Tippen, also known as Dreiblatt, Drei Karten, Dreekort, Kleinpréférence or Labet, is an historical German 3-card, plain-trick game which was popular as a gambling game for three or more players. In Denmark essentially the same game was known as Trekort. It appears to be related to the English game of 3-Card Loo. It was banned as a gambling game in some places.
History and etymology
The game was described in 19th century anthologies and encyclopedias but appears related to 3-card Loo, which was already described in the 18th century. In some locations the game was illegal. In 1821, a very brief description of the game appears in Das neue Königliche l'Hombre as Drei Karten along with a variant called Loup or Wolf, described [|below]. Tippen is German for tapping and refers to the practice of players tapping on the table to indicate that they intend to "play" and not "pass" i.e. drop out of the current game. Dreiblatt or Drei Karten refers to the 3 cards each player is dealt. In an 1829 Danish game anthology a variant was described under the name Trekort.
Cards
Tippen is played with a 32-card Piquet pack. The suits are illustrated in the table below. Card ranking is: Ace > King > Queen > Jack > Ten > Nine > Eight > Seven.
Rules
The following rules are based on Grupp and Katira which are identical apart from the method of dealing and the penalty for taking no tricks.
Preliminaries
Three to five players play with a 32-card Piquet pack. The cards rank in the natural order - see above. Dealing and play are clockwise. Dealer pays 3 chips into the pot, shuffles, offers the cut to rearhand, deals 3 cards, one at a time, to each player, and turns the next card for trumps. Alternatively, he may deal 2 cards, one at a time, to each player and turn the next for trumps before dealing one more card each.
Bidding
Players now examine their hands, assess whether they can take at least one trick and bid to "play" or "pass". If they pass, they lay their cards face down on the table. If they want to play, they tippen i.e. tap their fingers on the table. If all pass, the next dealer also pays a stake, shuffles, offers the cut and redeals. If only one playertipps, he wins the pot, the dealer rotates and a new deal begins.
Exchanging
Each active player, beginning with forehand, may now exchange up to 3 cards, laying their discard face down; the dealer then gives theme the same number of cards from the talon.
Playing
, or the next active player sitting after the dealer in clockwise order, leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit; trump if unable and head the trick if possible. If unable to do any of those, they may discard any card.
Scoring
The aim is to win at least 2 of the 3 tricks. Each won trick is worth a third of the pot. Any active player who fails to win a single trick must pay a bête equivalent to the contents of the pot or the basic stake of 3 chips.
Variations
Sniffing or Knocking
Before turning over the trump card, the dealer may announce his intent to exchange or 'sniff' it by saying "I'll sniff" or by sniffing or knocking on the card. He then picks it up without revealing it, announces the trump suit, picks up his hand and then discards a card. A dealer who sniffs and then fails to take a trick pays a double stake. If he takes just one trick he pays a single stake.
Robbing
Any player who holds the seven of trumps may rob the open card. The player may wait until all opponents have decided whether to play.
Trick-play
The player who leads to the first trick must lead with a trump if possible, and the winner of the first trick must play the ace of trumps if possible.
Players
Although most sources cite three to five players, Pierer suggests the game is also playable by two or up to ten players. For larger numbers of players, a 52-card pack can be used.
Where the game was illegal under its name Dreiblatt, players sometimes played a variant with a hand of 4 cards. This was a game in its own right known variously as Vierblatt, Angehen or Mauscheln. Today, Mauscheln is common in Austria and south Germany, unlike Tippen which is not played in Austria, but still played in Germany.
Loup or Wolf
Loup or Wolf was a variant for up to 5 players in which each was dealt 6 cards. The dealer paid 6 chips to the pot, each trick won earning one chip unless a bête has been paid to the pot. The game is recorded in the 1821 and 1841 editions of Das Neue Königliche l'Hombre.
