Your Complete Guide to Pinochle: Setup, Gameplay, & Scoring

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Master the rules of this classic trick-taking game
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Pinochle is a card game where you make different combinations, or “melds,” of cards as well as win cards during the round to earn points. Even though Pinochle has been around since the early 1900s, it’s still tons of fun to play and has a lot of strategy. Pinochle may seem a little confusing at a glance, but the rules and scoring are easy and only take a few minutes to learn. Keep reading for everything you’ll need to know to start playing Pinochle so you can try it at your next game night.

Things You Should Know

  • Number of Players: 2–4
  • Materials Needed: Pinochle deck , pen and paper for scoring
  • Objective: Earn the most points by playing card combos called “melds” and by winning cards during each round.
Section 1 of 7:

Setup

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  1. Choose 2 decks of cards that have the same design on the back, and remove the 2s–8s of each suit. Keep the 2 sets of aces, kings, queens, jacks, 10s, and 9s so you have a 48-card Pinochle deck for your game. [1]
    • Alternatively, purchase a Pinochle deck that already has all the cards you need to start playing.
  2. Pinochle works best as a 2-player or a 4-player game with teams of 2. Shuffle the Pinochle deck and deal cards clockwise around the table, starting with the player to your left. Deal 3–4 cards at a time to each player until everyone has 12 cards in front of them. If you have any leftover cards, place them face-down in the middle of the table. [2]
    • If you’re playing in teams of 2, sit across from your partner. You cannot look at your teammates cards.
    • 2-player rules: After dealing out hands to each player, flip over the top card of the deck to reveal the “trump” suit, which is the most powerful suit for the rest of the round.
    • 3-player rules: Deal 18 cards to each player instead. Set 3 cards face-down in the middle of the table. These cards may be won by a player during the next part of the game. [3]
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Section 2 of 7:

Card Point Values

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  1. Melds are specific combinations of cards that earn points if you have them in your hand. During a 3- and 4-player game, you’ll count points from all of your melds before you play the cards in your hand—this informs how high your bid can be in the bidding portion of the game. In a 2-player match, you’ll be able to play a meld if you win a turn during the round (since 2-player Pinochle doesn't have a bidding round). There are 3 types of melds, and each card can only be used in 1 meld of each type. Some melds depend on the trump suit. The melds are: [4]
    • Type 1
      • Royal Marriage (K and Q in trump suit): 40 pts
      • Common Marriage (K and Q in non-trump suit): 20 pts
      • Dix (9 in trump suit): 10 pts
      • Bare Run (A, 10, K, Q, and J in trump): 150 pts
      • Run with extra king (A, 10, K, K, Q, and J in trump): 190 pts
      • Run with extra queen (A, 10, K, Q, Q, and J in trump): 190 pts
      • Run with extra marriage (A, 10, K, K, Q, Q, and J in trump): 230 pts
      • Double Run (A, A, 10, 10, K, K, Q, Q, J, and J in trump): 1,500 pts
    • Type 2
      • Jacks Around (1 J of each suit): 40 pts
      • Queens Around (1 Q of each suit): 60 pts
      • Kings Around (1 K of each suit): 80 pts
      • Aces Around (1 A of each suit): 100 pts
      • Double Jacks Around (2 J of each suit): 400 pts
      • Double Queens Around (2 Q of each suit): 600 pts
      • Double Kings Around (1 K of each suit): 800 pts
      • Double Aces Around (2 A of each suit): 1,000 pts
    • Type 3
      • Pinochle (1 jack of diamonds and 1 queen of spades): 40 pts
      • Double Pinochle (2 jacks of diamonds and 2 queens of spades): 300 pts

  2. A "trick" is a single turn during a round of Pinochle where each person plays 1 card. Someone wins the played cards each turn and adds them to a trick pile for scoring. After you play through all the cards in your hand, you’ll tally up points from the cards you won. [5]
    • Aces, 10s, and kings are all worth 10 points when they’re in your trick pile.
    • Queens, jacks, and 9s are worth 0 points.
    • There are a total of 240 points from winning tricks.
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Section 3 of 7:

Bidding

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  1. Count up the total number of melds you currently have in your hand and estimate how many points your hand is worth (in addition to your partner's). Use this number to decide how high or low you're willing to bid for the round. The player to the left of the dealer starts with a minimum bid of 250 points. Continue clockwise around the table either raising the bid in increments of 10, or passing. Once a player makes a bid and everyone else passes, the player with the highest bid wins.
    • 2-player rules: Skip the bidding phase of the game.
    • If you’re playing a 4-player game, you and your teammate make separate bids based on your individual hands. Don’t try to outbid your teammate because you may have trouble earning that many points during the round.
  2. The trump suit is the most powerful suit during a round of Pinochle. Look at the cards in your hand and look for the suit that you have with the most cards. State the suit out loud once you decide. [6]
  3. After you win the bid, your partner chooses 3 cards from their hand that will help you with your hand. Once you receive the 3 cards, choose 3 of your cards to give back to your partner. [7]
    • Pass cards in the trump suit first to make your partner’s hand more powerful. After that, then pass aces, 9s, or 10s. Try to avoid passing cards that are not the trump suit if you’re able to.
    • 3-player rules: If you’re the highest bidder, take the 3 cards in the middle of the table and add them to your hand. Then, select 3 cards from your hand to set into a trick pile to score at the end of the round.
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Section 4 of 7:

Making Melds

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  1. Check your hand for any possible melds that you have and lay them out in front of you for all the players to see. Each card can be used in multiple melds as long as they’re not of the same type. Tally up the combined points of your melds and write them down on a piece of paper. These points aren’t part of your score yet but will be added at the end of the round. After you count the points from melds, put the cards back in your hand. [8]
    • Example: If you lay out an ace of each suit as well as a king, a queen, a jack, a 10, and a 9 of the trump suit, you’d earn 250 points (100 for Aces Around and 150 for a Bare Run).
    • 2-player rules: Do not lay out your melds yet. Instead, you’ll have the opportunity to make a meld each time you win a trick.
Section 5 of 7:

Playing Tricks

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  1. Whoever made the highest bid (or the player that didn’t deal cards in a 2-player game) starts the first trick. Choose a card from your hand to lead the trick, and play it to the center of the table. Go clockwise around the table adding a card to the trick, playing a higher rank of the same suit if you’re able to. Once every player adds 1 card to the trick, the turn is over. [9]
    • Cards rank from highest to lowest A, 10, K, Q, J, and 9.
    • If you’re not able to play a card matching the lead suit of the trick, then you must play one in the trump suit if you have one. Otherwise, you’re able to play any card from your hand.
    • If you’re leading the trick, try to play the highest-ranked card in the trump suit you have to guarantee the win.
  2. Compare the rank of the cards that were played during the trick. If any trump cards were played, the one with the highest rank wins. If there aren’t any trump cards, then the highest-ranked card of the lead suit wins. Take all the cards played during the trick and place them face-down in a pile in front of you.
    • Example: Diamonds are trump. If the cards played in order are king of clubs, ace of clubs, 10 of diamonds, and 10 of clubs, then the 10 of diamonds will win because it’s the trump suit.
    • 2-player rules: After winning a trick, both players draw a card from the deck. Then, lay out a single meld and score the points. Keep the cards on the table until you play them during a trick. [10]
  3. Whoever won the last trick leads the first card of the next one. Continue playing through your hand until you run out of cards and end the round. [11]
    • If you win the last trick, add 10 points to your score.
    • 2-player rules: Once you run out of cards in the deck, pick up any melds you laid out. Continue playing tricks until you run out of cards, but do not score any more melds. [12]
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Section 6 of 7:

Scoring

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  1. Go through the trick pile for you (and your teammate) and count how many aces, 10s, and kings there are. Give yourself 10 points for each of these counter cards and add them to the score from your melds. [13]
    • In a 2-player game, the total point value is your final score for the round.
  2. If you’re the person or team that won the bid at the start of the round, compare your point total to the bid amount. If you met or exceeded your bid, then you get to keep all your points for the round. If you got fewer points than your bid, you score 0 points from melds and counter cards. Instead, subtract your bid amount from your total score.
    • If you’re not the player or team that placed a bid, you score points as long as you won 1 trick during the round.
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Section 7 of 7:

Winning the Game

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  1. The player to the left of the last dealer becomes the dealer for the next round. Collect all of the cards from the previous round and shuffle them together to form a new deck. Deal out 12 cards to each player, place bids, and continue playing the game. [14]
  2. At the end of each round, add the total you earned to your previous score. If you or your team ever reach 1,500 or more, you win the game! [15]
    • If all players or teams cross the point threshold during the same round, whoever placed the bid for the current round wins.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    If a player can not follow suit, don't they have to trump?
    Community Answer
    Yes, if they have trump. If they cannot follow suit or play trump, they can slough off any card they want to get ride of.
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  • Question
    What is a "round robin?"
    Community Answer
    A "Round Robin" is also known as "Marriages Around." It means you have a marriage of each suit in your meld.
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  • Question
    What is the score if I successfully shoot the moon in Pinochle?
    Community Answer
    Making good on your intention to Shoot the Moon leaves you with 275 points--240 from the counters in the deck, 10 bonus points for winning the final trick and an extra 25 on top for successfully taking all tricks.
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      Tips

      • There are many variations of Pinochle, so the rules may vary depending on who you’re playing with. Be sure to ask the other players if and how they’ve played in the past so you don’t get confused in the middle of a round.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.pagat.com/marriage/pinmain.html
      2. ↑ https://sthilarychurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/St-Hilary-House-Rules-PINOCHLE-v5.pdf
      3. ↑ https://www.pagat.com/marriage/pin3.html
      4. ↑ https://www.pagat.com/marriage/pinmain.html
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/Y7a-uZb7sI8?t=1318
      6. ↑ https://sthilarychurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/St-Hilary-House-Rules-PINOCHLE-v5.pdf
      7. ↑ https://pinochler.wordpress.com/
      8. ↑ https://www.catsatcards.com/Games/Pinochle.html
      9. ↑ https://www.trickstercards.com/home/help/HowToPlay.aspx?game=pinochle
      1. ↑ https://www.pagat.com/marriage/pin2hand.html
      2. ↑ https://sthilarychurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/St-Hilary-House-Rules-PINOCHLE-v5.pdf
      3. ↑ https://www.pagat.com/marriage/pin2hand.html
      4. ↑ https://sthilarychurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/St-Hilary-House-Rules-PINOCHLE-v5.pdf
      5. ↑ https://sthilarychurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/St-Hilary-House-Rules-PINOCHLE-v5.pdf
      6. ↑ https://www.pagat.com/marriage/pinmain.html

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      Pinochle is a fun card game played with two teams of two. The goal of the game is to be the first team to score 150 points. To play Pinochle, you’ll need a special Pinochle card deck. Alternatively, you can make your own by combining all of the 9s through aces cards from two standard decks of cards. Teammates sit across from one another, and one player deals first, with the deal moving clockwise each round. The dealer deals each player 12 cards in sets of 3. Then, the player to the left of the dealer can bid by saying how many points they think they can win based on their hand, or they can pass to the next player. If they decide to bid, they must bid at least 20 points. Then, the player to their left can either bid higher or pass. This continues around the table until every player except for one passes. Whoever made the highest bid gets to choose which suit is trump for that round. Then, that player’s teammate passes them three cards from their hand, and they pass three cards back to their teammate. Now players score the cards in their hands. Points are scored by forming melds with the cards, and different melds are worth different point values. An ace, 10, king, queen, and jack in the trump suit is a run and scores 15 points. A king and queen of the same suit is called a marriage and is worth 2 points, unless the king and queen are in the trump suit, in which case the marriage is worth 4 points. A 9 in the trump suit scores 1 point, an ace in each suit is worth 10 points, a king in each suit is worth 8 points, a queen in each suit is worth 6 points, and a jack in each suit is worth 4 points, and a queen of spades paired with a jack of diamonds is a Pinochle and worth 4 points. If players have 2 of any meld, the point values for those melds increase. Two runs are worth 150 points, 8 aces are worth 100 points, 8 Kings are worth 80 points, 8 queens are worth 60 points, 8 jacks are worth 40 points, and 2 Pinochles are worth 30 points. After players score their melds, the winner of the bid plays one card from their hand in the middle of the playing area. Then, the player to their left must play a card in that suit if they have one. If they don’t, they can play any card in their hand. Play continues around the table until each player has played a card. The player who played the highest card in the initial suit that was played wins the trick and collects the cards. However, if any players play a card in the trump suit, the highest card in that suit wins. Each ace, 10, and king a player wins in a trick is worth 1 point. Additionally, the player who wins the final tricks scores 1 extra point. Once all the cards have been played, each team adds up the total number of points they won from their melds and collected tricks. If the team who won the bid for that round didn’t score more points than they bid, they subtract their bid from their score for that round. After both teams have scored, a new round starts. The game continues until one team scores 150 points or more and wins! For tips on laying down melds and predicting scores, read on!

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