Grobhäusern

Grobhäusern is a historical German vying game in which players bet and then compare their 4-card combinations. It is played by two to eight players using a 32-card piquet pack. The game was illegal in most places.

Scherwenzel is a form of Grobhäusern in which the Jacks or wenzels, and to some extent also the Nines, function as wildcards.

For the first phase each player is dealt 2 cards. Eldest hand is obliged to bet the minimal wager, then all other players in turn may either call or fold. Calling means to increase one's bet to the maximum bet so far, and folding means leaving the game and forfeiting one's bet. The last player who calls has the right to raise the stakes, starting a new round of calling or folding, etc. The first phase is over once everybody has called and nobody raises any more. The cards of those players who folded are shuffled together with the remaining stock.

For the slightly different second phase, each player is dealt 2 more cards for a total hand of 4 cards. First eldest hand, then the dealer (if still in play), then the player sitting in turn before the dealer etc. may raise the stakes and thereby start a new round of calling or folding. The second phase is over once everybody has called and nobody raises any more.

Once betting is over, all players display their cards, and the player with the best hand wins the pot. In descending order the possible combinations are

When there is a tie even after counting card-points, the player who sits earliest in the direction of play wins, starting with eldest hand.

In the event that nobody raises in the second phase, players do not show their cards. In this case all players who folded in the first round must raise their stakes retroactively and the pot is held in abeyance.

There is a variation in which the following is added as the highest combination.

The lowest Krikelkrakel consists of 7, 8, 9, 10, no two of them being of the same suit.

Scherwenzel is a variant of Grobhäusern in which the Jacks function as wildcards, called wenzels. The 9s are secondary wenzels. There is some indication that Scherwenzel, and possibly also Grobhäusern, could also be played with 5 cards.

As of the late 18th century, Grobhäusern was played in rural Upper Saxony, and Scherwenzel was played in rural areas of Germany, Poland, Silesia and Bohemia. The use of Jacks (and to a lesser extent 9s) as wildcards in Scherwenzel may be related to the elevation of Jacks (and to a lesser extent 9s) to trumps in various European card games. Adelung suggested that Scherwenzel is the origin of the designation wenzel for Jacks as highest trumps.

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Wikipedia