Dreiertarock is a 3-handed card game of the Austrian Tarock family. Although less popular than it once was, it is still played in Austria, especially in
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
, and in neighboring Slovenia. In 2013, it was one of five variants of Tarock game competed for in the International Piatnik Tarock Tournament (''Internationales Piatnik-Tarockturnier'') in Vienna. For a long time, three-handed variants of Tarock were played alongside the four-handed games and were very popular everywhere in Austria. They have since fallen behind in popularity which "is a pity because they are interesting variants which demand a high level of skill". They remain popular in Slovenia.
Aim
As the declarer, to score 36 points out of a total of 70 while maximising the game and bonus points. As the two defenders to prevent the declarer winning, while also seeking to earn bonus points.
Rules
The following rules are based on Mayr and Sedlaczek, except where stated:
Dealing
Eight cards are dealt to each player in anticlockwise order, beginning with
forehand
The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racket across one's body with the hand moving palm-first. In tennis, except in the context of the phrase ''forehand volley ...
; then 2 packets of 3 cards are placed, face down, on the table as the
talon
Talon or talons may refer to:
Science and technology
* Talon (anatomy), the claw of a bird of prey
* Brodifacoum, a rodenticide, also known as the brand Talon
* TALON (database), a database maintained by the US Air Force
* Talon, an anti-vehicle- ...
. Finally, another 8 cards are dealt to each player.
Bidding
Forehand
The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racket across one's body with the hand moving palm-first. In tennis, except in the context of the phrase ''forehand volley ...
announces ''"Einser"'' ("one-er") or ''"Weiter!"'' ("pass"). Rearhand can pass or raise this to a ''"Zweier"'' ("two-er"). Further bids of ''Dreier'', ''Vierer'' and ''Fünfer'' may be announced, each raising the game value by one increment. The bids must follow in sequence without any being skipped. Moreover, a player who has been overbid must either 'pass' (''Weiter'') or 'hold' (''ich halte''). If they hold, they are offering to play the game at the same value and have priority unless they are, in turn, overbid. So a typical sequence is: ''Einser'' - ''Zweier'' - ''Weiter'' - ''Ich halte'' - ''Weiter''. In the case of an ''Einser'', ''Zweier'', etc, the winner of the auction, the declarer, may go on to make use of the talon. To do this, both packets of the talon are turned over and laid face up so that all cards are visible. The declarer then picks up one of the two packets and adds it to his hand before discarding three cards of his choice. He then plays as a soloist against the other two players.
If a player feels he has a particularly strong hand, he may bid for a ''Solo'' or ''Solo Valat''. He must do so at the first opportunity during the bidding. A ''Solo'' is an undertaking to win the game without using the talon and outranks the ''Einser'', ''Zweier'', etc. announcements. A ''Solo Valat'' is an undertaking to win every trick without the talon - in effect a slam.
The final phase of bidding is where various bonuses may be announced (see Scoring).
Playing
Forehand leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit ('' Farbzwang'') or trump ('' Tarockzwang''), but do not have to play to win each trick (i.e. there is no ''
Stechzwang
A trick-taking game is a card or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of such g ...
Card points are totalled in the normal way for Tarock games i.e. the cards won are grouped in threes. Each packet of three cards is totted up and 2 card points subtracted. The totals are added to work out the score. A player must score at least 35 points + 2 ''Blatt'' to win i.e. 35 and 2/3, which is then rounded up to 36. See scoring in Königrufen.
Game values and bonuses
The game values and bonus points (reckoned in cents) are as follows:
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
* Kastner, Hugo and Gerald Kador Folkvord (2005). ''Die große Humboldt-Enzyklopädie der Kartenspiele''. Humboldt, Baden-Baden, pp. 246-248. .
* Mayr, Wolfgang and