Basic Skat Strategy for Beginners

Skat Tips & Hints: Bidding and game play considerations.

Skat isn’t the type of game where you can lay out a straight-forward strategy and stick to your guns. It’s not like blackjack, where the numbers on each visible card determines every move you make. If it were, it would be so much easier!

But alas, no – it’s not that simple. Skat is a complex card game filled with unknown variables. Making the right choices is something that comes more with experience and educated guesses than anything else.

Basic Skat Card Game Strategies

The following tips are geared towards helping beginners and intermediate players recognize various situations and make the best decisions not on certainty, but on the most probable outcomes. We’ll cover bidding situations and game, both as a declarer and defender.

Skat Bidding Tactics

When it comes to bidding, there are many aspects to be considered. The more you play, the easier they’ll come. But to get you started…

1. Examine all options! Suits aren’t the only contracts. Always look for Grand first. These hands are your bread and butter, and can be easier to win than most players thinks. Also consider Nulls, and weigh your odds of Hand and Open play.

2. Don’t just judge how may tricks you can win, but how many you think you’ll lose. If it’s more than 4, be cautious. If 3 or less, consider playing Hand for the extra multiplier.

3. When bidding a Grand contract, playing Forehand can be critical. Count how many points you’re guaranteed to catch, including Jacks, Aces and 10s.

4. When bidding a Null contract, examine all your danger cards. It’s okay to have one danger card, like a low Jack, so long as you have something to protect it until you can sluff it off.

5. Never anticipate total help from the Skat. Odds are you might get one helpful card, not two. Play Hand whenever possible for the extra multiplier.

6. The largest benefit of taking the Skat is often not the cards that are in it, but those that you can throw in it as discards. Try to deplete an entire suit from your hand. By doing so, you can easily snag the Ace and maybe 10 of that suit with trump.

Tips for Skat Contractors (Solo)

1. Try to lay off your colors (non-trumps) first. Save the trumps for bigger points at the end. It’ snot worth running out of trumps early to catch 5-10 points.

2. Lead trumps as needed to draw out the rest. Start with a high trump you can catch, then a low trump to draw high ones, then another high to pull in the stragglers.

Strategies for Skat Defenders

1. Remember, you have a partner here. Work as a team!

2. Get the declarer playing in the middle. This way, if the first defender has the trick, the second defender can lay off points.

3. Play with the intent of forcing the declarer to use all of his trumps as early as possible, but save your Aces and 10s for the finish. With trumps depleted, gaining control with high cards to finish will net you all the big points at the end.

There’s much more to learn about this popular Canadian card game. Use the links below for additional information:

Want to learn even more about this fascinating card game? Check out the following links…

• How to Play Skat (Official Rules)
• Societal Variations of Skat
• More Ways to Play Skat
• History of Skat
• Mobile Skat Apps for iOS and Android
• Ways to Play Skat for Money
• Skat Clubs of Canada
• Skat Tournaments Schedule