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.