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Free Online Games, board games, card games. Features: live opponents, game rooms, rankings, extensive stats, user profiles, contact lists, private messaging. Pinochle is a trick-taking game played with a 48 card deck. Pinochle players score points by forming combinations of cards into melds and also by traditional trick-taking. Thus, each pinochle hand is played in three phases: bidding, melds, and tricks.
Visit HotFiles@Winsite for more of the top downloads here at WinSite!This page has been put together from various sources, including information collected by John Hay, and contributions from Toby Thomas and Jim Davis.
Players and Cards
There are four players; partners sit across from each other.
The deck consists of 80 cards, containing A 10 K Q J in each of the four suits, and with four identical copies of each card. This deck can be formed by mixing together two normal Pinochle decks, having thrown out the nines, or from four regular 52 card decks from which you throw out all the numerals 2 to 9.
Idea of the Game
After the deal there is an auction in which players bid the number of points their team will try to win. Whoever bids highest has the privilege of choosing trumps and leading to the first trick. The object of the high bidder's team is to win at least as many points as the amount they bid. Points can be scored in two ways:
- by declaring and showing (melding) combinations of cards held in a players hand;
- by winning aces, tens and kings in tricks
Deal
Deal and play are clockwise. All the cards are dealt to the players, so that everyone has 20. Dealing practice varies; common methods are 4 cards at a time, 5 cards at a time, or 2 cards to each player, and the remainder 3 at a time.
Rank and Value of Cards
In each suit the cards rank, from highest to lowest, Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Jack. At the end of the play, each side counts the points they have taken in tricks. Each Ace, Ten and King is worth one point, and the team who win the last trick get an extra 2 points. Hence there are a total of 50 points available for tricks.
Meld
Points can be scored for certain combinations of cards in hand of one player. These combinations are called meld; they are displayed to the other players before the start of the trick play. Any meld can be single (just one of each card), double (two identical copies of each card), triple (three of each card) or quadruple (all four of each card).
There are three types of meld. Any particular card can only belong to one meld of each type. The point scores for meld are given in the following table:
| Type | Combination | Single | Double | Triple | Quadruple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type I Runs and Marriages | Run - Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Jack of trumps | 15 | 150 | 225 | 300 |
| Royal Marriage - King and Queen of trumps | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | |
| Marriage - Kings and Queen of the same suit, not trumps | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | |
| Note: A run in a suit other than trumps is not worth anything more than the marriage score for the king and queen. | |||||
| Type II - Pinochles | Pinochle - Jack of diamonds & Queen of spades | 4 | 30 | 60 | 90 |
Type III Arounds | Aces around - An Ace in each suit | 10 | 100 | 150 | 200 |
| Kings around - A King in each suit | 8 | 80 | 120 | 160 | |
| Queens around - A Queen in each suit | 6 | 60 | 90 | 120 | |
| Jacks around - A Jack in each suit | 4 | 40 | 60 | 80 | |
| Note: A set of tens is not worth anything in meld. | |||||
Example: with hearts as trump, the following hand:
A 10 K K K Q Q Jscores 87 for meld: a run (15), a royal marriage (4), a double marriage in spades (4), a pinochle (4) and double queens around (60). There is only one royal marriage as one king and one queen of hearts are already used for the run, and the remaining queen can only marry one of the remaining kings. Notice, however, that one of the queens of spades is simultaneously used in the spade marriage, the pinochle and the around - this is allowed because these melds are all of different types.
Q Q J
Q Q
A K K Q Q J J
The Bidding
The person to the left of the dealer bids first. The opening bid must be at least 50, but may be higher. You may bid by ones until you reach 60; bids above 60 must be multiples of 5 (65, 70, 75 etc.). Turn to bid proceeds clockwise. Each bid must be higher than the previous one, but a player who does not wish to bid can pass. If the first three players all pass, the dealer is forced to bid 50. Once you pass you cannot re-enter the bidding on a later turn. The bidding continues for as many rounds as necessary until three players have passed. Whoever wins the bid (bids highest) has the right to call trump and lead.
Calling Trump and Melding
The bidder now chooses the trump suit and announces what it is. It must be a suit in which the bidder holds at least a marriage. If the bidder does not have a marriage, the hand is not played; in this case the bidding side automatically lose the amount of their bid and neither side counts anything for meld.
Once trump is called all of the players lay their meld face up on the table. A combination must be entirely within one player's hand to count. Note also that you can count the same card in melds of different types (for example a queen of spades could be part of a marriage, a pinochle and a set of queens), but not in more than one meld of the same type (so a king and two queens does not count as two marriages). Partners add together the scores for their meld and this is written down on the score sheet.
The Play
The person who won the bid begins the play by leading to the first trick, and the others play in turn, clockwise. A trick consists of one card from each player and if it contains no trumps it is won by the highest card played of the suit led. If any trumps are played to the trick, then the highest trump wins, irrespective of any other cards in the trick. If there are two or more identical cards in a trick, the first of these cards which was played beats the others. The winner of a trick leads to the next.
When leading to a trick any card may be played. Each subsequent players must follow suit if they can and must crawl (this means that each player must play a card which is higher in rank than the winning card that has been played to the trick so far). A player who cannot crawl (i.e. does not have a high enough card of the suit led to beat the highest so far played to the trick) must follow suit in any case, with a card that will not win the trick.
Any player who does not have any cards of the suit that was led must trump. If someone has already trumped then later players who can follow suit may play any card of the suit led (no card of the led suit can beat a trump). If a trick has been trumped, subsequent players who do not have the led suit either must crawl in trump, that is beat the highest trump so far played. A player who cannot follow suit and cannot beat the highest trump so far played must still play a trump, even though this trump will not be high enough to win the trick.
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A player who has no card of the suit led and no trumps may play any card.
Scoring
When all the cards have been played, each team counts the points in the tricks they have won. If the bidding side took in meld and tricks at least as many points as they bid, then both teams add the points they made to their cumulative score.
If the bidding partnership does not 'make' the bid (i.e. their meld and trick points do not equal or surpass their bid), they have been 'set'. In this case they score nothing for their meld and tricks, and instead the amount of their bid is subtracted from their score. The non-bidding partners get to keep their meld and trick points.
If the bidding partners know that they cannot make the bid before play begins, they may call trump and throw in their hand. In this case they score nothing for their meld and their bid is subtracted from their score. The non-bidding partners add their meld points to their score. This allows the bidding partners to avoid losing the trick points to their opponents.
Bidding Systems
It is sensible to use the bids to convey information about what melds are held. In variations with card passing, bids can also be used to indicate what cards you would like your partner to pass. Details of bidding systems vary greatly, and there is no standard that I know of, so the systems below should be taken only as examples. If anyone would like to let me know about their preferred bidding systems, or systems that they regard as standard in some way, I would be happy to add them to this page.
The systems that are possible or sensible are clearly affected by the version of the rules that is in operation. For example some groups do not require the bids to be in multiples of 5 above 60. Some allow extra information to be given with the bid, not just a number. Some play with with exchanging of cards between partners (see below).
A common system, at least for bids up to 60, is to use skip bids to indicate meld and encourage your partner to make trumps. An opening bid of 50 shows a desire to make trumps. Opening 51 indicates that some aces are held in other suits. Opening 52 or more shows meld: 10 points for each point over 50 - so 52 shows 20 meld, 53 shows 30 meld, etc. Subsequent bidders can show meld by the number of points they skip. Bidding just 1 more than the previous bidder indicates that you want to make trump. Increasing the bid by 2 or more shows 10 meld for each point of increase. So if a player opens 52 (indicating 20 meld), the next player might bid 55 - 3 more than 52 showing 30 meld - and so on.
Here is another system, contributed by Jim Davis. This is for use in a game where any number from 50 up can be bid, and in which four cards are passed:
| 50 | ... | Opening Bid |
| 51 | ... | Not yet ready to 'Pass' |
| 52 | ... | I have some meld |
| 53 | ... | I have several parts of Pinochle (J's or Q's) |
| 55 | ... | I need Jacks of all suits |
| 54, 64, 74, etc. | ... | I need a Jack |
| 56, 66, 76, etc. | ... | I need a Queen |
| 58, 68, 78, etc. | ... | I need a King |
| 59, 69, 79, etc. | ... | I need a Ten |
| 60, 70, 80, etc. | ... | I need an Ace |
| Jump ahead to 66 | ... | I need Queens of all suits |
| Jump ahead to 80 or 88 | ... | I need Kings of all suits |
| Jump ahead to 100 | ... | I need Aces of all suits |
During the bidding process jump ahead to the next appropriate number that will give your partner a necessary clue as to what to pass if you were to win the bid. Notice that you have to be careful about the possible confusion between (say) 80 asking for an ace and 80 asking for all kings. If the bidding is in the low 70's and you want to ask for all kings, you should jump to 88 to make this clear. In this case 80, being the next available bid ending in '0', would be a request for an ace.
Variations
Double Deck Pinochle has apparently been played since the 1940's. Many different versions have developed, and there is no universally accepted standard. Here are some fairly widespread variations.
Variations in Bidding Procedure
Some players allow any number to be bid from 50 up. Some play that bids above 100 must be in multiples of 10.
Some play that the bidding goes around once only - each player has just one chance to speak. Some play that it goes around twice only (but if you pass the first time you cannot bid the second time).
Some players allow extra information to be given during the bidding - not just the numbers. This normally takes the form of information about meld held. It is generally agreed that it is illegal to direct attention to any particular suit.
Exchanging Cards and Choosing Trumps
A common variation allows cards to be exchanged between the partners on the bidding side. This usually happens immediately after the dealer has chosen trumps. It has the general effect of leading to higher melds and therefore higher bidding.The high bidder and partner must simultaneously pass three cards to each other face down across the table. They are not allowed to look at the cards passed to them before they have chosen and placed on the table the cards they are going to pass.
The rule requiring the bidder to have at least a marriage in the trump suit is not always followed. Some do not require a trump marriage at all. Some play that it is sufficient for the bidder to have a marriage after the exchange of cards.
Some play that other numbers of cards are passed - the number ranging from one to four depending on the variation.
Some play that the bidder's partner passes cards first. The bidder looks at these and then passes back an equal number of cards (possibly including some of the cards just received).
Some play that the exchange of cards occurs before the trump suit is announced. In that case the bidder may be allowed to suggest a suit in which she would like to receive cards (possibly different from the eventual trump suit).
Variations in scoring
- The cards are not played and the opponents score nothing.
- The cards are not played and the opponents score their meld (if it is at least 20).
- The cards are not played and the opponents score 25 for cards, plus their meld (if at least 20).
- The cards are not played and the opponents score 50 for cards, plus their meld (if at least 20).
- If trumps have been made, the cards are played and the opponents score as usual according to the tricks they win.
Variation contributed by Toby Thomas
Toby Thomas writes: 'My father-in-law, Clare Masek is 81 (Oct 96) and has played pinochle for over 70 years. It seems that he lives for pinochle and as of late we have been playing his brand of double partnership pinochle.'
The differences from the versions described above are as follows:
| Combination | Single | Double | Triple | Quadruple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type I - runs and marriages | ||||
| Run in trumps | 15 | 150 | 500 | --- |
| Royal Marriage | 4 | 30 | 60 | 240 |
| Ordinary Marriage | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Type II - pinochles | ||||
| Pinochle | 4 | 30 | 90 | 360 |
| Type III - arounds | ||||
| Aces around | 10 | 100 | 500 | --- |
| Kings around | 8 | 80 | 400 | --- |
| Queens around | 6 | 60 | 300 | --- |
| Jacks around | 4 | 40 | 200 | --- |
Free Pinochle Games
- A-10-K-K-Q-Q-J is worth 45 points (15 + 30)
- A-10-K-K-K-Q-Q-Q-J is worth 75 points (15 + 60)
- A-A-10-10-K-K-K-Q-Q-Q-J-J is worth 210 points (150 + 60)
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Other Double Deck Pinochle Web Sites
John Hay's Double Pinochle page contains rules and variations, and provided a lot of the source information for this page.
The Power Pinochle site has some useful resources for learning the game and a forum where bidding and playing strategy are discussed.
Here is an archive copy of Brad Wilson's former Double Pinochle page.
Pinochle rules from an archive copy of Chris Chapman's site.
Double Deck Pinochle Software and On Line Games
Free Canasis.com is an online pinochle site that offers the most variations of pinochle including both single deck and double deck styles, many of the variations described above, and the ability to customize rules. With a pleasing wooden theme and many other features, it is recommended you give Canasis a try.
The collection HOYLE Card Games for Windows or Mac OS X includes a Double Deck Pinochle program, along with many other popular card games.
The following sites offer on-line double deck Pinochle games:
- Mystic Island organises tournaments, including duplicate tournaments, leagues and ladders.
- PlayOK Online Games (formerly known as Kurnik)
- Marya's World of Card Games
WWW pages for other types of Pinochle
There are separate pages on this site for: