Skat (card game) each, then deal the "Skat", then four cards each, then three cards again (“three–"Skat"–four–three”). In four-player rounds, the dealer does not receive any cards and skips actual play of the round. He or she may peek into the hand of one other player (if allowed to do so) but never into the "Skat". Dealing rotates clockwise around the table, so that the player sitting to the left of the dealer will be dealer for the next round. After the cards have been dealt, and before the deal is played out, a bidding or auction () is held to decide: The
Skat (card game) tricks and players must agree whether a game lasts for a certain number of deals or until one player scores a certain number of game points. Scoring is similar to normal Skat. Skat in the United States and Canada was played for many years as an older version of the game, also known as "Tournee Skat", which shares most of its rules with its modern European counterpart with the addition of a few different games and an alternate system of scoring. "Tournee Skat" is declining in popularity. Most tournament Skat players in North America play the modern game described above.