Double Deck Pinochle
Free double deck partnership pinochle against the computer: 80 cards, 20 each, you and your partner against West and East. Bid from 50, name trump, meld and take tricks. No sign-up.
You won the bid. Choose trump:
Meld
Hand result
How to play here
- Bid. Use − and + to set your bid (by ones up to 60, then by fives) and press Bid, or Pass. Hint estimates what your hand is worth.
- Name trump if you win the bid. You can only choose a suit in which you hold a marriage; each button shows your meld with that suit as trump.
- Meld. The game finds and shows everyone’s meld. Press Play the hand, or Throw in if you are the bidder and cannot make it.
- Play 20 tricks. Tap a card to play it. Cards you may play are raised; your 20 cards are shown in two rows on a phone.
Double deck pinochle rules
Four players in two partnerships. The deck has 80 cards: four copies of A, 10, K, Q and J in each suit (no nines), ranking A, 10, K, Q, J. Everyone gets 20 cards. Bidding starts at 50, goes up by one to 60 and then by fives; a player who passes is out, and if the first three players pass the dealer must bid 50. The high bidder names trump, which must be a suit in which the bidder holds a marriage, and leads the first trick. There is no passing of cards.
The play follows the strict pinochle rules: follow suit and beat the winning card if you can; if you cannot follow suit you must trump, and overtrump if you can. Between identical cards the first one played wins. Aces, tens and kings are worth 1 point each and the last trick 2, so every hand holds 50 points in tricks. If the bidding team’s meld plus trick points reach the bid, both teams score what they made; if not, the bidding team goes set and loses the amount of its bid. The bidder may throw in after the meld: the bid is lost and the other team scores its meld. The first team to 500 wins.
Double deck meld values
| Meld | Single | Double | Triple | Quadruple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trump (class I) | ||||
| Run (A, 10, K, Q, J of trump) | 15 | 150 | 225 | 300 |
| Royal marriage (K and Q of trump) | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 |
| Marriage (K and Q of another suit) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Pinochles (class II) | ||||
| Pinochle (Q♠ and J♦) | 4 | 30 | 60 | 90 |
| Arounds (class III) | ||||
| Aces around | 10 | 100 | 150 | 200 |
| Kings around | 8 | 80 | 120 | 160 |
| Queens around | 6 | 60 | 90 | 120 |
| Jacks around | 4 | 40 | 60 | 80 |
A card can count in melds of different classes (the queen of spades in a marriage, a pinochle and queens around), but only once within a class. For the single deck game, see classic pinochle and the pinochle rules.
Questions
How many cards are in double deck pinochle?
80: four copies each of the ace, ten, king, queen and jack in every suit, with no nines. Each of the four players gets 20 cards.
What is the minimum bid in double deck pinochle?
50. Bids go up by one point until 60, then in steps of 5 (65, 70, 75 and so on). If the first three players pass, the dealer has to bid 50.
Why can't I choose some suits as trump?
The bidder must hold a marriage (the king and queen) in the trump suit. If you win the bid without any marriage, you cannot name trump: you lose your bid and nobody scores meld.
How are the tricks counted?
Each ace, ten and king is worth 1 point, and the last trick is worth 2 more, so there are 50 points in the tricks of every hand.
Is there passing of cards?
Not in this version: there is no exchange between partners, as in the main double deck rules on pagat.com. Single deck play on our home page uses a 4-card pass.
How many points win the game?
500 is the usual target; you can also choose 300 or 1000. If both teams reach it in the same hand, the bidding team wins.