How to Deal Sheepshead
The dealer shuffles, the player on the dealer’s right usually cuts, and the cards go out clockwise starting on the dealer’s left. In five-handed play each player ends with six cards and two go face down in the middle as the blind. The player on the dealer’s left decides first whether to pick and always leads the first trick, and the deal passes one seat to the left after every hand.
A common pattern for five-handed
Many tables deal in packets: three cards to each player, two to the blind, then three more to each player. Others deal two at a time, or put the blind down last. Any pattern works if the table sticks to it. With a properly shuffled deck, the order the cards come off the top makes no difference to anyone’s chances, so the pattern is about habit and speed, not luck.
| Table | Each player gets | Blind |
|---|---|---|
| Three-handed | 10 | 2 |
| Four-handed | 7 | 4 |
| Five-handed | 6 | 2 |
| Six-handed | 6 (the dealer deals to the other five and sits out) | 2 |
Who picks first and who leads
- The chance to pick goes clockwise, starting on the dealer’s left. The dealer is offered the blind last.
- The first lead is made by the player on the dealer’s left, whoever picked. The picker does not lead the first trick unless they happen to sit there.
- After that, whoever wins a trick leads the next one.
Those two facts give the seats their character. The first seat decides with the least information but leads first; the dealer decides with the most information, having watched everyone else pass. That is why the dealer can pick lighter, which the when to pick page puts numbers on.
The deal moves left
After every hand, the next player to the left deals. At a six-handed table the dealer deals to the other five and sits that hand out, so everyone gets a turn off; see six-handed sheepshead.
Misdeals
A wrong count, or a card turned face up while dealing, is a misdeal at most tables, and the same dealer shuffles and deals again. Some published tournament rules treat any card the dealer turns over as an automatic misdeal. Whatever your table does, decide it before the first hand rather than in the middle of an argument.
Choosing the first dealer
Any fair way works. Many groups have everyone cut and the high card deals; others just start with whoever has the deck. After the first hand it rotates, so nobody keeps an edge.
Dealing online
At Sheepshead Club the whole deck is shuffled from a secret that is committed, as a hash, before any card is seen, and the hands are laid out from that shuffle. After the hand the secret is revealed, so anyone can check that the deal was not arranged; the fairness page shows how. There are no misdeals and nobody has to remember whose deal it is.
Related
- How many cards in sheepshead
- How picking works
- Six-handed sheepshead
- Provably fair deals
- Running a tournament
Play a hand
Sheepshead Club is free, with no ads and no account needed. Play a first hand with the coach beside you (about three minutes), or sit down at a table with computer players or real people.