How to Play

Ramsli is a 19th-century European gambling trick-taking game for 3-6 players. Each player declares 'in' or 'out' after seeing their 5 cards; 'in' players must win at least one trick or pay 5 counters (bete) into the pot. Most tricks takes the pot.

Ramsli (also spelled Rams, Ramscheln, or Rammes) is a European trick-taking gambling card game from the 19th-century Alsace-Belgium border that has survived as a popular Austrian, Bavarian, and German Swiss pub game and as an ancestor of the American Rounce. The defining feature is the play-or-fold declaration: after seeing their 5 cards and the turned-up trump, each player announces whether they are 'in' (will play) or 'out' (folds the hand). Every player who stays in must win at least one trick; any player who plays but wins zero tricks is 'bete' and must pay a heavy penalty (typically 5 counters) into the pot, regardless of how many tricks the others won. Follow-suit and over-trump rules are strict. It is a short, high-tension gambling game with a clear chicken element: you can always fold for zero cost, but folding often hands a small pot to the player who stayed in. Traditionally played in pubs with counters or a modest stake, rounds last under a minute and tables stay active for hours.

Players

Ramsli works well for 3 to 6 players, best at 5. Two-player Ramsli is mechanically possible but loses most of its tension because the fold decision becomes trivial. Each player plays for themselves; there are no partnerships. The first dealer is chosen by high-card cut; the deal rotates clockwise.

Card Deck

Traditional Ramsli is played with a 32-card French or German-suited Piquet deck (remove all 2s through 6s from a standard pack). Cards rank within each suit, high to low: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7. Many modern groups play with a 52-card deck adapted: same rank order, Ace high. There are no card-point values in the base game; tricks are the only currency.

Objective

Each deal, win more tricks than any other active player to collect the pot. If you declare yourself 'in' and win zero tricks, you are bete and must pay a penalty equal to the current pot size (or a fixed amount like 5 counters) into the next round's pot. Over a session, the player who accumulates the most counters wins.

Setup and Deal

1. All players contribute an agreed ante (typically 1 counter or chip) to the central pot before the round begins.
2. The dealer shuffles the 32-card Piquet deck thoroughly; the player to the dealer's right cuts.
3. Deal 5 cards to each player, face-down, in two batches (3 + 2, or 2 + 3 depending on local tradition), clockwise.
4. Turn up the next card of the remaining stock; its suit is the trump suit for this deal. The turn-up stays face-up on top of the stock during play.
5. Each player examines their hand.
6. Starting with the player to the dealer's left, each player announces 'in' or 'out'. An 'in' declaration commits the player to play the hand; an 'out' declaration means the player folds their cards face-down and takes no part in the round. The dealer declares last.
7. Minimum one player must be 'in' (usually the dealer is forced to play if everyone else folds; house rule). If only one player is in, they automatically collect the pot without playing.
8. The first active player (the one closest to the dealer's left who declared 'in') leads the first trick.

Gameplay

1. Active players play a total of 5 tricks (one per card in hand). Inactive players (those who folded) sit out.
2. The lead player plays any one card face-up to the centre. Subsequent active players follow clockwise.
3. Strict follow-suit rule: If you hold a card of the led suit, you must play it. This is non-negotiable.
4. Must overtrump: If you are void of the led suit, you must play a trump if you hold one. If you hold more than one trump, you must play one higher than any trump already on the table ('overtrump'), if possible.
5. No trump, no led suit: If you are void of both the led suit and trump, you may play any card; it cannot win the trick.
6. Trick resolution: If any trumps are played, the highest trump wins. If no trumps are played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
7. The trick winner leads the next trick. Continue until all 5 tricks are played (all active players have emptied their hand).
8. At round end, each active player counts their tricks.

Scoring

• Trick majority: The active player with the most tricks collects the entire pot (antes plus any bete penalties from previous rounds).
• Tied for most: If two or more active players tie for most tricks, the pot is split evenly among them; any leftover counter stays in the pot for the next round.
• Bete penalty (zero tricks while 'in'): An active player who wins zero tricks must pay 5 counters (or the pot size, by house rule) into the next round's pot. This is the essence of the game and the main source of pot growth.
• Fold (out) has no cost: A player who declared 'out' pays nothing and wins nothing this round.
• Carry-over pot: If the pot is split with leftover counters, or if a player paid a bete, the extra counters enrich the next round's pot; the next round's antes add to the carry-over.
• General Rams / Grand Slam (optional): A player who announces 'General Rams' before the first trick and wins all 5 tricks triples the pot; but if they fail, they pay triple the pot in bete.

Winning

Ramsli is played as a session rather than to a fixed target. Players stay at the table until an agreed time or until a player runs out of counters. The session winner is the player with the most counters at the end of the evening. For a scored game, play until one player accumulates 30 or 50 counters; that player wins.

Common Variations

• Compulsory Ramsli: All players must play; no fold option. Pot grows faster and every round produces a guaranteed bete risk for weak hands.
• Ramsch (Skat variant): The name 'Ramsch' in Skat has largely overtaken 'Ramsli' in Germany; the Skat variant is played with Skat scoring rules (point card values) and is much more complex.
• General Rams / Grand Slam: A declaration before the first trick that you will win all 5 tricks; success triples the pot, failure triples the bete.
• Joker Ramsli: Add two Jokers as highest trumps; changes the play-or-fold balance.
• Double Penalty: Bete is doubled (10 counters instead of 5); forces more folding.
• Rounce (American variant): Deal 5 cards each, fold option, strict follow-suit, bete = 10 cents or equivalent. Once the dominant bar game in the American Midwest in the 1920s.
• Nap-Ramsli hybrid: Players may declare a specific trick target (2, 3, 4, or 5) for a scaled bonus. Rarely played outside strict hobbyist circles.

Tips and Strategy

• Stay in only with a realistic path to a trick. The bete penalty is severe. A rough guide: stay in if you hold at least one Ace, one top trump, or a combined length-plus-strength such as trump plus second-rank court. A hand with three low non-trumps and a 7 of trump is a fold.
• Count the 'in' declarations. If three players are in and you have a mediocre hand, folding is the safer play; each active opponent is a credible threat to your single trick. If only the dealer is in before you, folding may hand them a walk-over.
• Lead trumps when you are in with strong trump length. Two top trumps pulled out early clears two opposing trumps and leaves your remaining cards (Aces, Kings) free to win side tricks.
• Hold back a sole Ace for the middle of the round. An opening Ace is often trumped immediately; a saved Ace for trick 3 or 4, after some trumps have been pulled, is nearly always a winner.
• Strict overtrump helps you count. Since overtrump is mandatory, you can deduce opponents' voids: a player who discards when trump is led is out of trump. Track these discards.
• General Rams is a 5-trick certainty bet. Only announce General Rams with a five-card hand containing Ace of trump, one more top trump, and three Aces or Kings of side suits; otherwise the bete triples and wrecks your session.
• Know when to sit out the round. Folding is not a sign of weakness; it is the single most profitable decision on a bad deal. A 10% win rate at being 'in' pays for all your antes if you fold 90% of the time.

Glossary

• Ramsli / Rams / Ramscheln: Names for this gambling trick-taking game across Alsace, Austria, and Germany.
• In: Declaring you will play the hand (play-or-fold).
• Out / Fold: Declaring you will not play; your cards are set aside and you pay no penalty, but you win nothing.
• Bete: The penalty paid by a player who stayed in but won zero tricks; typically 5 counters.
• Ante: The counter each player pays to the pot at the start of each round.
• Pot: The central pool of counters, won by whichever player wins the most tricks.
• Overtrump: The mandatory rule to play a higher trump than any trump already in the trick, if you hold one.
• General Rams / Grand Slam: A declaration to win all 5 tricks in the hand; triples the pot on success, triples the bete on failure.
• Rounce: The American descendant of Ramsli, played in the Midwestern US in the early 20th century.