Sheepshead
What Is Sheepshead?
Sheepshead — also called Schafkopf — is Wisconsin’s beloved card game, played in homes and bars across the state for generations. What makes it completely unique: Queens and Jacks are permanently the top eight trumps in every single hand — they are never just Queens and Jacks in their own suits. The trump suit is always Diamonds, creating 14 total trump cards. One player — the Picker — plays alone against the other four, having picked up a hidden two-card blind to improve their hand.
What You Need
- A 32-card deck — remove all 2s through 6s from a standard deck. Keep 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in all four suits.
- Five players (three-player version exists but five is standard)
The Trump Order — Memorize This Before Playing
This is the most important thing to learn in Sheepshead. The 14 trump cards from highest to lowest are:
- Queen of Clubs (highest trump in the game)
- Queen of Spades
- Queen of Hearts
- Queen of Diamonds
- Jack of Clubs
- Jack of Spades
- Jack of Hearts
- Jack of Diamonds
- Ace of Diamonds
- 10 of Diamonds
- King of Diamonds
- 9 of Diamonds
- 8 of Diamonds
- 7 of Diamonds (lowest trump)
After the 14 trumps, the three remaining suits (Hearts, Spades, Clubs — minus their Queens and Jacks, which are trump) rank: Ace, 10, King, 9, 8, 7.
Setting Up the Game
- Deal six cards to each player in batches of 3-3.
- Place two cards face-down in the center — these are the blind.
- The player to the left of the dealer is first to decide about the blind.
Picking or Passing
Going clockwise, each player decides whether to Pick or Pass:
- Pick: Take both blind cards into your hand (now 8 cards), choose any two cards to bury face-down (they count as your captured tricks), and play alone against the other four players. You are now the Picker.
- Pass: Decline. The next player decides.
If all five players pass, it is a Leaster — everyone plays for themselves, and the player who captures the fewest card points wins the hand.
How to Play
- The player to the left of the dealer leads first (whether Picker or Leaster).
- Follow suit if you can. Since Queens and Jacks are trump — not their original suits — if trump is led, you must play a Queen, Jack, or Diamond if you have any.
- The highest trump wins if any trump was played. If no trump, the highest card of the led suit wins.
- The winner of each trick leads the next one. Play all six tricks.
Scoring
Card point values: Ace = 11, 10 = 10, King = 4, Queen = 3, Jack = 2, others = 0. Total = 120 points.
The Picker wins if their captured cards (including buried cards) total 61 or more points. If the Picker wins, each of the four opponents pays the Picker a set amount. If the Picker loses (gets 60 or fewer), the Picker pays each opponent.
Tips for New Players
- Know the trump order cold before sitting down to play — confusing a Jack with a regular card or vice versa is a costly mistake.
- Pick with five or more trump cards — you need trump control to win alone against four opponents.
- In a Leaster, play your highest non-trump cards first to force others to win early tricks — leaving you to take only small cards later.