Every hand of pinochle scores twice. After the auction each team lays down its meld (marriages, runs, pinochles, aces around), and then the same cards go back into play to win counters in tricks. Here it is the four-player partnership game where you and the computer player sitting opposite you are a team against the two on your left and right. The Rules menu has two versions, Double deck, which is the default, and Single + pass, the 48-card classic with a four-card exchange between partners. Changing it starts a new game.
In either version, four players form two partnerships, the highest bidder names trump, and each team adds its meld to the counters it wins in tricks. The first team to 500 wins, or to 150 in Single + pass.
Both versions use the same meld table, the same trick rules and the same partnerships. What changes is the deck and the numbers that follow from it:
| Double deck (default) | Single + pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Deck | 80 cards: four each of A, 10, K, Q, J in every suit | 48 cards: two each of A, 10, K, Q, J, 9 in every suit |
| Cards per player | 20 | 12 |
| Lowest bid | 50 | 25 |
| Passing | None | Partner passes 4 cards to the bidder, who passes 4 back |
| 9 of trump (dix) | No nines in the deck | 1 meld point each |
| Last trick | 2 points | 1 point |
| Counters in the whole deck | 50 | 25 |
| Game ends at | 500 | 150 |
All the cards are dealt, and the deal moves one seat around the table each hand. The player to the dealer's left bids first.
Bids rise by at least 1 point up to 60, and above 60, bids go up in steps of 5 (65, 70, 75 and so on) to a ceiling of 500. A player who passes is out of the auction for that hand, and the auction ends when only one bidder is left. If the first three players all pass without a bid, the dealer can't pass and has to take the hand at the minimum.
The winner of the auction names trump, and only a suit in which they hold a marriage, the King and Queen of that suit, qualifies, as noted in "Only suits containing your original K–Q marriage are legal." A bidder with no marriage at all can't name trump. The hand is over before a card is played, the bidding team loses the amount it bid, and the opponents score nothing for that hand.
In Single + pass, the bidder names trump first. Then the bidder's partner passes four cards across, and the bidder passes four back. Since trump is already fixed by then, the exchange can't supply the marriage the bidder needed to name it.
Next, every player's meld is worked out and laid out in the middle of the table, our team in one band and the opponents in the other, each meld named with its points. Read it, then press Begin play. The bidder leads the first trick.
| Meld | Cards | One | Two | Three | Four |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run | A, 10, K, Q, J of trump | 15 | 150 | 225 | 300 |
| Royal marriage | K, Q of trump | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 |
| Marriage | K, Q of one other suit | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Pinochle | Q♠ and J♦ | 4 | 30 | 60 | 90 |
| Aces around | one ace of each suit | 10 | 100 | 150 | 200 |
| Kings around | one king of each suit | 8 | 80 | 120 | 160 |
| Queens around | one queen of each suit | 6 | 60 | 90 | 120 |
| Jacks around | one jack of each suit | 4 | 40 | 60 | 80 |
| Dix (single deck only) | 9 of trump | 1 | 2 | — | — |
The single deck holds only two copies of each card, so it stops at the "Two" column. In the double deck the big jump is from one set to two, since an ace of each suit is worth 10, while all eight aces in one hand are worth 100.
Yes, one card may count in several different melds, though never twice in the same one. Take hearts as trump and these twelve cards: A♥ 10♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥, Q♠ J♦, Q♣ Q♦, A♣ A♦ A♠. They meld a run (15), a pinochle (4), aces around (10) and queens around (6), 35 in all. The Q♥ sits in both the run and the queens, the Q♠ in both the pinochle and the queens, and the A♥ in both the run and the aces.
A run already contains the royal marriage, so the K♥ Q♥ inside it are not scored a second time. Only a further K♥ Q♥ adds another 4.
Every suit ranks A, 10, K, Q, J, then 9 in single deck. When two identical cards fall on the same trick, the one played first stays ahead.
On each trick:
Each ace, ten and king captured in a trick is a counter worth 1 point, while queens, jacks and nines are worth nothing. The team that takes the last trick adds 2 points in double deck or 1 in single deck.
A team keeps its meld only if it takes at least one trick during the hand. The bidding team then adds its saved meld to its counters. If that total reaches the bid, both teams score their own meld plus counters. If it falls short, the bidding team is set and loses the full bid, while the defenders still score everything they saved. Three double-deck hands with a bid of 60:
| Bidding team | Defenders | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 36 meld + 28 counters = 64 | 12 meld + 22 counters | Bidders +64, defenders +34 |
| 36 meld + 20 counters = 56 | 12 meld + 30 counters | Bidders set, −60; defenders +42 |
| 36 meld + all 50 counters | 22 meld, no trick taken | Bidders +86, defenders 0 |
Totals can go below zero after a set.
The game ends when a team reaches 500 (150 in single deck). If both teams cross the line on the same hand, the bidding team wins if it made its bid, and the defenders win if the bid was set.
During the auction you see only your own cards, while your partner's meld appears after trump is named. So bid on the meld in your own hand plus a sensible share of the counters, and remember that every point of the bid has to come from meld you keep or counters you take. Check for a marriage before raising, because if you win the auction without one, the whole bid is lost without a card being played.
Trump length works for you twice. A run alone takes five trumps, A through J, and once play starts the same length lets you ruff the suits you are short in, which is how the bidding team wins the counters it still needs.
In double deck there are four of every card, and the first copy played stays ahead. When you are last to play and your partner's A♥ is winning, the heading rule no longer binds you, since no heart outranks an ace and a second ace wouldn't beat it, so drop the 10♥ or K♥ on it and give your team a counter. Against an opponent's winning ace, play your lowest heart instead.
As the bidder's partner, send cards that strengthen the hand that will play the contract, especially trumps, which help the run and the trump count, and aces. As the bidder, return cards that don't belong to any meld you plan to keep, and try not to break up a pinochle or a set of aces around to do it.
Bid a partnership contract, declare overlapping meld, then follow, trump, and head tricks in the mainstream double-deck game — or switch to the classic single-deck pass mode.
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