Playok Pinochle
Pinochle Buddy - PlayOk Version 1.3 is a Windows program. Read below about how to remove it from your PC. It was created for Windows by Play Buddy. Additional info about Play Buddy can be found here. Oct 12, 2020 Pinochle is most often played using a deck of 48 cards. These include two of the same cards of each suit in the ranking of 'nine' to ace, which has the highest value in the game. The rules of the game will be the same whether you have 2, 3 or 4 players (though the number of decks required to accommodate each player will differ). Comments about PlayOK. Vent here about your bad partners, opponents, card splits, software or anything else pinochle related that drives you crazy! While standard Pinochle is a team game consisting of two teams of four players, a three-player variant, in which each player competes individually, is also popular. Unlike regular Pinochle, it uses a 'widow' of leftover cards. The widow may or may not be used in game play, depending on the exact three-handed Pinochle variant being played.
Pinochle Rules
Pinochle is a trick-taking and melding game popular in the United States. The game is derived from a variation of Bezaique and was brought to America by German immigrants. The name 'Pinochle' is a misspelling of the french word 'binochle' which means 'eyeglasses' or 'Two-eyes', referring to the meld 'Pinochle' which consists of a queen and a jack. Allegedly this refers to the fact that the game was originally played with a deck of cards where the queen of spades and jack of diamonds were depicted in profile, together showing two eyes. There are multiple variations of Pinochle in existence, each with differing rules and traditions, but the one on this site is a single-deck four handed partnership Pinochle. Pinochle is played with 4 players and a deck of 48 cards. The cards have two copies of each card rank and suit of ace (high), tens, king, queen, jack, and nines (low). note that unlike standard card games in Pinochle the tens are a high card, and will outrank the kings, queens, and jacks in trick taking. A single round in Pinochle consists of 6 phases.
By Masque Publishing. Aces around, dix or double pinochles. Score points by trick-taking and also by forming combinations of cards into melds. Your Gaming History.
- Dealing
- Bidding
- Exchanging
- Melding
- Trick-taking
- Scoring
Dealing
Pinochle is played in partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other at the table. The first dealer is chosen at random, but then dealership passes clockwise around the table. At the start of each round every player is dealt 12 cards. The player to the left of the dealer has first bid (see below).
Bidding
Once every player has been dealt 12 cards the auction begins. Here players bid the minimum number of points they believe their team can get during that round. The minimum bid is 250 points, and starts with the player to the left of the dealer. A player can either bid 10 or 20 points over the current bid, or pass. Once a player either passses or raises the bid the player on his left bids. A player that has passed on a bid is skipped and the player on his left bids instead. The last player not to pass wins the bid with the amount he last bid. If all players pass without bidding then the dealer makes the default bid of 250 points, and automatically wins the contract.
The winner of the bid has now won the right to:
- Declare the trump of the round
- Exchange 4 cards with his partner
- Lead the first trick
Winning the auction
The player who won the auction must declare the trump for that round.
Next, the partner of the winning player must select and pass over exactly 4 cards from his hand to the winning player. The winner must then pass 4 cards back to his partner. There is no restriction on which cards are passed, but partners cannot communicate or consult with each other when selecting cards to pass. Passing cards is not optional, and each player must pass 4 cards. However the winning player can give back the cards his partner passed to him if he so chooses. The team that lost the auction cannot exchange any cards that round.
Melding
All players will form melds from their hand for points. There are three classes of melds. A single card can be part of multiple melds in different classes, but can only be a member of a single meld in a given class. For example a queen of hearts can be a member of a 'Hearts marriage' (Class 1 meld), and a member of 'Queens around' (Class 3 meld), but cannot also be a member of 'Run' (Class 1 meld) since it already appears in the hearts marriage. The points for the melds presented are tallied up and added to the score of that team for the round. The game will automatically form the highest scoring combination of melds from your hand and present those.
Valid Melds
The following are valid melds in Pinochle, and their respective point values:
Class 1 melds:- Run: Ten to Ace, all 5 cards in the current trump suit (H11 H12 H13 H10 H14). Worth 150 points.
- Run + King: A run with an extra king in the trump suit. (H11 H12 H13 H13 H10 H14). Worth 190 points.
- Run + Queen: A run with an extra queen in the trump suit. (H11 H12 H12 H13 H10 H14). Worth 190 points.
- Run + Marriage: A run with an extra royal marriage. (H11 H12 H12 H13 H13 H10 H14). Worth 230 points.
- Double run: Two runs in the trump suit. (H11 H11 H12 H12 H13 H13 H10 H10 H14 H14). Worth 1500 points.
- Dix: The nine of a trump. (H9). Worth 10 points.
- Royal marriage: King and queen of the trump suit. (H12 H13). Worth 40 points.
- Common marriage (or [suit] marriage): King and queen out of trump. (S12 S13). Worth 20 points.
- Pinochle: Jack of diamonds and queen of spades. (D11 S12). Worth 40 points.
- Double pinochle: Both jacks of diamonds and both queens of spades. (D11 D11 S12 S12). Worth 300 points.
Class 3 melds:- Aces around: One ace of each suit. (H14 S14 D14 C14). Worth 100 points.
- Aces abound: All 8 aces. (H14 H14 S14 S14 D14 D14 C14 C14). Worth 1000 points.
- Kings around: One king of each suit. (H13 S13 D13 C13). Worth 80 points.
- Kings abound: All 8 kings. (H13 H13 S13 S13 D13 D13 C13 C13). Worth 800 points.
- Queens around: One queen of each suit. (H12 S12 D12 C12). Worth 60 points.
- Queens abound: All 8 queens. (H12 H12 S12 S12 D12 D12 C12 C12). Worth 600 points.
- Jacks around: One jack of each suit. (H11 S11 D11 C11). Worth 40 points.
- Jacks abound: All 8 jacks. (H11 H11 S11 S11 D11 D11 C11 C11). Worth 400 points.
Trick taking
Once melding concludes trick taking starts. The player who won the auction leads the first trick, and then the winner of each trick leads the next one. The player leading the trick can play any card they wish, but other players must follow the restrictions below:
- You must play a card in the same suit as the lead card.
- If you cannot play a card in suit, you must play a trump.
- If you can neither follow suit or play a trump then you can play any card you wish
- You must take the trick if doing so does not violate the above rules.
Playok Pinochle Backdoor
leads the trick with the queen of hearts H12. Lisa has neither hearts nor spades and so can play any card from her hand. You have the ace of hearts and ten of hearts H9 H10 H14. You must play either the Ten of hearts or the ace of hearts as they are both in suit and can beat the queen of hearts. Note that you must take the trick if you can even if your partner is currently winning the trick. Mike has no hearts but has a queen of spades S12. He must trump if able and thus takes the trick with his queen.The round ends when all 12 tricks have been taken.
Scoring
At the end of the round the players tally up their scores. Every ten (10), king, and ace collected as part of tricks is worth 10 points, as well as the last trick of the round. Thus a team can get a maximum of 250 points in the trick taking phase by getting all 8 tens, all 8 kings, all 8 aces, and the last trick of the round.
If a team is unable to get any points during the trick taking phase then they get no points that round, regardless of how many points they earned during melding. If the non bidding team gets at least 10 points (any ten, ace, king, or the last trick) during trick taking then their meld points and trick points are addded to their total score from previous rounds.
If the bidding team earns enough points from their melds and trick taking to match or exceed their bid then all their points are added to the total score. If they fail to meet their bid then they have 'gone set' and earn no points that round. In addition their bid is subtracted from their total score.
Voluntarily going set
If, after melding, the bidding team's bid is more than 250 points higher than their combined score they have gone set. The player who won the bid can at this moment throw in the hand. Doing this will cause them to go set, have their bid subtracted from their total score, the opposing team gets their melds added to their score, and the next round begins. The bidding team however can also choose to play the hand in the hopes of getting all 250 points avalible and causing their opponents to get 0 points for the round, somewhat lessening the damage. Teams can not throw in the hand under other conditions, if their bid is 250 points higher than their score or less they must play the hand.
Example:Bill won the bid at 330 points. After melding it is revealed that you and Bill only managed to get a combined 60 points. Since you can only get 250 points from the trick taking phase your team can never meet the 330 point bid, falling just short at 310 even if you get all the tricks. Bill decides that you cannot get all possible 250 points and throws in the hand. Your team loses 330 points and Mike and Lisa get whatever their melds are worth added to their total. The next round then begins. If Bill had so preferred he could have led the first trick and the round would have continued as normal.
Winning the game
The game is won when either team has a total score of 1500 or greater at the end of a round. If both teams cross the finish line in the same round then the team who currently holds the bid wins regardless of the actual point values.
Example 1: You and Bill end the round with 1500 points, while Mike and Lisa only have 1200 points. You and Bill win the game.
Example 2: You and Bill end the round with 1700 points, while Mike and Lisa have 1600 points. Mike is the bidding player this round. Mike and Lisa thus win the game.
Pinochle is a more advanced card game with points being scored from a melding phase and a trick-taking playing phase. Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play four player pinochle, followed by two player pinochle, below.
Four Player Pinochle Tutorial
Needed
48 card pinochle deck; four players; pen and paper for scorekeeping
Card Rank
Highest to lowest - Ace, 10, King, Queen, Jack, 9
Deal
Each player is dealt 12 cards in sets of 3 cards at a time.
Objective
The objective is to be the first team to score 150 points. Points are scored through the melding and playing phases.
Bidding
The player left of the dealer is first to bid. The minimum amount to bid is 20, or a player can pass on bidding. Bidding continues clockwise, with each player bidding higher than any previous bids or passing. Players can bid multiple times. A player wins the bid when all other players have passed.
Card Pass
The bid winner’s partner will pass three cards to his/her partner. The bid winner looks at the cards and then decides on three cards to pass back to his/her partner. No cards are passed between the team that did not win the bid.
The Meld
Players count the points in their hands. The points are as follows:
Trump Run (Ace, 10, King, Queen, Jack) = 15 points (2x = 150 points)
Trump 9 = 1 point
Trump Marriage (King and Queen) = 4 points
Non-Trump Marriage = 2 points
Ace in Each Suit = 10 points (2x = 100 points)
King in Each Suit = 8 points (2x = 80 points)
Queen in Each Suit = 6 points (2x = 60 points)
Jack in Each Suit = 4 points (2x = 40 points)
Pinochle (Queen of Spades and Jack of Diamonds) = 4 points (2x = 30 points)
Playing Phase
The bid winner plays the first card. Play moves clockwise, with each player having to play a card in the same suit that was led whenever possible. If a player cannot follow the lead suit, he/she has to play a trump suited card. If a player cannot follow the lead suit or play a trump suited card, he/she can play any card. Also, a player must beat the high card played if possible, even if the card is your partners.
The winner of the trick is the player who played the highest ranking trump card. If no trump suited cards were played, the winner of the trick is the player who played the highest ranking card in the lead suit.
Each Ace, 10, and King won in a trick counts for 1 point each. The team that wins the last trick receives an additional point.
Scoring
The points from the melding phase are added to the points from the playing phase.
Rules
If two cards of the same rank are played, the first card played wins the trick.
The non-bidding team must take at least one point during the playing phase, or else they lose any melded points for the round.
If a team does not make their bid, it is known as going set. If set, the team loses the amount of points bid.
If both teams go over 150 points in the same round, the bidding team wins the game even if the non-bidding team ends up with more overall points.
If a player is dealt a hand with five or more nines and no melds, the hand can be thrown in and re-dealt. The hand must be thrown in before bidding begins.
Two Player Pinochle Tutorial
Needed
48 card pinochle deck; two players, pen and paper for scorekeeping
Deal
Twelve cards are dealt to each player in sets of four cards. The top card of the remaining deck is flipped up and partially placed under the deck. The suit of the flipped up card is the trump suit for the round. If the dealer flips up a 9 from the deck, he/she is awarded 10 points.
Objective
The object of the game is to be the first player to score 1,000 points. Points are scored through melds and winning tricks that include aces, tens, kings, or queens.
Card Rank
Highest to lowest - Ace, 10, King, Queen, Jack, 9
Game Play
The round begins with the non-dealer playing the first card. The dealer will then play any card from his/her hand. The trick is won by the player who played the highest ranking trump suited card. If no trump suited card was played, the winner of the trick is the player who played the highest ranking card in the lead suit.
After a trick is won, the winning player is able to lay down a meld if he/she has one. The melds are listed below. After a meld is laid down, the points are awarded to the player of the meld. Although the meld is laid down, the cards in the meld can be played into a trick as if they were in the player’s hand.
Playok Hearts
After a meld is played, or if the winning player did not have a meld to play, the winner of the last trick will draw the top card of the deck, and the loser of the last trick will draw the next card to return their hands to 12 cards. The player that won the last trick will lead the next trick.
If a player has the 9 of trump, he/she is allowed to switch it with the flipped up card from the deck after winning a trick. A player that switches a 9 of trump is awarded 10 points. 10 points are also awarded to a player who melds a 9 of trump or plays a 9 of trump into a trick.
When the deck only has one card left face down and the trump card face up, the winner of the next trick takes the last card from the deck, and the loser of the trick takes the flipped up trump card. After the last cards are drawn, no more melds can be scored.
Pinochle Ok Pinochle
The last 12 cards are played for taking tricks only. On these last 12 tricks, a player has to follow the lead suit if possible, and obligated to win the trick if possible. The player that wins the last trick is awarded 10 points. Each player will count the number of aces and tens won, and are awarded 10 points for each. Each player will count the number of kings and queens won, and are awarded 5 points for each.
Meld Points
Trump Run (Ace, 10, King, Queen, Jack) = 150 points
Trump 9 = 10 point
Trump Marriage (King and Queen) = 40 points
Non-Trump Marriage = 20 points
4 Aces in Each Suit = 100 points (2x = 200 points)
4 Kings in Each Suit = 80 points (2x = 160 points)
4 Queens in Each Suit = 60 points (2x = 120 points)
4 Jacks in Each Suit = 40 points (2x = 80 points)
Pinochle (Queen of Spades and Jack of Diamonds) = 40 points (2x = 80 points)
Rules
Playok Dominoes
If the same card is played by both players, the first one played wins the trick.
Only one meld can be scored after a trick is won. When multiple melds are laid down together, another trick must be won before scoring an additional meld. For example, the queen of spades from a previously melded marriage, and a jack of diamonds currently being melded with four jacks can be combined to form a pinochle, but the player can only score the four jacks or the pinochle on the turn. The other is score upon winning another trick.
A card can be used for multiple melds if the melds are different. A queen of spades can be melded in a marriage, a sequence, a pinochle, and four queens. If a queen is played from a melded four queens, another queen cannot be added to the remaining three queens to score again. All four queens must be different to score again.
A player is not able to play a sequence, and then later take the points for the trump marriage contained within the sequence. A player is able to play a trump marriage, and later add the cards to make it a sequence in order to score for the marriage, and then later the sequence.