jack of hearts if he has the jack of diamonds in his hand. Sometimes he's also allowed to call the jack of spades or clubs if he has the two or three lower jacks in his hand. Some variants require that the picker call up before seeing the blind, and thus in this variant the picker is stuck without a partner if the jack of diamonds is in the blinds. In some variants, the picker calls the jack of clubs instead of the jack of diamonds—but typically the variant does not permit the picker to call down to the jack of spades. In some variants, if the picker has the jack of diamonds and wishes to play alone (cut-throat), the jack of diamonds must be kept in play and not buried. In a relatively new variant, the picker may call a non-trump ace if he has the jack of diamonds. As in the ace variations above, the picker must keep at least one card in the called suit. A difference from the typical ace variations is that the partner is usually not required to play the ace when that suit is played if they have additional cards in that suit. This is to maintain the intrigue associated with the "who's the partner" aspect of the game. If the picker does not have an ace they can call (an example would be five trump and an ace, king, seven of the same suit) they are considered "stuck" and must go alone. Scoring Calling sheepshead One variant allows the picker to call "sheepshead." This means that the picker believes he can take every trick. If he succeeds he receives twice the number of points for a trickless game, but if he misses a single trick (even one lacking points), he must pay twice the value his opponents would have paid him for a trickless hand. The picker is almost always required to play alone if he calls sheepshead. Because of this, it is generally applied only to the jacks variant, or cut-throat games. Sometimes the picker is not allowed to call sheepshead if he does not have the jack in five or six-handed games. Double on the bump If the picker/partner do not win, they are "bumped". The standard method of playing Sheepshead is that the picker/partner lose two times the points that opponents would lose in a similar loss. This may