Pinochle
How to play Pinochle
Pinochle is one of America's most-loved card games — a rich combination of melding (laying down scoring combinations) and trick-taking. This is the classic two-handed game: just you against a bot, with every meld and every trick in your hands — or play online against another person in real time.
Play Pinochle online with a friend
Choose Play online to be matched with a real opponent, or share a private invite link so you and a friend can sit down head-to-head. It all runs in the browser — no account, no app — and the server keeps every meld, draw and trick in sync for both players.
The cards
Pinochle uses a special 48-card pack: two copies each of Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Jack and Nine in all four suits. The trick-taking order is unusual — A > 10 > K > Q > J > 9, so the Ten is the second-highest card. A trump beats any plain suit, and when two identical cards meet, the one played first wins. You are dealt twelve cards; the next card is turned up to fix the trump suit and tucked under the stock to be drawn last.
The first phase — melds
While the stock lasts you do not have to follow suit; play any card. Whoever wins a trick may lay one meld — the cards stay in your hand and can still be played later — then both players draw (winner first) to refill to twelve. Melds:
- Run / flush — A‑10‑K‑Q‑J of trump: 150
- Royal marriage — King + Queen of trump: 40; a plain marriage: 20
- Pinochle — Queen ♠ + Jack ♦: 40 (both pairs = double pinochle, 300)
- Around — one of a rank in every suit: aces 100, kings 80, queens 60, jacks 40 (doubles score 1000 / 800 / 600 / 400)
- Dix — the Nine of trump scores 10 and swaps for the turned-up trump card
The second phase — tricks
Once the stock is gone, melding stops and the rules tighten: you must follow suit and beat the led card if you can, and trump if you are void. These last twelve tricks decide most of the card points.
Scoring
Card points are Ace 11, Ten 10, King 4, Queen 3, Jack 2, Nine 0 (240 in the pack), plus 10 for the last trick. Your score for the deal is your melds plus your captured card points. The first player to 1000 wins the game.
Strategy
Meld greedily — a combination laid early keeps scoring as you build on it, and a marriage can be upgraded to a run. Hold the Queen ♠ and Jack ♦ for the pinochle, and chase the big "around" melds. Save your Aces and Tens for the trick phase, when capturing them really counts, and watch the trump count so you know when to grab points. Tap a card to play it; legal cards are highlighted, and your meld choices appear as buttons each time you win a trick. N starts a new game.