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
Pinochle may also be used. There is an increased possibility that when one team declares trump another team may have an equal number of trump also, which may lead to an interesting game. An optional scoring rule rewards 1,000 points for a quadruple pinochle—four jacks of diamonds and four queens of spades in a meld. Alternate end games One variation on winning allows a team or individual to win instantly from any score by taking all the tricks in a hand. To win in this fashion, the winning player or team must play very skillfully to prevent opposing players from taking