Pinochle hand sizes, average scores and minimum bids are doubled. The game is played with a deck of 48 cards and four players; one player is the dealer. After the shuffle, the dealer will offer a cut to the player on their right, then distribute the cards. All the cards are dealt in partnership pinochle. In variations for odd numbers of players like three, a "widow's hand" (also called a "kitty", "talon", or "stock") of cards remain. Traditionally, the deal is done clockwise, dealing a packet of three or four cards at a time, starting with the player to the left
International Skat Court Until 1978 the German Skat Court had a three-member panel; from 1978 to 1990 it had five members and from the Reunification of Germany in 1990, seven members. From 1963 to 1990, East Germany had the Altenburg Skat Court. Today the Internationale Skat Court has nine members of which seven are chosen from the German Skat Congress and two by ISPA. The president of the court from 2002 until 2014 was Peter Luczak. His successors is Hans Braun. In cases of dispute over the rules of Skat the participants may appeal to the Skat Court who, after hearing the case,