This page discusses issues of strategy and tactics for beginners and more advanced players.
It would take a dedicated player in the neighboorhood of 16 million years to play them all. Skat IS the game to be enjoyed for a lifetime!
If you are not familiar with the rules of Skat, download the Macintosh tutorial first. DOS or Windows users, should view the text-only tutorial (Klicken Sie hier für deutschen Text) instead.
Now, test your skill with some examples from Joseph Wergin's, Wergin on Skat and Sheepshead (Wergin Distributing, Box 5584, Hilldale, Madison, WI 57305).
One of the most difficult problems facing any new Skat player is deciding whether or not a hand is strong enough to bid. Wergin's Power Count formula helps weight the odds in your favor. Check it out in this link.
Skat is one of the most strategic of all card games. In Skat as in Chess, timing is important. This hand illustrates the proper timing of leads when playing a game as soloist. About 75% of the time, the soloist's hand contains five trump and the odds favor a 4 - 2 division of the remaining trump cards. Thus, the Soloist must time trump leads properly in order to win the game. Consider the following example of bad timing and what could have been done better.
Forehand has won the bidding and declares clubs trump holding the following cards:Jacks: Club, Spade; Clubs: 10, Q, 8; Spade: A; Hearts: K, Q, 9; Diamond: A.
Middlehand's cards are:Jack: Diamond; Club: K; Spades: 10, K, 8; Hearts: 7; Diamonds: 10, Q, 9, 8
and rearhand holds:Jack: Heart; Clubs: A, 9, 7; Spades: 9, 7; Hearts: A, 10; Diamonds: K, 7.
Forehand leads the two black Jacks first, capturing the Diamond Jack, and the Club King, 9 and 7 in tricks (+10).
The third trick is:
Figuring that the Soloist probably held five trump, Middlehand (holding only two originally) guessed that her partner could win the third trick and smeared the 10 giving the defenders 21 points toward the 60 required to defeat the hand.
Rearhand then led the Heart Ace and 10 capturing the Soloist's Heart Queen and 9. Middlehand was forced to play the Heart 7 at Trick 4, but smeared the Diamond 10 on the fifth trick capturing 34 more points for the defense for a total of 55. The lead of the Heart Jack (the highest trump remaining) by Rearhand, captures the Soloist's Club Queen and his partner's Diamond Queen (or Spade King). Thus, the defenders have captured at least 63 points and the Soloist loses
This loss was not inevitable, however. The Soloist could have prevented it by recalling the odds and timing the trump leads correctly, as follows:
Recognize that the adverse trump are probably distributed 4-2 and take action to avoid a smear on the third trump lead. Play a small trump first:
At this point, the defensive partners have a total of 49 points toward the game, but the Soloist is in control from this point on. When Rearhand leads the Diamond King, Forehand regains the lead:
and re-leads another small trump:
The defenders now total 54 and Middlehand leads the Spade King to draw the Soloist's Ace and preserve the 10 for a victory:
But the Soloist now pulls the remaining outstanding trump with the lead of the Club Jack and wins all of the remaining tricks and the game.
Prohibiting the smears by Middlehand makes this work and leads to the following suggestion: The Soloist should time trump leads in such a way as to try to win the trick on the third trump lead. This way, given normal holdings, a smear is prevented and a win is more likely.
This example illustrates the proper timing of leads by defensive players.
Middlehand holds the following hand:Jacks: Club, Spade, Heart; Hearts: 10, Q, 8; Club: A; Spades: K, 8; Diamond: 9.
She wins the bidding and, with her six trump holding, declares, Hearts, Hand leaving the Skat untouched.
Forehand holds:Jacks: Diamond; Heart: K; Clubs: 9, 8, 7; Spades: A, 10, 9; Diamonds: A.
and Rearhand's cards look like:Hearts: A, 9, 7; Clubs: 10, K; Spades: Q, 7; Diamonds: 10, 8, 7.
Following the rule, "Short route, long suit," Forehand leads with the Spade Ace. The Soloist follows with the Spade 8 and Rearhand plays the Spade Queen.
Forehand then leads the Spade 10 with the result,
so that the defensive partners have 28 points. In general, when the Ace and 10 of a suit have dropped, the defense should switch to another suit. Forehand fails to do so in this case, continuing with Spades and playing the 9:
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The Defenders' total is now 38 points, but Middlehand has taken advantage of the repeat lead by voiding the Diamond suit. Forehand now realizes the situation and attempts to win with the Diamond Ace, but Middlehand (now void of Diamonds) trumps with a small Heart.
Middlehand then wins the remaining tricks and the game to the chagrin of the Defenders. What should have been the lead on the third trick? After the Ace and 10 of Spades had fallen, Forehand should immediately have switched to a new suit (Diamonds). With this lead, the results are:
so that the defense would have captured 49 points toward the 60 required to upset the hand. The Spade 9 could then be lead on the fourth trick. If the Soloist plays a low trump, as before, the partner's Heart Ace will bring the defender's total to 60.
The Skat contains:Club: Q; Diamond: Q
The moral here is, When the Ace and 10 of a suit have been played, the defenders should lead an Ace from another suit..
This section discusses issues of Strategy for more advanced Skat players.
This example is taken from the book, Das Grosse Skatvergnuegen by Frank Schettler and Guenter Kirschbach (Rosenheimer Verlag, 1989). Middlehand holds the following cards [Jacks: Spades, Hearts; Clubs: A, 10; Spades: A, 10, K, Q; Diamonds: A, 10] and, after winning the bidding, announces Grand Hand without hesitation. Who wouldn't?
Forehand leads with the Heart Ace and Middlehand trumps with the Heart Jack. Rearhand holds the following hand:Jacks: Clubs, Diamonds; Clubs: K, Q, 9, 8, 7; Hearts: 10, 7; Diamond: Q.
What card would you play? Most of us would drop the Heart 7 but the old Skat "Fox" sitting in Rearhand yields the Heart Ten with spectacular results.
Rearhand figured as follows: "Middlehand declared Grand Hand and must have strong cards including most of the Spades since I have none. My partner in Forehand holds the remaining Hearts. Middlehand holds only one more Jack, so if I can pull that and throw the lead to my partner, my partner can lead the Hearts and Middlehand will be defenseless. But, I must throw the lead to Forehand, which means sacrificing the Heart 10." Observe what happens now.
Middlehand leads with the Spade Ace trying to pull a Jack and even the trump holding. Rearhand trumps with the Diamond Jack and Forehand contributes the Spade 9,
Then,
Forehand then makes three Heart leads (Queen, 9, and 8). The Soloist must contribute at least 24 card points and Rearhand adds 10. These 37 card points plus the 28 won in the previous three tricks total 65 and defeat a strong Grand Hand contract. The Skat contains: Diamonds: 8, 7.
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This victory was made possible only by the sacrifice of the Heart 10 on the first trick. Failing to sacrifice the 10 would make it impossible to throw Forehand the lead and Middlehand would cruise to an easy victory.
An old Skat saying says, "Trump is the soul of the game." As in most card games, the Soloist selects a trump suit in which her or she holds an advantage. Skat offers another option, however. Because of the high scoring potential of playing without the top trumps, some spectacular plays revolve around games in which the Soloist holds only a few low trump cards or even none at all! Consider the following cards held by Forehand:Spades: A, 10, 9, 8; Hearts: A, 10, 8, 7; Diamonds: A, 7.
What to play here? Why not try a club game? Only in Skat can it pay to name as trump a suit in which one holds not a single card. Here's how. Pick up the Skat and discard the Spade and Heart 10s (for 20 points). Then lead the Aces. If they go through, you will have at least 61 points and a satisfying win when the defenders contribute the Spade or Heart King and Queen for 7 additional points.
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©1998, John W. Sell