Tippen Three Card Trick Game Review

Tippen is a three card trick game that originated in Germany in what is believed to be the early 1900’s. In various regions of the country the card game is known under different names such as Zwicken and Dreiblatt. Dreiblatt refers to the use of three cards per hand in the game where as another variation of it is Vierblatt which makes use of four cards per hand. In certain areas of Germany Tippen was considered to be illegal. There is also a similar game originating from Denmark called Trekort.

This three card trick game is believed to be related to an earlier card game called Loo. Loo is said to have originated in France in the 1800’s. The name of the game is a German word which directly translates into English as tapping. This is essentially one of the rules of the game as a player must tap on the table to indicate that they will not be passing.

The Rules to Playing Tippen

It is possible for two to ten players to play Tippen but traditionally the game is played with three to six players. If the game is played with a low number of players the number of cards played with are a deck of 32, while the more players who play will play with a deck of 52 cards with the ace being the highest valued card.

The game starts with the dealer placing three credits into the pot. The dealer then deals three cards facedown to each player. Once the cards are dealt the dealer turns the next card in the deck over for trumps. Play must then follow the suit of the trump card. If a player cannot follow suit he or she will need to trump if possible. It is however meant to be decided upon before the game starts as to whether trumping will be required.

A third of the Tippen pot is won with every winning trick and every player who has not won with Canadian Gambling, a trick at all must place three credits into the pot. During the hands that follow and if the pot contains more than just the dealers contribution, all players may pass by placing the cards they hold face down onto the table.

Variations of Tippen Three Card Trick

Just like many other popular card games, Tippen is also playable in different variations of the game and with rules that slightly differ. This is apparent with sniffing where the dealer announces his intent to sniff before he turns over the initial trump card. The dealer may then take that card and discard any of the held cards face down. The dealer will however have to place double the amount of the current pot if no trick is won but if the dealer passes after a sniff only the current value will have to be placed in the pot.

In the Hop and Jump version of Tippen the player seated in front of the dealer cuts the cards and shows the lowest valued card. If the card shown is either an ace or a seven the deal will pass on to the next player before play has occurred. The next dealer placed another three credits into the pot. In this version players are always allowed to pass.