play is immediately stopped, and if he is the
single player he can count only the points taken in up to that time,
exclusive of the skat. These points are deducted from 120, and his
adversaries claim the difference. The game is then settled, according
to this count, exactly as if the hand had been played out. If an
adversary of the single player looks at either of the skat cards during
the play of a hand, the single player may at once stop the game,
and his adversaries can count only the points they have taken in in
tricks up to that time. If they have no tricks they are schwartz; if
they have not 30 points they are schneider.
When four or more play, any person holding no cards may be
penalised ten points for looking at the skat cards.
METHOD OF PLAYING. The successful bidder having disposed
of the skat cards and announced his game, the Vorhand leads any
card he pleases for the first trick. Vorhand should be careful not to
lead until the player has laid out or discarded for the Skat in a Gucki
or a Tourné. Players must follow suit if they can, but are not obliged
to win the trick. Having none of the suit led, they may trump or
discard at pleasure. The highest card played, if of the suit led, wins
the trick, and trumps win all other suits. The winner of the first trick
leads for the next, and so on, until all the cards have been played, or
the game is acknowledged as won or lost, and abandoned. In a
Grand, if a Jack is led, players must follow suit with the other Jacks,
they being trumps.
Abandoned Hands. If the single player finds he has overbid
himself, or sees that he cannot make as good a game as bid, he may
abandon his hand to save himself from being made schneider or
schwarz, provided he does so before he plays to the second trick. A
Solo cannot be abandoned in this manner, as the rule is made only
to allow a player to get off cheaply who has been unlucky in finding
nothing in the Skat to suit his hand. For instance: A player has risked
a Tourné with a missing suit, and turns up that suit. He can abandon
his hand at once, losing his bid or the next higher game, but
escaping schneider.
Irregularities in the Hands. If, during the play of a hand, any
person is found to have too many or too few cards, the others
having their right number, it is evident that there has been no
misdeal if the pack is perfect and there are two cards in the Skat. If
the player in error has too few cards, probably from having dropped
one on the floor, or having played two cards to the same trick, he
loses in any case, but the adversary may demand to have the hand
played out in order to try for schneider or schwarz, and the last trick,
with the missing card, must be considered as having been won by
the side not in fault. If the player in fault is opposed to the single
player, his partner suffers with him. If the player discovers his loss,
he is not allowed to pick the card from the floor and replace it in his
hand if he has in the meantime played to a trick with a wrong
number of cards.
Playing Out of Turn. The usual penalty in America for leading or
playing out of turn is the loss of the game if the error is made by the
adversaries of the single player. If by the player himself, the card
played in error must be taken back, and if only one adversary has
played to the false lead, he may also take back his card. If both have
played, the trick stands good. The single player suffers no penalty,
as it is only to his own disadvantage to expose his hand.
 The Revoke. If a player revokes, and he is one of the adversaries
of the single player, the game is lost for the player in error; but he
may count the points in his tricks up to the time the revoke
occurred, in order to save schneider or schwarz. In Nullos, the game
is lost the moment the revoke is discovered.
Seeing Tricks. The tricks must be kept separate as they are
taken in, and any player is allowed to look at the last trick turned
and quitted. Any player looking at any other trick but the last may be
penalized ten points.
Playing Ouverts. The rules of the game require Ouverts to be
exposed face upward on the table before a card is played.
SCORING. The score should always be kept by the player sitting
on the right of the first dealer. This will mark the rounds. The score
sheet should be ruled in vertical columns, one for each player at the
table.
Each player is charged individually with his losses and gains, the
amounts being added to or deducted from his score, and a plus or a
minus mark placed in front of the last figure, so that the exact state
of each player’s score will be apparent at a glance.
The score of the single player is the only one put down, and it is
charged to him as a loss or a gain at the end of each deal.
If there are four players, a line is drawn under every fourth
amount entered in each person’s account. If three play, the line is
drawn under every third amount. This system of scoring will show at
once whose turn it is to deal, if the total number of amounts under
which no line is drawn are counted up. For instance: Three persons
play; A dealt the first hand. In the first three columns are shown the
amounts won and lost in the three rounds, while the last three
columns show the manner in which these losses and gains were
entered on the score sheet:—

Points won and lost. Score Card.

1st Round. 2nd Round. 3rd Round. A B C
 A won 33 A lost 16 C lost 36 +33 +40 +55
C won 55 B won 40 B won 48 +17 +88 +67
C won 12 A lost 24 C lost 12 -7 +31
+19

At the end of the second round a line was drawn under A’s
account, which then contained three items; and after the first game
in the third round a line was drawn under C’s account.
If we suppose the game to be stopped at this point, the scores
would be balanced as follows:
We take the three scores and bring them down on one line. We
draw a line under them, and proceed as follows: First we take A,
who has lost 7 to B, and from whom B has also won 88. This gives
us 95 minus for A and 95 plus for B. We then compare A and C, and
find that A owes C 26; put down as minus for A, plus for C. We now
compare B and C, and find that B wins the difference, which is 69
points; put down plus for B, minus for C. Then we add up to see that
the scores balance.

A B C
-7 +88 +19
-95 +95 +26
-26 +69 -69
-121 +164 -43

The same method may be used when four play; but some prefer
to call the lowest score zero, and so make all the others plus.
Suppose the final scores were as follows:

A B C D
+186 +42 +344 +116
+144 0 +302 +74 = 520
+4 4 4 4
+576 0 +1208 +296
 -520 -520 -520 -520
+56 -520 +688 -224

If B is zero, his points are to be taken from those of each of the

others, as B is plus. If the low score is a minus, the points must be
added to each of the others. The three totals are added, and found,
in this case, to be 520, which is the total of B’s loss. We now
multiply the scores by the number of players engaged, in this case
four, and from the product we deduct the 520 already found. Then
the scores balance.
When Skat is played for the League stake, which is one-fourth of a
cent a point, the results may be found in a still shorter way by
adding up all the scores and taking an average, this average being
the sum divided by the number of players. Take the results just
given for example:—

A B C D
186 42 344 116 = 688 ÷ 4 = 172
172 172 172 172
+14 -130 +172 -56

The average is simply deducted from each score, and the

remainder is the amount won or lost, in cents.
CHEATING. As in all games in which the cards are dealt in
groups, the greek will find many opportunities in Skat. The clumsiest
shuffler can usually locate some of the Wenzels at the top or the
bottom of the pack, before presenting it to be cut, and if the players
do not insist on the cards being dealt always in the same manner,
the sharper can secure to himself two or more Wenzels, either in his
hand or in the Skat. Any person who deals the cards sometimes
three at a time, and again five at a time, should be stopped
immediately, and no such excuses as changing his luck should be
listened to for a moment. Any person who habitually picks up the
cards with their faces towards him, and straightens them by lifting
them from their positions in the pack, should be stopped at once,
and requested to straighten the cards face down.
Dealing seconds is very difficult when the cards have to be
“pinched” in threes and fours. A second dealer holding back a
Wenzel on the top may give his adversary two underneath without
knowing it. Marked cards are of advantage only when the dealer
plays, and are of little use beyond telling him what he can turn up
for a trump, or what he will find in the Skat. The rule for having four
in the game, if possible, is one of the greatest safeguards, unless
the dealer is in secret partnership with one of the players.
SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY. The chief things to master in
Skat are the values of the hands, the principles of bidding on them,
the best methods of playing them, and the proper methods of
combining forces with your partner for the time being, in order to
defeat the single player.
Bidding. Some persons attach a great deal of importance to the
odds for and against certain cards being in the Skat. If a player
without three is forced to risk finding a Matadore in the Skat, it is
usually enough for him to know that the odds are about 3 to 1
against it. It is much more important for him to consider what cards
may make against him, and what they would count. It is often
necessary to estimate very closely the number of points that must
fall on a certain number of leads. For instance: You are Vorhand, and
hold these cards:—
 Even if you find the Ace and Ten with the best Wenzel in one hand
against you, you have an almost certain club Solo, for if you lead a
Wenzel, your adversary must either take it, or give you the Ace or
Ten. If he wins it, and his partner gives him a Ten of another suit,
and they then proceed to make both the Aces and Tens of your
weak suits, that will give them only 56 points, and you will make
every other trick. The only thing that could defeat you is for one
player on the fourth trick to lead a suit of which his partner had
none. This would require one player to have all the spades and the
other all the hearts, which is almost impossible.
Another familiar example is the following: You are Vorhand with
these cards:—

Although you cannot possibly win more than six tricks, and must
lose every trick in the red suits, you have an invincible Grand;
because the adversaries have not a sufficient number of Fehlkarten
to give you to avoid adding 16 points to the 46 you already have in
your hand, which must make you 62 before they get a trick.
It is better to bid on a doubtful Solo than on a risky Tourné, and if
you have a choice of two numerically equal suits, it is better to bid
on a suit containing small cards in preference to one containing A
10. In bidding Tournés, you must remember that the more cards you
hold of a suit, the less your chance to turn up one.
It is not good play to bid a Solo on four or five trumps unless you
have some aces in the other suits. A Grand may be bid even without
a trump, if you have the lead, and hold four aces, or three aces and
four Tens. A Grand with any two Wenzels is safe if you have two
good suits. A Nullo should never be bid unless the player has the
Seven of his long suit.
A certain amount of risk must be taken in all bids, and a player
who never offers a game that is not perfectly safe is called a
Maurer; one who builds on a solid foundation. The player who
offers the most games will usually win the most unless he is a very
poor player.
Leading. The single player should almost always begin with the
trumps, in order to get them out of his way. With a sequence of
Wenzels, it is a common artifice to begin with the lowest, hoping the
second player may fatten the trick by discarding a Ten or Ace, under
the impression that the Hinterhand can win it. This style of
underplay is called Wimmelfinte, and the Mittelhand should
beware of it. With only one Wenzel and the Ace and Ten, it is better
to begin with a small trump. If you find all the trumps in one hand
against you, or tenace over you, stop leading trumps, and play
forcing cards.
If you have no Wenzels it is usually best to lead your smallest
trumps. If you have only Ace Ten and small trumps, and know the
adversaries have one Wenzel and one trump better than your small
one, lead your Ten, so that they cannot make both trumps. In
playing for a schneider, it is often advisable to continue the trumps,
even after the adversaries are exhausted, so that they shall not
know which suit to keep for the last trick.
Laying out the Skat. In a Frage or a Tourné, some judgment is
required in discarding for the Skat. It is often necessary to lay aside
the Ace and Ten of trumps if there is any danger that the
adversaries may catch them. Unguarded Tens should always be laid
out, and it is a good general principle to get rid of one suit entirely,
so that you can trump it. It is a common practice to put in the Skat
the Ace and Ten of a suit of which you hold also the King. When you
lead the King, if Mittelhand has none of the suit he is sure to fatten
the trick for his partner, thinking he must have Ace or Ten. With the
Ten, King, and small cards of a plain suit, lay the Ten and King in the
Skat.
The Adversaries should combine against the single player by
getting him between them if possible. If you sit on the left of the
player, lead your short suits up to him; but if you sit on his right,
lead your longest suit through him. Try to force out his trumps on
your plain-suit cards if you can, and avoid giving him discards of his
weak suits. With a long trump suit, it is often advantageous to lead
it through the player, but seldom right to lead it up to him.
In Solos, the adversaries should lead Aces and winning cards, and
change suits frequently. If you are playing against a Grand, and have
two trumps, one of them the best, lead it, and then play your long
suit; but if you have the two smallest trumps, lead the long suit first,
and force with it every time you get in.
The partners should always scheme to protect each other’s Tens
by keeping the Aces of plain suits. For this reason it is very bad play
to fatten with the Ace of a suit of which you have not the Ten, or to
play an Ace third hand when there are only small cards in the trick,
and the Ten of the suit has not been played and you do not hold it.
If the player is void of a suit, continue leading it, no matter what
you hold in it. This will either weaken his trumps, or, if he is between
you, will give your partner discards.
If the player leads a Wenzel, it is usually best to cover it if you
can; but do not play the club Jack on the diamond Jack unless you
want the lead very badly.
When the single player does not lead trumps, but plays his Aces
and Tens, the Germans call it “auf die Dörfer gehen;” that is, getting
to the villages, or getting home; equivalent to our expression,
“getting out of the woods,” or “getting in out of the rain.” When the
single player runs for home in this way, it is usually best to lead
trumps through him at the first opportunity.
In playing against a Nullo, the great point is to give your partner
discards. If you find that the player’s long suit is yours also, continue
it until your partner has discarded an entire suit if possible. If you
then have the small card of the discarded suit, you may defeat the
Nullo at once.
Fattening. The Germans call this Wimmeln, or “swarming” the
points together in one trick. It is always advisable to get rid of Tens
in this way, or Aces of suits in which you hold both Ace and Ten; but
it is bad play to fatten with the Ace of a suit of which you have not
the Ten, unless the trick wins the game from the player, or saves a
very probable schneider.
The following Illustrative Hands will give the student a very
good idea of the manner in which the various forms of the game are
played, showing the difference in the play of a Tourné, Solo, and
Grand.
A TOURNÉ. A, Vorhand, has refused ten with the following cards,
Hinterhand having passed without a bid:—

A concludes to play a Tourné, and turns the heart ♡ Q, finding the

♢ King in the Skat. He lays out the ♠ 10 and ♠ 9 in the Skat, and
expects to make 12 points; a heart Tourné, with one Matadore. The
play is given in the margin. A is the player, and is also Vorhand, with
the lead for the first trick. Hearts are trumps.

A TOURNÉ

A B C A wins.
1 ♣J ♡7 J♢ 4
2 ♡Q ♡A ♡8 -
3 K♢ 9♢ Q♢ 7
4 ♡J J♠ A♠ -
5 ♡10 ♡9 7♠ 10
6 A♢ ♣7 8♢ 11
 7 7♢ K♠ 10♢ -
8 ♣K ♣10 ♣9 -
9 ♡K Q♠ 8♠ 7
10 ♣A ♣Q ♣8 14
♠10 and ♠9 10

in the Scat.
A wins 63

The manner in which A exhausts the trumps, and makes both his
Ace and King of diamonds, should be carefully studied. At trick 8, if
he put on the ace of clubs, B might have the 8, and he would lose
both his King and the Queen on the Ten, giving him only 60 points.
It must be remembered that A knows every card out against him,
because he has seen the skat cards. A wins his 12 points; a heart
Tourné with one.
A SOLO. Vorhand has refused a bid of 18, and announces spade
Solo with the following cards:—

A SOLO.

A B C A wins.
1 8♠ K♠ ♡J -
2 ♣ A ♣K ♣7 15
3 9♠ Q♠ 10♢ -
4 7♢ A♢ Q♢ -
5 8♢ K♢ ♣Q -
6 ♡ A ♡K ♡8 15
7 ♡10 ♡7 ♡9 10
8 10♠ 7♠ ♣8 10
9 J♠ ♣J ♡Q -
10 A♠ J♢ ♣9 -
 ♢9 and ♣10 10

in the Scat.
A wins 60

He has the lead for the first trick, and of course begins with the
trumps. The play is given in the margin.
C wins the first trick, and leads his long suit through the player. In
the last three tricks A coaxes B to win the Ten of trumps; but if B
does so he gives up the advantage of his tenace over the player,
which is now the only chance to defeat him. B knows that if he wins
the Ten of trumps, B and C can make only 59 points, because A will
save his trump Ace.
A, having failed to reach 61, loses a spade Solo without one; twice
11, or 22 points, which was the game he must have won to be as
good as the offer of 18 which he refused.
A GRAND. B bids; both Vorhand and Hinterhand pass, and B
announces a Grand, with the following cards:—

The play is given in the margin. In a Grand the four Jacks are the
only trumps.
A has the first play, and as he leads through the player, he begins
with his long suit, of which he knows that the Ace alone is out, and
it may be in the skat. If the player has the Ace, C will probably
trump it. If the player has not the Ace, it is just possible that he will
not trump the Ten.
C, leading up to the player, opens his short weak suit. At trick 3, C
knows that A must have the Ten of hearts, or he would not fatten
with the Ace. As this shows that A can stop the heart suit, C guards
the spades and lets all his hearts go.
 B loses a very strong Grand, which must have been successful if C
had had one club, or if A had led anything but the club Ten. A Grand
with three Matadores is worth 4 times 20 or 80 points, which is what
B loses, although he may have bid only 10 or 12 to get the play.

A GRAND.

A B C B wins.
1 ♣10 ♣A J♢ -
2 8♠ A♢ 7♢ 11
3 ♡A 9♠ 10♠ -
4 ♣7 10♢ 9♢ 10
5 ♣8 ♡J Q♢ 5
6 ♣9 J♠ ♡9 2
7 ♡7 K♢ ♡Q 7
8 ♣Q ♣J ♡K 9
9 ♣K A♠ 7♠ 15
10 ♡10 Q♠ K♠ -
♢8 and ♡8 -

in the Scat.
B wins 59

Text Books. Foster’s Skat Manual, 1906. Eichhorn’s American

Skat, 1898. Lehrbuch des Skatspiels, by K. Buhle. 1891. Deutsche
Skatordnung, by K. Buhle. 1888. Scatspiel. (Anon.) Von Posert,
Quedlinburg. 1879. Encyclopædia der Spiele, by Fr. Anton. 1889.
Skat, by F. Tschientschy. 1888. Skat, by L.V. Diehl. 1891. Skat, by
E.E. Lemcke. 1887.
All but the first two on the list treat of the old game, bidding by
suits, and making no mention of Guckis; but some of them,
especially Buhle’s, contain some very fine examples of good play.
The first two on the list and the last two are in English. All the others
are in German.

AMERICAN SKAT.