Six-Handed Sheepshead
Six-handed sheepshead is played as a five-handed game with the dealer sitting out: the dealer deals six cards to each of the other five players and two to the blind, then sits that hand out. The deal moves left after every hand, so each player sits out one hand in six.
How it works
- Six players sit at the table. The dealer deals to the other five and does not play.
- The five playing seats play an ordinary five-handed hand: same blind, same bury, same partner rules, same scoring.
- The player on the dealer’s left is first to decide and leads first, as always.
- The deal passes left, and so does the sit-out.
The player sitting out
The dealer neither pays nor collects on the hand. At a real table, the sitting-out dealer should not look at anyone’s cards or the blind, and should not comment on the play. Published tournament rules treat looking at the blind as a penalty matter. Online that takes care of itself: the dealer simply sees the hand as a spectator would.
Why it is the tavern and tournament format
- The deal rotates through a break. Everyone gets a hand off to refill a drink, keep score or stretch, without stopping the game.
- Easier to fill. A room of players splits into tables of six more easily than tables of exactly five, and a sixth player arriving does not have to wait.
- Nothing about the play changes. It is the five-handed game everybody knows, so no extra rules are needed.
The tournament page covers running a room of six-handed tables, including scoring by net and fixed rounds of hands.
Scoring a night of six-handed
Every hand settles among the five who played. Over a full rotation each player sits out the same number of hands, so nets are comparable. If a night ends partway through a rotation, some players will have played one more hand than others; a tournament avoids that by dealing a number of hands divisible by six.
Other six-player games
Some groups deal all six players in instead, with smaller hands and their own partner rules. That is a different game with its own arithmetic, and it is not dealt here.
Play six-handed here
Sheepshead Club has a standing six-handed table, the Sixpack, where the dealer’s seat sits out each hand, and you can open a private table for six. Of the online sheepshead sites we have checked, it is the only one that deals six-handed; see where to play.
Related
- Five-handed sheepshead
- Four-handed sheepshead
- Running a tournament
- How to deal sheepshead
- All variants
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.