The Bury
The bury is the cards the picker lays face down after taking the blind: two in three-, five- and six-handed games, and four in four-handed. The buried cards are out of play, nobody else sees them, and their points count for the picking side at the end of the hand.
Why there is a bury
Picking up the blind leaves the picker holding more cards than everyone else, eight instead of six at a five-handed table. Burying the same number puts the hands level again, and because the picker chooses what goes, the bury is the one moment in the hand when somebody gets to reshape their cards. It is a big part of why picking is worth the risk.
What you may bury
Any cards, in principle, trump and points included. The limits come from the partner rule:
- Call an ace. The picker calls before burying, and must keep at least one fail card of the called suit through the bury. If it is your only card of that suit, it stays in your hand.
- Call a ten. When the picker calls a ten because they hold all three fail aces, the ace of the called suit cannot be buried: it is held back to be played under on the first lead of that suit. See calling a ten.
- Card under. Where the table plays it, the picker lays one extra card face down for the called suit, separately from the bury. See card under.
- Jack of diamonds. Anything may go, including the J♦ itself. Bury it and you are alone, and you are the only person at the table who knows.
Whose points they are
The bury belongs to the picking side. At Sheepshead Club it counts for them in every hand, including a hand where the picking side takes no tricks (that hand still pays triple, as schwarz, because schwarz is about tricks, not points). Some tables only count the bury once the picking side has taken a trick. It almost never changes a result, but it is worth agreeing on.
An example
At a call-an-ace table, the picker holds these eight cards after taking the blind:
Q♠ J♣ J♥ A♦ 9♦ A♥ 10♠ 7♣
They call the ace of clubs, which they may do because they hold the 7♣ and not the A♣. Then they bury the A♥ and 10♠. That banks 21 points before the first card is led, leaves the picker with no hearts or spades, so they can trump either suit when it is led, and keeps the 7♣, which the call requires. The picking side now needs 40 more points from the 99 still in play.
Afterward
At a real table the bury stays face down until the hand is counted. Here, your own bury is shown to you in the replay of the hand afterward, along with the blind and the score.
The rules say what you may bury. Which cards you should bury is a strategy question, answered on what to bury.
Related
- What to bury: the strategy
- How picking works
- Calling a ten
- Card under
- Jack of diamonds
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.