Glossary

Bummerl
pronounced [bʊmʌl]; in Schnapsen, a player’s objective is to win a Bummerl. The first player to score 7 game points wins a Bummerl. Typically, the game points are counted downwards, i.e. at the start of a Bummerl the score is 7-7 and the first player to 0 is the winner.

card points
All cards are worth a specific amount of card points: aces – 11 points, tens – 10 points, kings – 4 points, queens – 3 points, jacks – 2 points. During a single game, a player's objective is to be the first to score at least 66 card points with the tricks taken.

to close the deck
to flip over the turned-up trump card and continue play as if the deck was gone; no more cards may be taken from the remaining deck and suit must be followed. The player who closed the deck has to reach 66 card points before the opponent does.

to cut the deck
After shuffling the cards, the player that has not shuffled the cards cuts the deck by taking about half of the deck and placing the remaining cards on top of the cut-off half.

dead
A card is dead once it has been played; a suit is dead once no more cards of that suit are live.

expected value (EV)
in this context, the game points a player can expect to score over the long run by making a specific decision

to follow suit
If suit must be followed, the player has to take the trick by playing a higher card of the same suit as the card with which the opponent has led. If this is not possible, a lower ranking card of the same suit must be played. If this is not possible either, the player has to trump. If none of these actions can be performed, any card may be played.

game
a unit of play; during a game, a player's objective is to be the first to reach 66 card points with the tricks taken. A game consists of a maximum of ten tricks. The winner of a game is awarded a certain number of game points.

game points
The winner of a single game is awarded game points depending on the card points the opponent has scored during that game. If the opponent has 33 or more card points, the player is awarded one game point. If the opponent has less than 33 card points, the player scores 2 game points. If the opponent has failed to take a single trick, the player gets 3 game points. The first player to score 7 game points is the winner of a Bummerl.

to lead
to be the first player to play a card during a trick

live cards
set of cards consisting of the opponent's cards, the turned-up trump card, and the remaining cards in the deck

marriage
A player who is to lead and who holds both the K and Q of one suit may marry the two by playing one of the two cards and showing the other, while saying the number of card points the marriage is worth. Marriages are worth 20 card points except for the trump marriage, which is worth 40 card points. These points do not count as long as the player who has announced the marriage has not taken a trick.

trick
A trick is the smallest unit of play: one player leads, then the opponent plays a card. There are three ways to take a trick: First, if only a single trump card is played, the player who played the trump card takes the trick. Next, if both cards belong to the same suit, the person that plays the higher card takes the trick. Finally, if both cards are non-trump cards of different suits, the player that led takes the trick.

to trump
to take a trick by playing a trump card even though the opponent has led with a non-trump card

trump suit
The trump suit is determined by the face-up card in the middle of the table; if only one trump card gets played during a trick, the person playing that card automatically takes the trick.

volatility
measure of variability; higher volatility is associated with higher fluctuations