'Ace, Ten, King' has become something of a mantra at our pinochle parties.įor the first round of a game, the players select a dealer in The (at first) unusual order of ranks can be remembered by chanting 'Ace, Ten, King' over and over, much as a beginning or infrequent dancer (such as myself) chants 'one, two, three' while learning to waltz. In the trick-taking phase of the game, the Aces, Tens, and Kings are worth points, and thus are called 'counters.' Queens, Jacks, and Nines are not worth points (although they can win tricks ), so they are called 'non-counters.' This is likely to be a stumbling block for many people however, if you are familiar with the bowers in Euchre or the strange role played by the Queen of Spades in Hearts, you should have no trouble with the transition. Note that the rank of cards differs from standard usage: the Ten outranks everything (within its suit) except the Ace. The deck consists of twelve cards in each of four suits - two in each of the ranks Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Jack, and Nine. My Family's Pinochle is played with a 48-card deck (there are variations). A common variation is to play cutthroat, where such passing of cards does not take place. The bidder incorporates those into the hand, then passes the same number of cards back. Racehorse means that, after the winning bidder has named trump, that player's partner passes cards across the table.One variation is that trump is determined by the final card dealt from the deck. The player winning the bid gets the right to name trump, but also has the responsibility to make sure the team earns the number of points bid. Auction means that the privilege of naming trump is bid for amongst the players.There are variations (notably in three-handed) where each player plays independently, and other variations where the player taking the bid has a partner based on which other player is holding a particular card. Partnership means that the four people are grouped in two teams of two.Two-handed and six-handed pinochle also exist, and I'm sure there are others (eight-handed comes to mind). I also play three-handed pinochle, and I've worked on developing a special deck for playing five-handed pinochle. Four-handed means that four people play at a time.There are variations on the game that use two or more decks, especially to accommodate more than four players. Single-deck means we use only one deck of Pinochle cards.For those not familiar with these terms, check out the list below: But before we get to the trick-taking phase of the game, I'll talk about the deck, how it's dealt, how bidding takes place, and all the other pieces of the game.įor those familiar with Pinochle terminology, My Family's Pinochle (MFP) is single-deck, four-handed, partnership, auction, racehorse Pinochle. Who wins each trick, and what that all means. Under Taking Tricks, I'll cover how you decide who leads each trick, how you decide Spades, and even the children's game War. Pinochle is a trick-taking game, like Euchre, Bridge, Hearts, Please send e-mail if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Additionally, I am working on a paper version of these rules (complete with illustrations!) that will be available for sale. Please write me with any comments, questions, or suggestions regarding this document. I have found Pinochle to be a wonderful game for playing in large groups, and it can be an excellent vehicle for social interaction if you play, as I do, not necessarily to win, but to have fun. I call this version 'My Family's Pinochle,' or MFP for short. In fact, nearly every aspect of the game is played differently by somebody, somewhere. I have been playing for many years since, and I greatly enjoy this opportunity to share my version of Pinochle with you all. My parents taught me to play Pinochle the summer before my sixth birthday. Note: There are other pages on this site for Double Deck Pinochle, Three Player Auction Pinochle and Two Handed Pinochle.

This page is based on David Dailey's rules, entitled Pinochle is for Fun!

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