The following are the possible ways to earn points in the Trick Taking phase: Each Ace, King, and 10 in tricks won is worth 1 point each. Players must also always play a higher card than the previous one played if possible. If they cannot do that also, they may play any card. If they can’t, then they must play a trump card. Going clockwise, players must follow suit of the lead card. The player who made the contract places the first lead card. In this phase, players place cards in the center of the table in hopes to outrank the others and take the trick. Points for each team are recorded on a scoring sheet and the Trick Taking phase begins. In the melding phase, players examine their hand to see if the have any of the following combinations:ĭouble Pinochle- Having two Pinochles is 30 points Points are earned in two phases: The Melding Phase and the Trick Taking Phase. Before gameplay begins, the team that made the contract trades 3 cards between each other. The bid that makes everyone pass is the contract for the game and the player who made it establishes which suit will be trump. The minimum bid is 20 and every player must either increase a previous bid or pass. Players make bids on how many points they believe their team can make in the round. Once every player has their cards, a round of bidding begins with the player to the left of the dealer and proceeds clockwise. The dealer then passes out 12 cards in sets of 3 clockwise to each of the 4 players. The initial dealer shuffles the deck and the player to their right cuts it. To do so, every player is given a card from a shuffled deck and who ever receives the highest card becomes the first dealer. Set Upīefore the game begins an initial dealer must be chosen.

If you are looking for cards to play Pinochle with, check out a standard pack here or one of our special Pinochle decks here. In Pinochle, cards are ranked as Aces (high), 10s, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and 9s.įor other melding or trick taking type games, see our guides for Rummy and Spades. Pinochle is played with 48 cards (two sets of 9s through Aces). The objective of the game is to be the first team to score 150 or more points. Pinochle is a melding and trick taking game played with two teams of 2. (A Queen of Spades and a Jack of Diamonds make a Pinochle) Card Game Rules

Pinochle cards