Editing Sheepshead (card game) (section)

===No picker===
Several different scenarios can occur if no one picks up the blind, including a forced pick, a Leaster, a Mittler, or a Doubler.

====Forced pick====
In this variant, the person on the end is required to pick the blind. This is sometimes offset by a "No Punish" rule, and statistics; if no one desired the blind, then there's a better chance that the blind has decent cards, unless the trump is evenly spread out.

====Leasters====
In a leaster, the person with the fewest points wins the hand. There is no partner, and the winner simply receives one point from every opponent in the game. The blind is set aside and normally given to the player who takes the last trick. House rules may allow the dealer to declare which trick is given the blind (e.g. the first trick, or the second, etc.). Another house rule may be to set the blind aside so it is not given to anyone. The blind is not viewed until after the hand is over.
* A common variant is to require a trick to win. In this variant, therefore, a player who takes every trick wins. As two further variants to this variant: (A) if a player takes a trick that has no points (all 7s 8s and 9s), and/or (B) a player wins by taking every trick—then, the winners gets points as if winning a "no trick" after picking up the blinds. 
* One variant used when playing with three players is: a player may win without taking a trick, and actually wins double in this situation.
* In the event of a tied score, no stakes are exchanged, and the game proceeds to the next hand.

====Mosters====
A variant of the leaster is the moster, which is played the same as a leaster, but after the hand is scored, the player who took the most points pays out (as if for a simple loss) to all the rest of the players.  Thus, in a five-player game, the affected player loses four points and the opponents get one each, unless the score is doubled by other means (cracking, etc.).  The exception is taking all of the tricks, which is still scored as a win by the player doing so.

====Mittlers (Middlers)====
An alternative to playing leasters or Mosters, the player who wins this “no picker” game has the median number (middle value) of points among the five players after the hand is scored.  Thus, the winner of the Mittler will have the third highest number of points.  There will be two players with higher points and two players with lower points.  If there is no clear middle value, no stakes are exchanged.  This game is also known as “Michigan Mediocre,” named by the Ann Arbor Sheepshead Society (AASS) that created this variant.

====Schneidster====
Another leaster alternative, which follows most of the rules for a leaster but is won by the player who gets closest to 30 points (Schneider) without going over. In the event of a tie, the round is considered a wash. This is a newer variant originating in clubs in [[Madison, Wisconsin]] in the late 2010's, where the last person in picking order chooses which no pick rule they would like to use. The Schneidster provides an alternative for players who have low trump and high fail which would loose most tricks in a normal hand but take tricks in a leaster.

====Doublers====
In a doubler, the cards are reshuffled and a new hand is dealt and played as normal. However, at the end of this redeal, the point values lost and gained are doubled.

====The pot====
Typically occurring with a leaster (and during cash games), one point is placed into a pot for the next hand. Then, if the picker wins the hand, he splits the pot with the partner (in a five handed game, the extra point goes to the picker such that he receives three and the partner receives a single point). However, if the picker loses the hand, the picker and partner must pay into the pot what they would have received.
 
*  In some games, the picker and partner double the pot when losing; in others, they simply add a single pot each time. Additionally, the picker and partner may take the entire pot on a win, or they may receive a single pot.
*  If the game ends before the pot is taken, or continues to build over several turns, the pot may be divided out to the individuals evenly. Alternately, showdowns may be played, where five cards are dealt one at a time to every player face side up. The best five-card poker hand then takes one or all of the pots.
*  If a new player joins a game with a pot (bringing a game from five to six-handed, etc.,) typically the pot is divided up, or the new player adds one point for every pot present.

====Schwanzers (Show Down)====
All players reveal their cards after everyone has passed a dealt hand to discover the loser who pays the table 1 point each. The blind is discarded.

In German, 'Schwänzer' means a truant or a hooky player. Truancy refers to a student being absent from school, and therefore uneducated. Thus, a Schwanzer occurs because at least one player is uneducated in how to pick in the game of sheepshead. 

The purpose of a Schwanzer, also known as a showdown, is to catch maurers without playing a leaster or another variant of a “no pick” situation. The loser is determined by the highest number of points in a hand. The Schwanzer points are scaled as follows: Queens = 3 points, Jacks = 2 points, Diamonds = 1 point.

For example, a hand with the Queen of spades (3 points), Jack of clubs (2 points), Ace of diamonds (1 point), 8 of diamonds (1 point), 10 of clubs (0 points), and 7 of spades (0 points) equals the Schwanzer point value of 7. (3+2+1+1)

If tied in points, the player with the most powerful trump loses. For example, a hand with the Queen of clubs (3 points) and Queen of diamonds (3 points) loses to the hand with Queen of spades (3 points), Jack of clubs (2 points) and the Ace of diamonds (1 point).