How to playPinochle

1Object of the game

Be the first partnership to reach 1,500 points. You score in two ways each hand: meld, for special combinations of cards you show after the bidding, and counters, for aces, 10s and kings you win in tricks. The team that wins the bid must score at least as many points as it bid, meld plus counters, or it goes set and loses that amount.

2Setup

1. Use a pinochle deck of 48 cards: two copies each of A, 10, K, Q, J and 9 in all four suits. Partners sit across from each other.
2. Cards rank, from high to low: A, 10, K, Q, J, 9. Note that the 10 ranks above the king.
3. The dealer deals all 48 cards, 12 to each player, usually in packets of three or four, starting with the player on the dealer's left.
4. Bidding starts with the player to the dealer's left. The opening bid is at least 250, and each higher bid goes up by at least 10. Once you pass, you are out of the bidding for that hand. If the other three players all pass, the dealer is stuck with the bid at 250.
5. The winner of the bid (the declarer) names trump. The declarer's partner then passes four cards face down across the table, and the declarer passes four cards back.

3The play

1. All four players lay their meld face up. Each team adds up its meld and writes it down, then everyone picks their cards back up. A card can count in more than one meld only if the melds are of different types, like the Q♠ in both a marriage and a pinochle.
2. The declarer leads to the first trick. Play goes clockwise, and each player plays one card.
3. You must follow suit if you can. You must also try to beat the card currently winning the trick, even when that card is your partner's.
4. If you can't follow suit, you must play a trump if you have one (and beat any trump already played if you can). If you have neither the suit led nor a trump, play any card.
5. The highest trump wins the trick; if no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led wins. If two identical cards tie for highest, the one played first wins. The winner of each trick leads the next.

4End of a hand

After all 12 tricks are played, each team counts its counters: every ace, 10 and king it won is worth 10 points, and winning the last trick is worth another 10, for 250 points in all. The declaring team adds its meld to its counters. If the total equals or beats the bid, it scores the whole total; if not, it goes set and subtracts the bid from its score. The defending team scores its meld plus its counters, but only if it won at least one counter or the last trick; if it took nothing, its meld doesn't count. The deal then passes to the left.

5Scoring

Meld is scored once, right after the pass. Counters are scored after the tricks are played. The meld values below are the ones used in single-deck American pinochle.

The king and queen inside a run are not counted again as a royal marriage. A run with an extra king or an extra queen of trump scores 190, and a run with an extra royal marriage (A, 10, K, K, Q, Q, J) scores 230. There are 250 trick points in each hand: 24 counters at 10 each plus 10 for the last trick. Many older books score tricks as ace 11, 10 10, king 4, queen 3, jack 2, which also makes 250 with the last trick.

6Winning

The game goes to 1,500 points. The first team to reach it at the end of a hand wins. If both teams pass 1,500 on the same hand, the declaring team wins, whatever the exact scores. Because going set subtracts the full bid, a team can drop below zero, which is sometimes called being in the hole.

7A worked hand

8House rules

The rules above are the version most US players use. These are the variations you are most likely to run into; settle them before the first deal.

Two-player pinochle

Deal 12 cards each (in threes or fours), turn up the next card for trump, and stack the rest as the stock. After winning a trick you may meld, and a player holding the dix may swap it for the turned-up trump card for 10 points. The trick winner draws first from the stock, then the loser. Until the stock runs out you don't have to follow suit; after that you must follow, trump if you can't, and win the trick if you can. Tricks score ace 11, 10 10, king 4, queen 3, jack 2 and last trick 10. Bicycle plays to 1,000 and pagat.com to 1,200 (some play 1,500).

Double-deck pinochle

Widely played in the US: use 80 cards (four each of A, 10, K, Q, J, no 9s) and deal 20 to each of four players. Meld values are scaled down (for example, a run is 15 and aces around is 10), each ace, 10 and king taken is 1 point with 2 for the last trick (50 in all), the minimum bid is 50, and the game goes to 500.

Throwing in the hand

If the declarer sees no way to make the bid after the meld, pagat.com notes they may throw in the hand instead of playing it out. Groups differ on the exact penalty, so agree on it before you start.

Old-style counters

Some families score tricks as ace 11, 10 10, king 4, queen 3, jack 2, and last trick 10, as in Bicycle's two-player rules. The total is still 250 per hand.

Three-player auction pinochle

Each player plays alone. Deal 15 cards to each player and 3 to a kitty (widow) that goes to the high bidder. Bids start at 250 and go up in 10s, and the first player to 1,500 wins.

9Mistakes people make

• The 10 ranks above the king in pinochle. The order in each suit is A, 10, K, Q, J, 9.
• You must try to beat the winning card on every trick, even when your partner is the one winning it.
• The defending team's meld only counts if it wins at least one counter or the last trick.
• The K and Q inside a run don't also score as a royal marriage. A card can count in two melds only when they are different types, like a run and aces around.

10Playing better

• Bid on your meld plus a realistic estimate of trick points and what your partner's four passed cards are likely to add. Overbidding costs the full bid.
• When passing to a bidding partner, send aces and trump-suit cards, especially cards that fill their run. A 10 of trump is often the best card you can send.
• When you are the declarer, pass back cards that don't help your hand but can win tricks for your partner, such as off-suit aces.
• Lead aces early. An ace can only be beaten by a trump, so cash them before opponents run out of the suit.
• Count trumps. There are 12 in the deck, and knowing how many are left tells you when your long suit is safe.
• Play counters on tricks your partner is sure to win and play 9s and jacks on tricks the opponents will take.

Pinochle: questions people ask

How many cards are in a pinochle deck?

A pinochle deck has 48 cards: two copies each of the A, 10, K, Q, J and 9 in all four suits. There are no 2 through 8 cards. Double-deck pinochle uses 80 cards instead, with four copies each of A, 10, K, Q and J and no 9s.

How many cards do you deal in 4-player pinochle?

Deal all 48 cards, 12 to each player, usually in packets of three or four, starting with the player to the dealer's left. In double-deck pinochle each of the four players gets 20 cards. In two-player pinochle each player gets 12 and the rest form a stock.

What is a pinochle worth?

A pinochle, the queen of spades with the jack of diamonds, is worth 40 points of meld. A double pinochle, both queens of spades with both jacks of diamonds, is worth 300. The Q♠ in a pinochle can also count in a spade marriage, since the melds are different types.

What is the minimum bid in pinochle?

In single-deck partnership pinochle the opening bid is at least 250, and each new bid must be at least 10 higher. If the three players before the dealer all pass, the dealer is stuck with the bid at 250. In double-deck pinochle the minimum bid is usually 50.

Do you have to beat your partner's card in pinochle?

Yes, in standard partnership pinochle you must try to beat the card currently winning the trick, even if your partner played it. If you can follow suit with a higher card, you must. If you can't follow suit, you must trump, and beat any trump already played if you can.

What does it mean to go set in pinochle?

Going set means the declaring team did not reach its bid with meld plus trick points combined. The team scores nothing for the hand and subtracts the full bid from its running total. So a team that bid 400 and made only 380 loses 400 points.

How many points are in a hand of pinochle?

There are 250 trick points in each hand of single-deck pinochle: 24 counters (8 aces, 8 tens, 8 kings) at 10 points each, plus 10 for winning the last trick. Meld is extra and varies with the cards dealt, which is why bids often go well past 250.

Sources

Checked by Morgan Hale against the sources below. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.

1. Single Deck Pinochle (partnership auction), pagat.com. Read September 28, 2026.
2. Double Deck Pinochle, pagat.com. Read September 28, 2026.
3. Two-player Pinochle, pagat.com. Read September 28, 2026.
4. How to Play Pinochle, Bicycle Cards. Read September 28, 2026.

Also on the table: Euchre, Spades, Canasta, Hearts.