**Jass Tactics for Better Contract and Card Play** > Learn practical jass tactics for choosing a contract, counting card points, reading legal partner information and handling regional multipliers. Source: https://jasvel.org/tactics/ [Home](https://jasvel.org/) # What are the best jass tactics for contract and card play? Good jass tactics begin with the contract: identify where the points sit, then protect them through disciplined play. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## Why does the contract matter before the first trick? The contract matters because a trump suit contains 62 of the 152 card points in the pack. That concentration makes the contract the first major tactical decision, rather than a formality before card play begins. A sound choice identifies where the valuable cards sit and whether your side can reach them. A trump contract, Obenabe (the high-game contract) and Undenufe (the low-game contract) place strength in different parts of the deck. In a trump suit, the Under is the Puur, the strongest trump, and the nine is the Nell. The trump strength order is Puur, Nell, ace, king, Ober, ten, eight, seven, six. In plain suits, the order is ace, king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven, six. The point table gives that order a second dimension. The Puur is worth 20 card points and the Nell 14. The trump ace is worth 11 and the trump ten, also called the Banner, is worth 10. The remaining trump cards have smaller or no card values, but they can still control a trick. Strength and reward overlap, yet they are not identical. The practical assessment therefore goes beyond finding the suit with the best cards. A hand with powerful trumps may support a trump contract even when its plain suits are modest. A hand with high cards spread across suits may fit Obenabe better. A hand built around low cards may suit Undenufe, where the whole strength ladder is inverted. Use the detailed guide to [choosing the trump](https://jasvel.org/tactics/choosing-trump/) when you compare control, likely winners and the danger of allowing the other team to capture the important cards. The choice does not require perfect knowledge of every unseen card. It requires a credible plan for winning and protecting the cards that carry the contract’s value. Start by locating the 62 trump points when considering a trump contract. If your side has no realistic route to the Puur, Nell, ace or ten, an attractive-looking suit may still be a poor choice. If your hand and your partner’s likely support can protect those cards, a trump contract may be sound even when the lower cards appear unremarkable. A worked comparison helps. A hand with the Puur and ordinary plain cards has immediate control of the strongest trump, but still needs a plan for reaching the other trump points. A hand with several plain aces and tens may have more visible winners, yet those cards can be cut in a trump contract. The better contract depends on which set of winners your side can turn into completed tricks. ## How should you use the card-values table during play? The card-values table shows both how cards win tricks and how much those tricks are worth. Strength determines the winning card within the contract’s order. Card points determine the reward collected in the trick. Strong jass tactics keep those measures separate before choosing whether to win, lose, lead or preserve a card. The trump table explains why the trump suit deserves close attention. The Puur and Nell are unusually valuable, while the trump ace and ten add substantial weight. The plain-suit table uses a different distribution: the plain ace is worth 11, the ten 10, the king 4, the Ober 3 and the Under 2. Lower plain cards carry no card points. A plain-suit trick can therefore contain useful control without containing many points. Obenabe and Undenufe require a fresh reading of both order and value. Obenabe follows the high-card order, with the ace strongest and the ten followed by the eight in the strength ladder. Undenufe reverses the order: the six is strongest, then the seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king and ace. The six has 11 card points in Undenufe, while the ace has no card points. Each suit contains 38 card points in Obenabe and 38 in Undenufe. Equal totals do not make the contracts interchangeable. Obenabe rewards control from the high end of the suit, while Undenufe rewards control from the low end. A card that feels safe in one contract may be exposed in the other. Do not dismiss a zero-point card. A small card may win a trick, force an opponent to spend a winner, remove a dangerous card from a suit or give your partner an entry. A high-value card should not automatically be played at once either. Holding the card may protect it until opposing control has disappeared. The contract always places exactly 152 card points in the pack. Your side’s aim is not simply to take as many tricks as possible. Your aim is to collect the valuable contents of the tricks that your side can realistically win. The full [card-values reference](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) gives the precise table for checking that assessment. A useful calculation begins with the visible winners and then examines what can defeat them. An ace in a plain suit may be a likely winner, but a trump can capture the trick when a trump contract is in force. In Obenabe, an eight can be more valuable than a player’s habit suggests. In Undenufe, a six can take control while an ace sits at the bottom of the order. A side that wins several empty tricks may collect fewer points than a side that wins fewer tricks containing the Puur, Nell, aces and tens. Count the contents of the likely tricks before judging the strength of a play. *The trump suit is worth **62** of the pack’s **152** card points on its own — the Under alone is 20 and the Nell 14 — while each of the other three suits holds **30**. That imbalance is why the trump choice decides most rounds. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* *The trump suit as it is actually held: the Under (Puur) on the left beats the nine (Nell), and both beat the ace. Nothing else in the pack reorders itself like this, which is why the trump choice is the decision of the round. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What can your partner legally reveal during a hand? Your partner can reveal information through legal card choices, but not through private hints. A played card, a followed suit, an inability to follow suit and the timing of a lawful decision are visible to both teams. Comments, gestures, coded remarks and other signals outside the rules do not form part of sound jass tactics. Partnership play still provides substantial public information. When a player follows a suit, that player held the required suit at that point. When a player cannot follow, the missing suit becomes relevant. When a player wins or loses a trick with a visible card, the strength order helps you update the cards that may remain unseen. Legal information has limits. A low card does not prove that your partner lacks a higher card. The low card may preserve the higher card, avoid taking a trick with little value or keep an entry for later. A winning card does not prove that the player holds every lower card. The play describes one decision in one trick, not the complete shape of the hand. Your own card choices also communicate public information. Select a card that serves the current trick while remaining consistent with the contract and the cards already shown. Do not discard a valuable card solely to create an invented message. Your partner cannot rely on a private convention that the rules do not recognise, and the opposing team can observe the same play. [Partner play](https://jasvel.org/tactics/playing-with-a-partner/) works best when both players reason from the same facts: the contract, the strength order, cards already exposed, suits that players could follow and card points still available. Keep each inference proportional to its evidence. A player may be short in a suit after failing to follow, but that play does not establish the location of every missing winner. A worked example shows the distinction. If your partner fails to follow a suit, you can consider that suit less safe to lead to the partner and more likely to be useful for a later discard. You cannot conclude that your partner has the Puur, the Nell or another specific card unless the exposed cards and legal play establish that conclusion. The contract supplies context without revealing a complete plan. A side that chose trump may have strong control, or may have selected the least harmful available option. The choice gives information about incentives, not certainty. Consistent legal play lets partners build a shared picture without relying on prohibited signals. Read the visible record in layers. First note which suits players could follow. Then note which cards have been spent. Finally compare the remaining strength and card points with the contract’s objectives. That method gives your partner’s plays useful meaning without turning a possibility into a fact. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Where do beginners lose card points without noticing? Beginners often lose card points by winning the wrong trick, spending control too early or overlooking the value concentrated in the trump suit. Stronger play comes from tracking tricks and card points together. Each card choice should improve your side’s route to the remaining valuable cards. A common error is leading a high plain-suit card because it appears safe. In a trump contract, a plain ace is worth 11 and a plain ten is worth 10, but an opposing trump can cut the trick. The lead may therefore offer valuable cards to the other side. The visible cards and likely distribution still matter, yet the risk should be considered before the lead rather than after the trick is lost. Another error is using the Puur or Nell merely to win an empty trick. The Puur is worth 20 card points and the Nell 14, so each is more than an ordinary control card. Spending one may be correct when the play removes an opposing threat or protects a later winner. Spending one without a clear purpose may surrender the most valuable cards in the trump suit. Players also discard point cards too quickly when they cannot win the current trick. A losing ace or ten may be the least harmful discard, but that judgement depends on the entire trick. Check which cards the other players have exposed, who is likely to win and whether the discard leaves a dangerous suit available. A valuable card placed beneath a certain winner can become a direct gift. Obenabe creates a different set of habits. The ace leads the suit, and the eight carries 8 card points, so the eight deserves more respect than its position in ordinary card games may suggest. The ten is worth 10, the king 4, the Ober 3 and the Under 2. A player who counts only aces and tens can miss a meaningful part of the trick value. Undenufe demands an even sharper reset. The six is strongest, followed by the seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king and ace. The six is worth 11 card points, the ten 10 and the eight 8. The ace is weakest and carries no card points. Habitual high-card play can therefore hand control to the other side. The [beginner mistakes guide](https://jasvel.org/tactics/beginner-mistakes/) helps turn a lost hand into a specific review. Look for one missed decision. You may have failed to protect a valuable suit card, cashed a winner before removing opposing control or counted tricks without counting their contents. A deliberate loss can sometimes be correct. A low card may preserve a stronger entry, place the lead with your partner or force an opponent to reveal control. Do not chase every visible point immediately. Judge the current trick by the later position it creates. *The factor multiplies everything written that round — tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams. The left-hand table is the one most tables use and the one this app writes by default; the other two are just as real, so agree on the table before the first deal. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How should regional multipliers affect your contract choice? The multiplier affects the written result for the whole round, so the agreed table belongs in the contract decision. The common table, and the table the app writes by default, uses Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. The factor multiplies the whole written round for both teams: tricks, Weis (declared card combinations) and Stöck (a separate trump declaration). Regional practice uses more than one multiplier table. A widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant uses Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. Agree the table before assessing a hand, because players can otherwise make reasonable decisions from different scoring assumptions. The multiplier does not change the card points within a contract. A trump contract still places 62 card points in the trump suit and 152 card points in the pack. Obenabe and Undenufe still give each suit 38 card points. The factor changes the written result after the hand has been scored, including tricks, Weis and Stöck for both teams. A higher factor is not an automatic reason to choose a contract. The factor rewards a successful plan, but it does not repair a weak holding or make an unlikely route to the points reliable. Compare the hand’s actual control with the agreed factor. A strong fit may justify choosing a contract with a higher factor; a poor fit may make that same factor a poor tactical choice. Assess the hand in a consistent order: - Identify the contract’s strength order. - Locate its high-value cards in your hand. - Estimate which side can win the relevant tricks. - Check the agreed regional multiplier. - Choose the plan with the soundest route to points. Then play for the chosen plan. In a trump contract, protect access to the Puur, Nell, ace and ten. In Obenabe, preserve high-card control and account for the eight’s 8 card points. In Undenufe, reassess low cards because the six leads the ladder and carries 11 card points. A multiplier can make a close choice more consequential, but the underlying tactical test remains the same. The side must still win the cards that contain the points. A contract with a greater factor is valuable only when the hand and legal play provide a credible route to those points. Keep regional scoring separate from card-play assumptions. The common table is the app’s default, while the widely published and ascending variants use different factors. The contract’s strength order and card-value table remain the basis for play, but the agreed factor determines how the completed round is written for both teams. - [Choosing trump](https://jasvel.org/tactics/choosing-trump/) Choose the contract your hand can support: trump control, winning tricks, regional multipliers and useful Weis must point in the same direction. - [Playing with a partner](https://jasvel.org/tactics/playing-with-a-partner/) Jass partners communicate through legal card play, using the contract, suits, ranks and visible tricks rather than speech or secret signals. - [Beginner mistakes](https://jasvel.org/tactics/beginner-mistakes/) The costliest Jass mistakes involve trump strength, following suit, undertrumping, Weis procedure and the final round calculation. The short answer Choose the contract that gives your side the clearest route to valuable tricks, not simply the contract with the most attractive factor. Track strength and card points separately, use only information revealed by legal play, and apply the agreed multiplier to the whole written round. ## Questions ### What should I assess before selecting a Jass contract? Assess the contract’s strength order, the high-value cards in your hand and your side’s likely access to the important tricks. Then compare that plan with the agreed regional multiplier. A contract is attractive when your side can convert its control into card points. ### Why can the same card have a different tactical role in different contracts? Each contract changes the strength order and, in some cases, the card-point distribution. An ace leads in Obenabe but sits at the bottom in Undenufe. A card’s value therefore depends on both the contract and the cards already exposed. ### What does failing to follow suit tell the other players? Failing to follow shows that the player did not hold the required suit at that point in the hand. The play can guide later decisions, but it does not identify the player’s exact replacement card or prove where a particular winner is held. ### When is spending the Puur or Nell early sensible? Spending the Puur or Nell early can be sensible when the play removes opposing control, protects valuable cards or secures a trick containing important points. Using either card merely to win an empty trick may waste its strength and card value. ### Does the multiplier apply only to the team that chooses the contract? No. The agreed factor multiplies the whole written round for both teams. The multiplier applies to tricks, Weis and Stöck, not only to the side that chose the contract. ## Sources 1. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Choosing trump](https://jasvel.org/tactics/choosing-trump/) Choose the contract your hand can support: trump control, winning tricks, regional multipliers and useful Weis must point in the same direction. - [Playing with a partner](https://jasvel.org/tactics/playing-with-a-partner/) Jass partners communicate through legal card play, using the contract, suits, ranks and visible tricks rather than speech or secret signals. - [Schieben](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/) Schieben passes the contract choice from the forehand to the partner once, while the forehand remains responsible for leading the opening trick. - [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. - [Trumpf, Obenabe, Undenufe](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) The forehand selects a suit, Obenabe or Undenufe, and that contract fixes card strength, card values and the multiplier for the round. - [Stöck](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/) Stöck is the 20-point combination of the trump king and Ober in one hand, declared as you play the second card. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/tactics/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0).