Pinochle is a trick-taking game for 4 players, playing in teams of 2. Derived from the game Bezique, players score points by trick-taking and by forming combinations of cards called melds. The first team to earn 1500 points wins the game (5000 for a double deck).
Each hand is played in 5 phases: bidding, card passing (optional), trump selection, melds and tricks. The first player to deal the cards is selected randomly. The dealer then moves clockwork to the next player on the left.
There are two types of Decks used to play Pinochle:
Single Deck
A Single Pinochle Deck includes 48 cards, consisting of 2 copies of each of the 9, 10, jack, queen, king and ace cards from all four suits. Pinochle follows a nonstandard card ordering. The cards ordering from highest to lowest is A, 10, K, Q, J, 9. 12 cards are dealt to each player at the start of each hand.
Double Deck
A Double Pinochle Deck includes 80 cards, consisting of 4 copies of each of the 10, jack, queen, king and ace cards from all four suits. The cards ordering from highest to lowest is A, 10, K, Q, J. 20 cards are dealt to each player at the start of each hand.
The Auction
The auction starts with the player to the left of the dealer. That player starts the bidding with a predetermined amount based on the number of cards exchanged. Players then have a choice of raising the bid or pass. The last player gets to select the trump and play the first trick.
During the auction phase of the game, players take turn bidding for the number of points they predict their hand could earn. The highest bidder gets the right to declare the trump suit, exchange cards with his partner and lead the first trick. As such, it is actually quite advantageous to win the bid.
Bidding
Bidding starts with the player to the left of the dealer. That player is obligated to bid a set amount based on the number of cards passed between the bid winner and his partner. The initial bid is 150 for no cards passed, 200 for 2 cards passed and 250 for 4 cards passed (300, 400 and 500 if playing with a double deck). Each player then takes turn either raising the bid or passing. The bids are raised by 10 points up to 600, then by 50 points. Once 3 players have passed, the remaining player wins the bid and gets to declare the trump suit.
Trump Selection
The bid winner declares the trump suit before the cards passing phase. Certain melds are only available for the trump suit and a card of the trump suit automatically beats cards of the other suits during the trick taking phase. As such, it is important to select the best suit. A suit containing aces, kings and queends (called marriages) and containing the most cards are usually the best choices.
Winning the Hand
In order for the winning bidder to win the hand, the combined total of melds and trick points must be greater than or equal to the winning bid.
Card Passing
In Pinochle, 0, 2 or 4 cards can be passed between the bid winner and his partner. His partner first selects cards from his hand and passes them to the bid winner. The bid winner then passes the same amount of cards back to his partner. The other team does not get to exchange any cards.
The winning bidder and his partner can optionaly exchange 2 or 4 cards once the trump suit has been declared. The partner of the bid winner goes first, passing cards to his partner. The objective for the partner is to either help increase the points melded or pass trick winning cards. After receiving the cards, the bid winner then selects the strongest hand and passes an equal amount of cards back to his partner.
Best Cards to Pass:
If your partner won the bid, the best cards to pass are:
- Trumps (except the 9 of trumps)
- Aces out of trump
- Half a Pinochle
- Half a Marriage
- Trumps (except the 9 of trumps)
- Aces out of trump
- Half a Pinochle
- Half a Marriage
Melds
Melds are combination of cards worth a predetermined number of points. Players take turn displaying their melds, starting with the bid winner. Once all melds have been counted, the trick taking phase of the game begins.
See Meld Score Guide
Trick Taking
During Trick Taking, players take turn playing one card from their hand. There are strict rules of play that limits which cards a player can play. Once all players have played a card, the winner of the trick collects the cards for his team. Aces, 10s and Kings are all worth 10 points with an additional 10 points for winning the last trick, for a total of 250 points for each hand. If playing with a double deck, the last trick is worth 20 points, for a total of 500.
Once all cards have been played, each team adds up theit tricks and melds. If the bid winner's team does not earn enough points to meet or beat their bid, they score no points and lose the amount bid. The other team earns their points. The game ends when one team has earned 1500 points or more.
In playing tricks, there are strict rules of play that must be followed. The bid winner leads the play with the first card, which can be any card in his hand. Players than take turn playing one card until 4 cards have been played. Every player must follow the lead suit if possible. A card of the trump suit will beat any non-trump cards. If 2 identical cards are played, the first one outranks the second. There are 2 optional sets of rules that determine which cards may be played, the Classic rules and the Modern rules.
Classic Rules
The classic rules, also known as pre-1945 rules are far more restrictive. Players must always play a winning card whenever possible, even if their partner is currently winning the hand or they expect another player to play a stronger card. The only exception is when the hand was trumped and the player has a card of the lead suit. In that case, he may play any card of the lead suit. If the player has no cards of the lead suit but has trumps, he must play a trump card even if it isn't strong enough to win the hand. If a player has no lead suit and no trump, then he may play any card in his hand.
Modern Rules
The Modern rules, also known as post-1945 and more lenient in which cards are allowed. The only case where a player must try to win the hand is if the lead suit was the trump suit. In that case, the players must try to win the hand if they can. If the player has no cards of the lead suit, he may play any cards in his hand.
Once all 4 cards have been played, the winner of the trick collects the cards for his team and leads the next hand.
Scoring
Scoring Tricks
Points are earned based on the tricks won during each hand. There are a total of 250 points available during each hand, 10 points for each Ace, 10 and King collected and an extra 10 points for winning the last trick. If playing with a double deck, the last trick is worth 20 points, for a total of 500 points. If after displaying their meld, the team needs more than 250 points to meet their bid, they have no way of winning the hand and "go set". The hand is not played in that case and they lose the amount of their bid. The other team still gets to score their own melds.
After the Hand
Once the hand is played, each team adds up their meld and trick points. If the bid winning team earns less than their bid, they "go set" and score no points. Their score is instead reduced by the amount of the bid. If on the other end, they make their bid, all their points earned are added to their team score. If the non-declaring team fails to earn points during the trick taking phase, they failed to save their meld and do not score any of the points they melded except for points melded for the dix, as 9 of trumps are said to save themselves.
Winning the Game
The game is won once one team earns more than 1500 points (5000 for a double deck). If both teams earn more than 1500 in the same hand, the declaring team wins regardless of the actual score.