The Trick to Pinochle

Pinochle is played with a special pack of 48 cards; actually the Pinochle deck is two packs of 24 cards, because each card has a duplicate. The four standard suits each have six denominations that rank ace (high), ten, king, queen, jack, and nine (low).

Twelve cards are dealt, three or four at a time, to each player, and then the next card is turned up to determine the trump suit. The play begins immediately with the non-dealer first; thereafter the winner of each trick leads.

The higher trump card, or the higher card of the suit led when a trump is not played, wins the trick. If two identical cards fall on the same trick, the player making the lead wins the trick. There is no obligation to follow suit, and players may discard, trump, or follow suit as they please.

Every time a player takes a trick he may lay down one set from his hand, and then both players draw one card apiece from the pack to stock up; the trick winner drawing first.

Cards have been scored in one set may be used again in another, providing than the second set is not of the same class. Having melded a Royal Marriage, however, a player may lead or play one of his own set of cards on any trick, but once a card has been played on a trick, it cannot be used in a set.

The score for a set should be recorded as soon as it is laid on the table. Only one set may be laid down after each trick, and for new each set, at least one card must be played from the hand.

In addition to scoring by set, players also score by taking cards in tricks. For each ace a player takes scores eleven points; each ten, ten points; each king, four points; each queen, three points; each jack, two points. At the beginning of the game, the dealer scores ten points if the card he turns for trump is a nine.

At any time during the game, the player holding the nine of trumps is played as a set, another of it may be made at the same time.

After the 12th trick has been taken, only one card remains to be drawn. This is drawn by the winner of the trick, who must show the card to his opponent, and the opponent takes the faced trump card for his hand. The remainder of the deal is played under altered rules and is called the play-off.

During the play-off, players must follow suit and if a trump is led, play higher if they can. However if they cannot follow a non-trump lead, they must play a trump. After playing the last trick, players count their respective trick points and add the total to their set scores.