Pinochle
Cards · 1 playPinochle
Two-handed Pinochle against Pearl — win tricks, lay melds and race to 1,000.
About Pinochle
The old card-table favourite, in its two-handed form against Pearl, a canny computer opponent. The 48-card deck holds two of every 9, Jack, Queen, King, 10 and Ace in each suit, and the card turned up after the deal sets trump. While the stock lasts you may play any card you like; win the trick and you may lay one meld — a marriage, a run in trump, pinochle (the Q♠ with the J♦), or aces, kings, queens or jacks around — before drawing first. Once the stock is gone every card returns to hand and the rules tighten: follow suit, beat the card if you can, and trump if you are void. Aces, tens and kings won in tricks count 10 apiece, the last trick earns 10 more, and the first to 1,000 at the end of a hand takes the game. Set Pearl to Casual or Sharp. Free to play in your browser — no download, no sign-up.
How to Play
Phase 1: play any card. Win the trick to lay one meld, then draw first. Melds: run in trump 150, royal marriage 40, marriage 20, pinochle (Q♠ J♦) 40, double pinochle 300, aces around 100, kings 80, queens 60, jacks 40, dix 10. Phase 2 (stock gone): follow suit, beat the led card if you can, else trump. A, 10 and K in tricks count 10 each, last trick +10. First to 1,000 wins.
Tips & Strategy
While the stock lasts you do not have to follow suit, so be choosy about which tricks you fight for. A trick is worth winning mainly when you have a meld ready to lay, or when it holds aces, tens or kings, since those counters are the only cards that score in play. When you have nothing to meld, let Pearl take the trick cheaply: throw a 9 or a jack that fits no meld, and keep your trumps and counters for later. The dix is a small gift worth remembering — the 9 of trump scores 10 and lets you swap it for the face-up card while the stock lasts, which is a fine trade when that card is high.
Build melds patiently. You may lay only one meld per trick won, so a hand full of possibilities is worth more than one big meld laid at once — line them up and cash them trick by trick. A card can be reused in a meld of a different kind, so the K♥ that made a marriage can later join kings around, and a queen of spades sitting in a marriage can still go into pinochle. Melded cards stay face-up in front of you and can still be played, but every card on show is a card Pearl knows about.
The second phase is where counters are won. With the stock gone you must follow suit and beat the card if you can, or trump when void, so count the trumps that have fallen and the aces still out before you lead. Leading a long suit can strip Pearl of trumps, after which your remaining aces and tens are safe winners, and the last trick is worth an extra 10. There are 250 points in play every hand, so a strong second phase can outweigh a modest meld.