Sheepshead scoring
Sixty-one and the multipliers
Every deal contains exactly 120 card points, so the whole hand is a race to 61. What changes is how much that win is worth, and two of the three multipliers have nothing to do with points at all.
Step one: count the card points
Add the picker's captured Aces at 11, Tens at 10, Kings at 4, Queens at 3, and Jacks at 2, then add everything the picker buried. Sixty-one or more wins the hand.
Points buried before the first lead are banked. Burying two Aces is twenty-two points the defenders can never take, which is why a picker with a weak hand still buries fat rather than trash.
Sources: The Sheepshead Association: basic rules; Pagat: Sheepshead.
Step two: find the multiplier
| Result | Stake |
|---|---|
| Ordinary win or loss | 1× |
| Schneider: losing side held under thirty | 2× |
| No-tricker: losing side took no trick | 3× |
When the picker wins, the defenders are schneidered at 29 or fewer. When the picker is set, the picker is schneidered at 30 or fewer. The extra point is deliberate: the picker had the blind.
A no-tricker is counted in tricks, not points, because a side can take a trick containing nothing but 7s, 8s, and 9s. Taking a worthless trick still saves you from the triple.
Sources: The Sheepshead Association: basic rules; Pagat: Sheepshead; The Sheepshead Association: tournament rules.
Step three: settle it around the table
Sheepshead is zero sum. The picker settles the stake with each defender individually, so at a four-handed table a picker who wins one stake gains three and each defender loses one.
Picker takes 75
The defenders hold 45, which is over thirty, so this is one stake. Four-handed the picker is plus 3 and each defender minus 1.
Picker takes 95
The defenders hold 25, under the line, so the stake doubles. Four-handed the picker is plus 6 and each defender minus 2.
Picker takes 55
Short of 61, so the picker loses. The defenders hold 65, an ordinary result, and four-handed the picker is minus 3 while each defender is plus 1.
Sources: The Sheepshead Association: basic rules; Pagat: Sheepshead.
Double on the bump
A widely played house rule doubles the entire settlement when the picker is set, and only then. A set picker facing an ordinary loss pays two stakes instead of one; a set picker who was also schneidered pays four. It never doubles a win.
Big Mike has it switched off by default and available as a table option.
Sources: The Sheepshead Association: tournament rules; Pagat: Sheepshead.
Scoring a leaster
When everyone passes, the hand becomes a leaster and the goal inverts: the lowest card-point total wins. By default a player must take at least one trick to qualify, which stops a player from winning by simply never participating. The last trick collects the blind.
The winner receives one point from every other active player, so the leaster settles zero sum as well.
Sources: The Sheepshead Association: tournament rules; Pagat: Sheepshead.
Quick answers
Sheepshead scoring FAQ
What is Schneider in Sheepshead?
Holding the losing side under thirty card points, which doubles the stake. The exact line is 29 or fewer when the picker wins and 30 or fewer when the picker is set.
What is a no-tricker in Sheepshead?
A hand where the losing side takes no trick at all. It triples the stake and is scored separately from card points, because a side can take a trick worth zero points.
How does zero-sum scoring work in Sheepshead?
The picker wins or loses one stake against each defender. With four players the picker moves three stakes and each defender moves one the other way, so the table always totals zero.
What does double on the bump mean?
A common house rule that doubles the whole settlement when the picker is set. It never doubles a picker's win.
Skip the arithmetic
Use the free Sheepshead counter
Tick the cards each side captured and the tool settles the stake around the table.