Pinochle Card Game

Pinochle uses a special pack of 48 cards, from Ace down to Nine in each suit, with each duplicated. The Ten ranks next to the Ace in value, so the cards run downward - A, A, 10, 10, K, K, Q, Q, J, J, 9, 9. From 12 to 16 cards are dealt to each player, according to the type of game.
From the cards dealt to their hand, a player can form combinations known as melds which he shows to the other players and by such declarations gains points toward his score.

A card can be used only once in a meld of its own type; but it can be used in a meld of another type. The following is an example:

After declaring the melds, the same cards are used in play, along with any that were not melded. In play, there is always a trump, so a card of that suit takes a trick when played on leads from other suits. Otherwise, the card of highest value in the lead suit takes the trick. If two identical cards are played on one trick, the one played first wins.

Whatever card the first player leads, the next player must follow suit. If unable to follow suit, a player must play a trump if he has one and the trump takes the trick, unless overtrumped by the next player. If unable to follow suit or trump, a player must throw on a card from another suit, which has no taking power.

However, whenever a trump is led, the next player must play a higher trump if he has one, and the next player must do the same, if he can. This is called heading the trick and is an important part of Pinochle play, as it enables a player to use low trumps to force out high trumps more rapidly.

The player who takes a trick leads to the next trick and this continues until the hand has been played.

A player is credited with points for winning specific cards. Each player looks through the tricks that he has taken and totals the number of points that he has, adding them to his meld for that deal, but with this important proviso: If a player fails to take a trick, he loses his meld for that deal and it is erased from his running score. Taking one lone trick is sufficient to save his meld, whether or not that trick contains a counter.

Play continues until at least one player surpasses 1000 points (unless otherwise specified in the Game Settings). The first player to surpass this score is the winner.

Three-Hand Pinochle

This is the simplest form of Pinochle and therefore is the best introduction to the game, as it is easy to follow and an excellent game in its own right.
Sixteen cards are dealt to each player. The dealer, however, turns up the final card of his hand and places it to one side to designate trump suit for that deal.

If the turned-up card is the Dix, or Nine of trumps, the dealer melds a preliminary 10 points for himself and takes the Dix into his hand. The player holding the other Dix also shows it and melds 10 points. If any other turmp is turned up, the player to the dealer's left can pick it up by discarding a Dix to replace it, melding 10 points in the process. That is, provided he has a Dix; if not, the privilege goes to the next player. Sometimes, the dealer holds both Nines of trumps, so he simply shows them, melding 10 for each Dix, and automatically taking the turned-up card for himself, in order to complete his hand. But if one of the other players picked up the turned-up trump, the dealer is forced to take up the discarded Dix.

Each player then makes regular melds, forming all the allowable combinations that he can by laying the necessary cards face up in front of him. These are duly recorded on the score sheet and the players take their melds back into their hands, ready for the play that follows.

Auction Pinochle

This is a three player game, where 15 cards are dealt to each player with three dealt aside as a widow.
The players look at their hands and either pass or bid the number of points which each thinks he can make in meld and play.

The player at the dealer's left starts the bidding and once a player has passed, he cannot bid again. Bidders, however, can raise each other as often as they wish.

No suit is specified during the bidding, as the highest bidder is allowed to name it afterward. Often the size of the bid has to do with his choice of suit; still more often, the widow is the important factor, as it goes to the successful bidder. Often, a player will bid beyond the hand's existing value in hope of filling some important meld from the widow.

When a player wins a bid, the widow is turned face up so all can see it. The bidder then adds the three cards to his hand and discards three other cards, face down. The three discards count as a trick for the bidder and thus any such counters discarded will count in the player's score. Additionally, the highest bidder does not need to take a trick to validate his meld, since the discards count as a trick.

Each player then makes regular melds, forming all the allowable combinations that he can by laying the necessary cards face up in front of him. These are duly recorded on the score sheet and the players take their melds back into their hands, ready for the play that follows.

Two-Hand Pinochle

This differs considerably from the other forms of Pinochle, being practically a game in itself. The melds are the same, but they are progressive and are made singly, during the course of play, which also has its own individual features.
The dealer deals twelve cards to each player. He turns up the next card and inserts it partly beneath the pack, which stays face down. The face up card is the trump, and if it is the Dix, Nine, the dealer promptly marks up 10 points as a start towards his score.

The non-dealer leads any card, and the opposing player plays any card he wants. He does not have to follow suit or trump at this point. The usual rule holds, however, as to taking the trick. The leader wins, unless a higher card in the suit led or a higher trump is played.

Whoever wins the trick can then meld if he has a suitable combination in his hand. Whether or not he melds, he draws the top card from the pack to bring his hand up to 12 cards. The other player does the same and the one who won the trick makes another lead. This continues, play by play, meld by meld, draw by draw.

Melded cards are left face up on the table, but they may be played at any time, instead of playing from the hand. This enables a player to hold onto cards needed for later melds.

If a player has a Dix, he may meld it by sliding it face up under the pack and picking up the trump card showing there. This is done with the second Dix, though in that case, the player merely has to show it, rather than exchange one Dix for the other. A Dix can be exchanged after a winning trick, and a single meld be put down at the same time. The last card drawn from the pack will be the face up Dix.

At that point, each player gathers up his meld and from there on, the play follows the standard pattern. Whatever the trick-winner leads, the other player must follow suit if he can. Otherwise, he must trump; if out of trumps, he can discard from any odd suit. Any trump lead must be overtrumped.

The hands are scored according to the Basic Rules.

Special rules apply to the melding in this game. Not only must they be made singly; a meld, to be valid, requires a new card from the hand to complete it.

Thus if a player melds four Kings for 80 and four Queens for 60, he cannot marry any of the Kings and Queens, so 140 is the limit of his meld. His proper course is to meld four Kings, 80; a Royal Marriage, 40; a Plain Marriage, 20; then another Plain Marriage, 20. He can then add the fourth Queen, 60; making a total of 220. Or if he has an odd King or Queen, he can use it to complete the last marriage.

The following is always allowable in the Two-Handed game. If a player makes a Royal Marriage, he can later add the A, 10, J of trump and score for the sequence. If, however, he melds the A, 10, K, Q, J first, which he may be forced to do when the draw is getting short, he cannot remove the K, Q from the sequence and declare it as a marriage later.

Generally, players are allowed to meld the Dix along with another meld. But in such a meld, the trump picked up by the Dix cannot be used until later. Also, when a Dix is exchanged for another trump, that trump can definitely be used immediately in a meld.

Four-Hand Pinochle

When four or more players participate in a game of Pinochle, partnership play is usually in order. This is not always the case. In the old days, four players often played a game of straight Pinochle, each on his own, and that game can still be played today. Each is dealt twelve cards, with the final card turned up as trump. Rules then followed the original Three-Hand game.
This sounds like a good, exciting game, which it sometimes is, but often isn't. There are times when it may be good, but not exciting; and in the opinion of some Pinochle enthusiasts a game that isn't exciting can't be good. With four individual players, each receives less cards than usual, hence the melds are proportionately smaller. The counters are divided among four players instead of only three. Both of these factors tend to slow the game. Thus a game can become a snail's race, in which one player merely manages to outcrawl the others, unless somebody is lucky enough to rack up a big meld somewhere along the line. In that case, the others have so much trouble catching up that the outcome is practically a foregone conclusion.

Partnership Pinochle

In contrast to that rather drab outlook, Four-Hand Pinochle can become a keen contest indeed when partnership play is introduced. Here, the players seated opposite become partners, combining their melds and counters, which combines the competition of the Two-Handed game with the fast play of Three-Handed Pinochle, with other elements as well.
Each player is dealt twelve cards and the final card is turned up for trump, as in Three-Hand Pinochle. The players seated opposite are partners, so each takes special note of the other's meld - and sometimes lack of meld - since this has a great bearing on the coming play.

Each melds as usual and the partners add their totals toward the team's meld. This, however, does not mean that they can interchange or combine their melds. Those must be kept strictly separate, so that the totals of the individual melds are added.

Play then proceeds as in Three-Hand Pinochle.

Since there are only two teams, scores pile up twice as fast as they would with four individual players and if one team suddenly forges ahead, a lucky meld by one of the opposing players can bring the rival team back into the game, particularly if they can take a big quota of counters as well.

Partnership Auction Pinochle

This is a popular outgrowth of Partnership Pinochle that has largely superseded the original game. However, melding, playing and scoring follow the original pattern. The big difference is that instead of turning up a card to designate the trump for that deal, the players, beginning at the dealer's left, bid for the privilege of naming trump, which goes to the highest bidder. His partner, of course, is committed to go along with him, just as in the basic game, their melds and counters being scored as a team. Whatever the amount bid, the team must make that many points or more - through meld and play - in order to score the total. If the team falls short of that mark, the amount of the bid is deducted from its score. The non-bidding team scores its meld and count in either case.
The game is usually put at the standard figure of 1,000 points and if the result is very close, the bidding team has a decided advantage during the final deal, as the bidding team's points are always counted first, so if it just barely tops the 1,000 mark, the bidders win, no matter how far over the opposing team's score may go.

Partnership Auction can be played with the additional bidding methods described below:

Unrestricted Auction
This is the standard Partnership game, but with no restrictions whatever as to the bidding, other than the fact that once a player has passed, he is out of the bidding.

Single Bid Partnership
Each player beginning at the dealer's left, either passes or makes a required minimum bid. Originally, the minimum was 100 and when played on that basis, the first bidder can use his bid to inform his partner how much meld he has. Each player receives only one opportunity to bid.

Firehouse Pinochle
This game calls for the team's first bidder to meet specific requirements at certain bidding levels. The minimum, 200 signifies a better then average playing hand with a meld of anything up to 60 points. A bid at the 250 level definitely means that the bidder holds Four Aces. The 300 level stands for a Sequence, warning the partner to let the bidder keep it, unless the partner has a Sequence of his own.
These are all initial bids, made by the first two players to the dealer's left, so that their respective partners can take it or leave it as they choose. Each player is only allowed one bid.

If nobody bids, as can happen when hands are all rather mediocre, the dealer must take the bid at 200.


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