Tables of Skat bidding values.
Version of Saturday 1 November 2025.
Dave Barber's other pages.

§1 Introduction. This page displays tables of bidding values for four versions of the card game Skat; these in particular were selected because the present author could find authoritative sources, or their translations. This page is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to Skat rules which, like its strategy, are complicated.

After brief sections on equipment (§2) and variants (§3), the heart of this report is presented as four sets of tables (§4-7):

• §4: Type G (for "Germany"). These tables rely on the rules that are increasingly considered the international standard, formed by agreement (1998) between the Deutsche Skatverband (DSkV) and the International Skat Players Association (ISPA). The information on this page is consistent with a table presented on Wikipedia, but is here arranged in what some players may find a more convenient format. (See Cats at Cards for a friendly introduction to the rules.)
• §5: Type T (for "Texas"). These tables are based on the web site of the Texas State Skat League (TSSL), describing a version quite similar to type G above. That web site (http://texasskat.com) was operating when the present author began his research, with its last update apparently in the year 2009, but the site now appears to be defunct.
• §6: Type W (for "Wergin"). These tables describe a version of the North American Skat League (NASL), as documented by Joseph Wergin in his 1975 volume Skat and Sheepshead. The NASL currently (year 2025) has little presence on the internet. (Cats at Cards for rules.)
• §7: Type E (for "Eichhorn"). These tables are taken from an older version of the rules used by the NASL, this one described by J. Charles Eichhorn in his 1898 volume American Skat.

Tables G-3, T-3, W-3, and E-3 are in a format that, as far as the present author knows, has never been produced with ink on paper. A possible explanation is that these tables contain so many blank spaces that they would be regarded as consuming wasteful amounts of paper. By contrast, blank spaces on a computer screen consume trivial amounts of memory, and this page becomes feasible.

Following §7 are:

Rigorous players insist that the only legal bids are the values that can be obtained exactly from play, which are the values listed in the respective tables, and are indeed the whole point of this report. For instance, a bid of 19 would be rejected in any of the Skat versions discussed here.

Bids above 100 are rare. In tournaments, the NASL has awarded special prizes for successful games worth 100 or more.

Useful for reference are these:

This page is written in very simple HTML for the convenience of players who want to adapt the tables for their preferred custom rules. The present author prepared it using an ordinary text editor; the format needs to be plain text.

§2 Equipment. Playing cards intended for Skat often employ the traditional German suits of acorns, leaves, hearts, and bells. However, Skat can be, and often is, played with cards bearing the well-known French suits of (respectively) clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds. Although French pips are usually printed in only red and black, special packs with different colors for the four suits are manufactured to help prevent mistakes in play. Appearing in the tables below is the four-color scheme preferred for Skat. Hybrid packs have also been produced.

Beyond that, German cards characteristically bear the ranks (high to low) of Ace (also called Daus), König, Ober, Unter, Ten, Nine, Eight, and Seven. These correspond to the French ranks of Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, and Seven. Note that Skat, in most of its game choices, promotes the Jacks to the highest rank, and the Tens to a position between the Kings and Aces.

This report employs French suits and ranks, rather than German.

Also required is a means to record scores, such as an electronic device, or pencil and paper.

§3 Variants. Naturally, there are many local variations on the rules, often differing only in the base values for Grands and Nulls.

A common variation affecting multipliers needs to be mentioned. Declaring "mit einem Spitze" means that the declarer expects to take the last trick with the lowest trump (a Seven at suit, a Jack at Grand). This adds a multiplier. However, the additional possible bidding values are not reflected in the tables below, because players would rarely bid so high as to need them.

If nobody bids, a game of Ramsch is often played. It is required by some sets of rules, and prohibited (at least in tournament play) by others. In the basic version, players play tricks aiming to take as few card points as possible. Most versions of Ramsch do not entail base values, multipliers, or bidding, so they are not covered here.

For useful background information, see David Parlett's pages. For more variations, read pagat.

§4 Type G — DSkV and ISPA, 1998. The base values of the various games are:

table G-1 — games
GameBase ValueMultipliers
Diamonds ♦92 through 18
Hearts ♥102 through 18
Spades ♠112 through 18
Clubs ♣122 through 18
Grand242 through 11
Null23, 35, 46, 59none

The multipliers that might be used are:

table G-2 — multipliers
from Hand at Suit — totaling 2 through 18:
  • 1 through 11 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Hand
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for declaring Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz
  • 1 for Overt (requires declaring Schwartz)
 from Hand at Grand — totaling 2 through 11:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Hand
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for declaring Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz
  • 1 for Overt (requires declaring Schwartz)
with Skat at Suit — totaling 2 through 14:
  • 1 through 11 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
 with Skat at Grand — totaling 2 through 7:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz

There are 82 possible bids, but sometimes there are 2 or 3 of them are at the same point value. As a result, there are only 63 bidding levels. Here they are:

table G-3 — bidding values
Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand Null     Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand     Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand
18 ♦2           66     ♠6     140   ♥14      
20   ♥2         70   ♥7       143     ♠13    
22     ♠2       72 ♦8     ♣6 G3 144 ♦16     ♣12 G6
23           Null 77     ♠7     150   ♥15      
24       ♣2     80   ♥8       153 ♦17        
27 ♦3           81 ♦9         154     ♠14    
30   ♥3         84       ♣7   156       ♣13  
33     ♠3       88     ♠8     160   ♥16      
35           Null Hand 90 ♦10 ♥9       162 ♦18        
36 ♦4     ♣3     96       ♣8 G4 165     ♠15    
40   ♥4         99 ♦11   ♠9     168       ♣14 G7
44     ♠4       100   ♥10       170   ♥17      
45 ♦5           108 ♦12     ♣9   176     ♠16    
46           Null Overt 110   ♥11 ♠10     180   ♥18   ♣15  
48       ♣4 G2   117 ♦13         187     ♠17    
50   ♥5         120   ♥12   ♣10 G5 192       ♣16 G8
54 ♦6           121     ♠11     198     ♠18    
55     ♠5       126 ♦14         204       ♣17  
59           Null Overt Hand 130   ♥13       216       ♣18 G9
60   ♥6   ♣5     132     ♠12 ♣11   240         G10
63 ♦7           135 ♦15         264         G11

See also a shorter page with only these DSkV-ISPA bidding values.

§5 Type T — Texas State Skat League, 2019. The base values of the various games are:

table T-1 — games
GameBase ValueMultipliers
Diamonds ♦92 through 17
Hearts ♥102 through 17
Spades ♠112 through 17
Clubs ♣122 through 17
Grand162 through 10
Null20, 30, 40, 60none

The multipliers that might be used are:

table T-2 — multipliers
from Hand at Suit — totaling 2 through 17:
  • 1 through 11 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Hand
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for declaring Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz
 from Hand at Grand — totaling 2 through 10:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Hand
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for declaring Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz
with Skat at Suit — totaling 2 through 16:
  • 1 through 11 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for declaring Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz
 with Skat at Grand — totaling 2 through 9:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for declaring Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz
If Schwartz is declared, Overt may be additionally declared.
This doubles the score instead of adding a multiplier.

There are 77 possible bids, but sometimes there are 2 or 3 of them are at the same point value. As a result, there are only 58 bidding levels. Here they are:

table T-3 — bidding values
Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand Null     Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand     Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand
18 ♦2           70   ♥7       130   ♥13      
20   ♥2       Null 72 ♦8     ♣6   132     ♠12 ♣11  
22     ♠2       77     ♠7     135 ♦15        
24       ♣2     80   ♥8     G5 140   ♥14      
27 ♦3           81 ♦9         143     ♠13    
30   ♥3       Null Hand 84       ♣7   144 ♦16     ♣12 G9
32         G2   88     ♠8     150   ♥15      
33     ♠3       90 ♦10 ♥9       153 ♦17        
36 ♦4     ♣3     96       ♣8 G6 154     ♠14    
40   ♥4       Null Overt 99 ♦11   ♠9     156       ♣13  
44     ♠4       100   ♥10       160   ♥16     G10
45 ♦5           108 ♦12     ♣9   165     ♠15    
48       ♣4 G3   110   ♥11 ♠10     168       ♣14  
50   ♥5         112         G7 170   ♥17      
54 ♦6           117 ♦13         176     ♠16    
55     ♠5       120   ♥12   ♣10   180       ♣15  
60   ♥6   ♣5   Null Hand Overt 121     ♠11     187     ♠17    
63 ♦7           126 ♦14         192       ♣16  
64         G4   128         G8 204       ♣17  
66     ♠6          

§6 Type W — North American Skat League, 1975, Wergin. The base values of the various games are:

  table W-1 — games
  Game Base Value Multipliers
  Guckser162 through 7
Tournee Diamonds ♦52 through 14
Hearts ♥62 through 14
Spades ♠72 through 14
Clubs ♣82 through 14
Grand122 through 7
Solo Diamonds ♦92 through 16
Hearts ♥102 through 16
Spades ♠112 through 16
Clubs ♣122 through 16
Grand202 through 9
Grand Overt246 through 9
  Null20, 40none

The multipliers that might be used are:

table W-2 — multipliers
Tournee at Suit — totaling 2 through 14:
  • 1 through 11 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
 Tournee at Grand — totaling 2 through 7:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
 Guckser at Grand — totaling 2 through 7:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
Guckser is always at Grand.
Solo at Suit — totaling 2 through 16:
  • 1 through 11 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for declaring Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz
 Solo at Grand — totaling 2 through 9:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for declaring Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz
 Solo at Grand Overt — totaling 6 through 9:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider *
  • 1 for declaring Schneider *
  • 1 for Schwartz *
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz *
* required for overt

There are 138 possible bids, but sometimes there are several of equal point value. As a result, there are only 71 bidding levels. Here they are, in a lengthy table divided into three parts:

  table W-3 — bidding values — part one
  Tournee   Solo
Guckser D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand
& Overt		 Null
  ♦2         10            
    ♥2       12            
      ♠2     14            
  ♦3         15            
        ♣2   16            
    ♥3       18 ♦2          
  ♦4         20   ♥2       Null
      ♠3     21            
            22     ♠2      
    ♥4   ♣3 G2 24       ♣2    
  ♦5         25            
            27 ♦3          
      ♠4     28            
  ♦6 ♥5       30   ♥3        
Gu2       ♣4   32            
            33     ♠3      
  ♦7   ♠5     35            
    ♥6     G3 36 ♦4     ♣3    
  ♦8     ♣5   40   ♥4     G2 Null Overt
 
  table W-3 — part two  
  Tournee   Solo
Guckser D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand
& Overt
    ♥7 ♠6     42          
            44     ♠4    
  ♦9         45 ♦5        
Gu3   ♥8   ♣6 G4 48       ♣4  
      ♠7     49          
  ♦10         50   ♥5      
    ♥9       54 ♦6        
  ♦11         55     ♠5    
      ♠8 ♣7   56          
  ♦12 ♥10     G5 60   ♥6   ♣5 G3
      ♠9     63 ♦7        
Gu4       ♣8   64          
  ♦13         65          
    ♥11       66     ♠6    
  ♦14   ♠10     70   ♥7      
    ♥12   ♣9 G6 72 ♦8     ♣6  
      ♠11     77     ♠7    
    ♥13       78          
Gu5       ♣10   80   ♥8     G4
            81 ♦9        
    ♥14 ♠12   G7 84       ♣7  
        ♣11   88     ♠8    
            90 ♦10 ♥9      
      ♠13     91          
Gu6       ♣12   96       ♣8  
      ♠14     98          
            99 ♦11   ♠9    
            100   ♥10     G5
        ♣13   104          
            108 ♦12     ♣9  
            110   ♥11 ♠10    
Gu7       ♣14   112          
 
    table W-3 — part three  
  Solo
Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand
& Overt
117 ♦13        
120   ♥12   ♣10 G6
121     ♠11    
126 ♦14        
130   ♥13      
132     ♠12 ♣11  
135 ♦15        
140   ♥14     G7
143     ♠13    
144 ♦16     ♣12 Ov6
150   ♥15      
154     ♠14    
156       ♣13  
160   ♥16     G8
165     ♠15    
168       ♣14 Ov7
176     ♠16    
180       ♣15 G9
192       ♣16 Ov8
216         Ov9

§7 Type E — North American Skat League, 1898, Eichhorn. This is the most comprehensive version of Skat that the present author has found. Newer versions tend to be simplifications. The base values of the various games are:

  table E-1 — games
  Game Base Value Multipliers
Frage Diamonds ♦12 through 14
Hearts ♥22 through 14
Spades ♠32 through 14
Clubs ♣42 through 14
Grand
= Guckser		122 through 7
Tournee Diamonds ♦52 through 14
Hearts ♥62 through 14
Spades ♠72 through 14
Clubs ♣82 through 14
Grand122 through 7
Solo Diamonds ♦92 through 16
Hearts ♥102 through 16
Spades ♠112 through 16
Clubs ♣122 through 16
Grand162 through 9
Grand Overt246 through 9
  Null20, 40, 60none

The multipliers that might be used are:

table E-2 — multipliers
Frage at Suit — totaling 2 through 14:
  • 1 through 11 for matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
 Frage at Grand — totaling 2 through 7:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
Tournee at Suit — totaling 2 through 14:
  • 1 through 11 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
 Tournee at Grand — totaling 2 through 7:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
Solo at Suit — totaling 2 through 16:
  • 1 through 11 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for declaring Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz
 Solo at Grand — totaling 2 through 9:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider
  • 1 for declaring Schneider
  • 1 for Schwartz
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz
  Solo at Grand Ouvert — totaling 6 through 9:
  • 1 through 4 for Matadors
  • 1 for Game (always)
  • 1 for Schneider *
  • 1 for declaring Schneider *
  • 1 for Schwartz *
  • 1 for declaring Schwartz *
* required

There are 194 possible bids, but sometimes there are several (as many as 8) of equal point value. As a result, there are only 85 bidding levels. Eichhorn's book contains, in two images, an essential table summarizing them:

Table E-3, in four parts, displays information therefrom rearranged into the usual format of this report. The table is so wide that the value column is repeated for convenience:

  table E-3 — bidding values — part one
  Frage Tournee   Solo
Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand =
Guckser		 D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand
& Overt		 Null
2 ♦2                   2            
3 ♦3                   3            
4 ♦4 ♥2                 4            
5 ♦5                   5            
6 ♦6 ♥3 ♠2               6            
7 ♦7                   7            
8 ♦8 ♥4   ♣2             8            
9 ♦9   ♠3               9            
10 ♦10 ♥5       ♦2         10            
11 ♦11                   11            
12 ♦12 ♥6 ♠4 ♣3     ♥2       12            
13 ♦13                   13            
14 ♦14 ♥7           ♠2     14            
15     ♠5     ♦3         15            
16   ♥8   ♣4         ♣2   16            
18   ♥9 ♠6       ♥3       18 ♦2          
20   ♥10   ♣5   ♦4         20   ♥2       Null
21     ♠7         ♠3     21            
22   ♥11                 22     ♠2      
24   ♥12 ♠8 ♣6 G2   ♥4   ♣3 G2 24       ♣2    
25           ♦5         25            
 
  table E-3 — part two
  Frage Tournee   Solo
Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand =
Guckser		 D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand
& Overt		 Null
26   ♥13                 26            
27     ♠9               27 ♦3          
28   ♥14   ♣7       ♠4     28            
30     ♠10     ♦6 ♥5       30   ♥3        
32       ♣8         ♣4   32         G2  
33     ♠11               33     ♠3      
35           ♦7   ♠5     35            
36     ♠12 ♣9 G3   ♥6     G3 36 ♦4     ♣3    
39     ♠13               39            
40       ♣10   ♦8     ♣5   40   ♥4       Null Overt
42     ♠14       ♥7 ♠6     42            
44       ♣11             44     ♠4      
45           ♦9         45 ♦5          
48       ♣12 G4   ♥8   ♣6 G4 48       ♣4 G3  
49               ♠7     49            
50           ♦10         50   ♥5        
52       ♣13             52            
54             ♥9       54 ♦6          
55           ♦11         55     ♠5      
56       ♣14       ♠8 ♣7   56            
60         G5 ♦12 ♥10     G5 60   ♥6   ♣5   Null Revolution
 
  table E-3 — part three  
Frage Tournee   Solo
Grand =
Guckser		 D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand
& Overt
      ♠9     63 ♦7        
        ♣8   64         G4
  ♦13         65          
    ♥11       66     ♠6    
  ♦14   ♠10     70   ♥7      
G6   ♥12   ♣9 G6 72 ♦8     ♣6  
      ♠11     77     ♠7    
    ♥13       78          
        ♣10   80   ♥8     G5
            81 ♦9        
G7   ♥14 ♠12   G7 84       ♣7  
        ♣11   88     ♠8    
            90 ♦10 ♥9      
      ♠13     91          
        ♣12   96       ♣8 G6
      ♠14     98          
            99 ♦11   ♠9    
            100   ♥10      
        ♣13   104          
            108 ♦12     ♣9  
            110   ♥11 ♠10    
        ♣14   112         G7
 
    table E-3 — part four  
  Solo
Value D
♦		 H
♥		 S
♠		 C
♣		 Grand
& Overt
117 ♦13        
120   ♥12   ♣10  
121     ♠11    
126 ♦14        
128         G8
130   ♥13      
132     ♠12 ♣11  
135 ♦15        
140   ♥14      
143     ♠13    
144 ♦16     ♣12 G9
Ov6
150   ♥15      
154     ♠14    
156       ♣13  
160   ♥16      
165     ♠15    
168       ♣14 Ov7
176     ♠16    
180       ♣15  
192       ♣16 Ov8
216         Ov9

§8 Historical note 1. The First German Skat Congress was held in Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany in the year 1886, and was the first major attempt to unify the rules of Skat.

In the previous decades, Skat had been growing in popularity, but there was increasing divergence in the rules followed by various local groups. Prompting the Congress was a concern that Skat would disintegrate into a family of games so loose that two Skat players from different areas would not be able to find a set of mutually agreeable rules. The Congress was remarkably successful in its endeavor, and its effect is strongly felt even today.

The Wayback Machine contains Hans J. Dettmer's extract (2002) from K. Buhle's edition of those regulations. The original is of course written in German. An automated translation into English of a key passage reads thus:

"The 35 paragraphs of the General German Skat Regulations of 1886 published here comprise only foreword, contents and rules of the historical document."

Fortunately, Dettmer's extract appears to include the complete rules, and reflects a matter where players had not yet reached consensus: whether to use point bidding (as is the modern practice) or suit bidding. The extract also includes three scoring tables, giving a glimpse into the source of modern Skat rules:

A few translations for Buhle-Dettmer's tables:

table H-1
German
word		 English
translation		 French suit
equivalent
SchellenBells Diamonds
Rothred thus HeartsHearts
Grüngreen thus LeavesSpades
EichelnAcornsClubs
• Berechnungs-Tabelle = scoring table.
• Bezeichnung der Spiele = description of the game.
• Grundwerth = base value ("ground worth").
• mit oder ohne = with or without.
• anges short for angesagt = declared.

§9 Historical note 2. Also worthy of consideration is Professor Hoffman's English translation (1893) of A. Hertefeld's detailed German volume on Skat. Being published only slightly after Buhle's, it describes similar versions of the game. Valuable is that the difference between suit bidding and point bidding is discussed in detail.

From low to high, the following are the bids recognized by Hertefeld-Hoffman for suit bidding in Skat; other authors of this era give similar rules. Importantly, no point values are mentioned during the bidding:

  table H-2a
 bidbase value
using
the Skat		 Frage Diamonds1
Frage Hearts2
Frage Spades3
Frage Clubs4
Tournee5 to 32
not using
the Skat		 Solo Diamonds 9
Solo Hearts10
Solo Spades11
Solo Clubs12
Solo Grand16
Solo Grand Overt24
Solo Null24
Solo Null Overt48
Solo Null Revolution72

The bidder of Tournee does not indicate the nature (suit, Grand, or Null) during the bidding; and cannot meaningfully do so, because no Skat card has been turned up yet. If anyone subsequently bids a solo, the Tournee bid is discarded. Only in the absence of any Solo bid does the Tournee procedure of turning up one or both cards of the Skat take place. After that, the bidder specifies a suit, Grand, or Null (Overt).

Although they do not affect the bidding, here are the base values of the Tournee games:

table H-2b
Tourneebase value
Diamonds5
Hearts6
Spades7
Clubs8
Grand12
Null16
Null Overt32

An advantage of suit bidding is that it is easy to see which bids are higher than others: in table H-2a there are exactly fourteen levels. It follows that there is little need for tables like G-3, T-3, W-3, and E-3 of this report. A disadvantage of suit bidding is that the player who thinks he can score the most points might not have the chance to become the high bidder. In particular, the number of Matadors with or without, and any intended declarations of Schneider and Schwartz, are not reflected in the bidding.

Example of the difference between suit and value bidding:

In suit bidding, Solo Hearts outbids Solo Diamonds, even though the Diamond game would be worth far more points.

Here are Hertefeld-Hoffman's tables of bidding values:

In a subtle matter, Hertefeld-Hoffman says that a player who makes Schwartz, but who never declared Schneider or Schwartz, still gets the multiplier for Schneider declared. By contrast, Eichhorn says that a player cannot get the multiplier for Schneider unless he explicitly declared Schneider or Schwarz. Modern practice accords with Eichhorn.

Examining the principles of the game, Hertefeld-Hoffman points out that in Skat the usual aim is not specifically to win tricks, but rather to win point-bearing cards (Jacks and up) contained in tricks. Based on that observation, H-H makes three points:

1. In order to be "in principle more correct" (Hoffman's words), the criterion for Schwartz ought to be to win all the point-bearing cards in tricks, rather than to win all the tricks (the usual modern rule). Any point-bearing cards residing in the Skat would count in favor of the player attempting Schwartz. To give an example, a Schwartz would not be ruined if a player were to win every trick except one that contains two Nines and one Eight. In an extreme case, a player could lose four tricks and still complete a Schwartz.

2. The usual modern rule for Null bids is that the player attempting Null must win no tricks. However, this "does not fully harmonize" (Hoffman's words) with the general nature of Skat, which again is about winning (or losing) point-bearing cards in tricks. This can be resolved by a ruling that a Null bid is an attempt to win no point-bearing cards in tricks. Any point-bearing cards in the Skat should not count against the player attempting Null.

3. H-H mentions for completeness "Uno" and "Duo" bids, where a player strives to win exactly one or two tricks respectively. However, he denies them "any legitimate position in the game of Skat" (Hoffman's words). Evidently, modern players agree on this point, because they are rarely mentioned in today's discussions of the game.

The present author agrees with all three of these views.

§10 Historical note 3. Modern Skat players might not know whence came the base values Diamonds = 9, Hearts = 10, Spades = 11, and Clubs = 12, as in table G-1.

Table E-1, from the early days of Skat, reveals the source. It shows how the values 9-10-11-12 are part of a longer sequence running from 1 to 12. Observe that if these values were slightly decreased (as 8-9-10-11) or increased (as 10-11-12-13), no fundamental mechanism of the game would be broken. Indeed, strategy and tactics would scarcely be affected.

By the early twentieth century, the Frage bids seemed to be fading from use because of their low point value. However, they have survived in modern Skat as the "with Skat" bids (table G-2), with their base values being increased from 1-2-3-4 to 9-10-11-12. The old Solo bids have become "from hand" bids. Their base values remain 9-10-11-12, but they are rewarded with an extra multiplier along with the option of declaring Schneider, Schwartz, and Overt.

Throughout the historical games, there is a considerable contrast in base value ratios. Referring to table E-1:

Thus the difference in base values is a major influence on the player who is considering Frages in two diffent suits; but a much smaller concern if considering Solos in two suits.

The base values for Grands and Null have never been particularly stable, with variation continuing today.

§11 A modest proposal from the present author.

11a General. Under the rules of Skat, the four Jacks have a special role in games other than Null. It is convenient to have a name for this, and wenzel was chosen. This proposal would allow any one of the ranks King, Queen, or Jack to serve as wenzels, to be chosen by the high bidder when declaring a non-Null game.

The rationale for choosing these three ranks in particular is twofold. These cards:

To help show the structure, here are the point values for cards won in tricks in Skat, in a classification by point range, symbols and proposed wenzel eligibility:

table P-1
rank points point
range		 symbols eligible to
be wenzel?
Ace 11 high pips no
Ten10
King 4 low picture yes
Queen3
Jack2
Nine 0 zero pips no
Eight0
Seven0

Here are examples of possible declarations:

table P-2
declarationtrumpsplain suits
Kings wenzels, hearts trump K♣ K♠ K♥ K♦ A♥ 10♥ Q♥ J♥ 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ A 10 Q J 9 8 7
Kings wenzels, grand K♣ K♠ K♥ K♦
Queens wenzels, spades trump Q♣ Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ A♠ 10♠ K♠ J♠ 9♠ 8♠ 7♠ A 10 K J 9 8 7
Queens wenzels, grand Q♣ Q♠ Q♥ Q♦
Jacks wenzels, diamonds trump J♣ J♠ J♥ J♦ A♦ 10♦ K♦ Q♦ 9♦ 8♦ 7♦ A 10 K Q 9 8 7
Jacks wenzels, grand J♣ J♠ J♥ J♦

By this changing of the rules to add possible bids, more hands that are feasibly biddable will be produced. As a result, the number of passed-out deals should go down.

The following four familiar categories of Skat bids (table G-2) will still prevail:

Null games are not affected one way or the other.

11b Game value calculation. If this proposal is implemented, there is no immediate necessity to adjust base values or multipliers (hence game values), although extended play may give a motivation to do so. One simple option is to count one extra multiplier when Queens are wenzels; two extras for Kings. This would not seriously upset the current bidding structure. On the other hand, players might prefer the following more finely granulated approach that restores base values 7 and 8 from older versions of Skat:

table P-3 — base values
GameWenzels
JacksQueensKings
Diamonds ♦987
Hearts ♥1098
Spades ♠11109
Clubs ♣121110
Grand242016
Nullunaffected

Here are the progressions of bidding values arising from base values 7 and 8, with the values new to type G Skat underscored:

11c Tournee. Here is a suggestion for players who admit the Tournee bid, where one or both of the cards of the skat are turned up to establish trump:

Observe the dual contrasts:

11d Ramsch. If nobody opens the bidding in a deal of Skat, a popular (but "unofficial") response is, instead of annuling the deal, to play a round of Ramsch. Played at Grand, the aim is to lose card-points in tricks. A possible rule is to have bidding starting high and working down, with the player bidding lowest selecting the wenzel rank (Jack, Queen, or King). That player is then rewarded if he took not more card-points than he bid; or penalized if he exceeded his bid.

11e Euchre. Another game where Jacks have strong trick-taking power is Euchre. In that game, a parallel rule change would allow the maker of trumps to declare the Bower rank as Queens or Kings instead. As a result, any one of the twelve picture cards could become the Right Bower.

11f Schafkopf. The related game Schafkopf provides much of the precedent for this suggestion. The term wenz is a standard term in that game, where the Jacks have a similar function. Several etymologies indicate that wenz is a shortened form of wenzel, which itself carries similar meaning elsewhere the card-playing world. Helpful terms.

Of the six kinds of bids in table P-2, only the last is recognized in standard Schafkopf rules; but the others are frequently mentioned throughout the Schafkopf literature as variations, although their names vary considerably. Standard Schafkopf rules also provide for Queens and Jacks to form one series of eight wenzels, Q♣ Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ J♣ J♠ J♥ J♦, but nothing similar is proposed here for Skat.

The related game Doppelkopf offers even more variations.

§12 Comment about Null. Except for Null, all the games of Skat (tables G-1, T-1, W-1, E-1) are played with Jacks being the highest (and sometimes only) trumps.

In Null, Jacks have no special significance, and there are never any trumps. The ranking within each suit is A-K-Q-J-T-9-8-7. This contrasts with Skat's non-Null games, where the ranking is A-T-K-Q-9-8-7 in plain suits, and in the non-wenzel portion of the trump suit. The critical difference is the position of the Ten, which is either below the picture cards, or above.

Wergin states that Skat's Null bid was derived from the Misere bid at Solo Whist, which uses a 52-card pack. (Many other trick-taking games have a similar bid.) In Misere and any other bid of Solo Whist, the cards within each suit rank A-K-Q-J-T-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2. Misere is played at no trump, and has nothing resembling wenzels. Because Skat uses only 32 cards, it omits the lowest five ranks. Otherwise, the Solo Whist Misere is unchanged in the Skat Null.

Unclear to the present author is why Null should remain different in this respect from all the other Skat bids, when it could easily be made more consistent.

An obvious rule for Skat would call for Null to be played at Grand, while a further rule would allow the Null bidder to select one of the four suits in order to extend the trumps to eleven cards. If the modest proposal of §11 is adopted, the Null bidder could have all the choices of table P-2. Even if Null were to be played with no trumps at all, the ranking within a suit ought to be A-T-K-Q-J-9-8-7.

If the Null bidder is allowed to declare a trump suit, a decision will be needed about base values and multipliers.