How to Play Sheepshead
How to Play Sheepshead
Sheepshead is a lively trick-taking game for five people, and you need a normal deck of cards to get started; you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common five-handed version, while family and regional house rules can vary.
Quick facts
| Fact | Beginner rule |
|---|---|
| Players | 5 |
| Cards used | 32 cards: 7 through ace in every suit |
| Cards per player | 6, plus 2 cards in the blind |
| Trump | All queens, all jacks, and all diamonds |
| Goal | The picker and partner try to capture at least 61 of 120 card points |
What you are trying to do
Each hand divides the table into a team of two and a team of three. One player, called the picker, takes the two-card blind and tries to win at least 61 points. The picker chooses a hidden partner by naming an ace. The player holding that ace becomes the partner, so the picker and partner work together even though the partner may not be known to everyone at first.
A trick is one card played by every player. The strongest card in the trick wins all five cards. The team that captures the most card points wins the hand.
What you need
Take a normal 52-card deck and remove every 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The remaining cards are the 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, and ace of each suit, making 32 cards. You also need paper or a notes app for keeping a running score.
Card points are different from card strength. An ace is worth 11 points, a 10 is worth 10, a king 4, a queen 3, and a jack 2. Every 7, 8, and 9 is worth zero. The complete deck therefore contains 120 points.
Set it up
Choose a first dealer. Deal clockwise, giving each player three cards, then place two cards face down in the middle as the blind, and finally give each player three more cards. Everyone now has six cards. The player to the dealer’s left will have the first chance to pick, and the deal moves left after each hand.
Before playing, learn the important ranking. The 14 trump cards, from strongest to weakest, are the queen of clubs, queen of spades, queen of hearts, queen of diamonds, jack of clubs, jack of spades, jack of hearts, jack of diamonds, then the ace, 10, king, 9, 8, and 7 of diamonds. In each non-trump suit, called a fail suit, the order is ace, 10, king, 9, 8, 7. Queens and jacks are always trump, even though their printed suits look different.
How to play
- Choose a picker. Starting on the dealer’s left, each player may pick up the blind or pass. Picking means that player believes they can lead a team to 61 points. If everyone passes, use your group’s agreed house rule; for a first game, reshuffle and deal again.
- Pick up and bury. The picker adds both blind cards to their hand, making eight cards, then places any two cards face down. This is called burying. The picker keeps six cards for play. Buried cards stay hidden, but their card points count for the picker’s team.
- Call a partner. The picker names one ace from a fail suit, such as “ace of hearts.” The picker must hold at least one heart fail card and may not call an ace in the picker’s hand or blind. Whoever holds the called ace is the partner. The picker must save the matching fail card, and the partner holding the called ace must save that ace; when the called fail suit is first led, the picker must play the saved fail card and the partner must play the called ace. For a very first game, skip unusual all-ace situations and agree to redeal if a legal ace cannot be called.
- Lead the first trick. The player left of the dealer plays any card. Play continues clockwise. Whoever wins the trick leads the next one.
- Follow the led suit. If a fail suit is led, you must play that suit when possible. If you cannot, you may play another fail card or a trump. If trump is led, you must play a trump if you have one. Remember that all queens, jacks, and diamonds belong to the single trump suit.
- Find the winner. If any trump was played, the highest trump wins. If no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led wins. The winner gathers the trick and sets it aside face down. Continue until all six tricks are complete.
- Count the points. Turn over the captured tricks and total the aces, 10s, kings, queens, and jacks. The picker and partner combine their points. The other three players combine theirs.
How you win
The picker’s team wins by reaching 61 points or more. The opposing team wins if the picker’s team has 60 or fewer. A simple beginner score is to give the picker two score points for a win and the partner one; each opponent loses one. If the picker’s team loses, the picker loses two and the partner loses one, while each opponent gains one. Write positive and negative numbers so all five scores add up to zero.
For an easy first session, you can ignore special bonuses. Experienced groups may double the score when a picker loses, or award extra points when one team takes fewer than 30 points or captures every trick. Add those bonuses only after everyone understands the basic hand.
Easy first-game tips
Do not pick just because you have one strong card. Count your trump cards first, especially queens and jacks, and look for aces and 10s in the fail suits. The picker should remember the called suit and protect the card that must be played with the called ace.
If your partner seems likely to win a trick, play a high-point card that would otherwise be hard to save. On defense, watch which trump cards have already appeared. Most importantly, announce the rules before dealing: agree on the called-ace method, passing procedure, scoring, and what happens if everybody passes.
Quick questions
Is a queen of spades a spade or a trump?
It is a trump. Queens, jacks, and diamonds are all in the trump suit, so a queen of spades does not count as a fail-suit spade.
Can the partner reveal who they are?
No. The partner should keep quiet and let the cards show the partnership. Everyone will know the partner when the called ace is played.