Pinochle rules

How a hand works

1. 1

   The pinochle deck

   48 cards: two each of A, 10, K, Q, J and 9 in every suit. Cards rank A (high), 10, K, Q, J, 9. Deal 12 cards each.

2. 2

   Bid

   Players bid how many points their team will score (meld plus counters). The high bidder names trump.

3. 3

   Meld

   Everyone lays out their meld combinations (see chart) to score them — the bidding team must still make its bid in tricks.

4. 4

   Play the tricks

   Follow suit and win the trick if you can; trump if you can't follow. When identical cards tie, the first one played wins.

5. 5

   Count counters

   Each Ace, 10 and King taken in tricks is 1 point, plus 1 for the last trick (25 in all).

Meld values

• Run (A 10 K Q J of trump)15
• Royal marriage (K Q of trump)4
• Marriage (K Q other suit)2
• Dix (9 of trump)1
• Aces / Kings / Queens / Jacks around10 / 8 / 6 / 4
• Pinochle (Q♠ + J♦)4
• Double pinochle30

If the bidding team doesn't make its bid, it loses the bid amount. Enter each partnership's hand points and Roundfello keeps the totals.

Winning tips

• Bid on meld you can see plus a share of the 25 counters.
• Pass your partner good trump if your table plays passing.
• Keep track of which Aces have been played.

Popular house rules

• Older scoring multiplies everything by 10 (Aces/10s 10, Kings/Queens 5; target 1,500).
• Many tables pass 3–4 cards between bidder and partner.
• Some tables need a marriage in trump to win the bid.