Editing Pinochle (section)

==Game variations==
===Two-handed===
Two-handed pinochle<ref name="The New Complete Hoyle Revised">{{cite book |last1=Morehead |first1=Albert |last2=Frey |first2=Richard |last3=Mott-Smith |first3=Geoffrey |title=The New Complete Hoyle Revised |chapter=Pinochle |date=17 September 1991 |edition=5th |publisher=Doubleday |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newcompletehoyle00hoyl/page/327 327–361] |isbn=0-385-24962-4 |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/newcompletehoyle00hoyl/page/327}}</ref> is the original pinochle game, while partnership, auction, and all other variants are derived from it. It is the game most similar to the original [[Bezique]] game, whence pinochle was derived, via the German game of [[Binokel]]. The only significant difference in its rules from Bezique is the scoring.

The original version of pinochle involves a partial deal of twelve cards to both players in packets of four, leaving a stock of 24 cards. A player can score one meld after each trick won of the first 12 tricks. Melded cards can even be used to win tricks. After each trick, players draw one card from the stock into their hand starting with the trick-winning player. For the last 12 tricks, melds are taken into each player's hand and are no longer announced by the player who wins the trick. The traditional trick-taking rules apply only for these last 12 tricks.

In variations of two-handed play, no cards are initially dealt, a distinction from all other variations. Instead, the entire deck is placed face-down on the playing surface between the two players to form the widow. One player begins the hand-building process by drawing the top card of the widow. The player can either keep that card for her or his hand or reject the card. If the player chooses to hold the initial card, the player then draws a second card from the widow, then places it face-down, without looking at it, creating a discard pile. If the player rejects the first card, the card becomes the first card in the discard pile. The second card drawn from the widow must be kept, regardless of whether the player preferred the first card. Players alternate turns in this hand-building process until all cards are chosen.

With bidding, the player winning the bid declares trump, then lays all meld face-up on the table. The other player shows her or his melds as well. Meld points are tallied, and players return meld cards to their hands. Some varieties accept a "round house", kings and queens of each suit, and earn a bonus 10 points awarding a total of 250 points.

Trick-taking commences and continues until all held cards have been played. One variation has no "leading" requirement for the bid winner or subsequent trick winner to lead a specific card, however the rules of "following" are still observed.

When adding counters, cards from each player's discard pile are included in totals for a total of 240 counters per round, plus one counter for winning the final trick. One variation to make it more difficult for the bid-winning player, the discard pile created by drawing cards is used by the non-bidding player to score towards tricks.

===Three-handed===
In Three-handed pinochle using a single deck, each player plays for him or herself.<ref name="The New Complete Hoyle Revised"/> The dealer deals 15 cards to each player and three cards to the kitty—a separate pile in the middle.

All players review their cards and silently determine their bids. The player to the dealer's left initiates the bidding process. If the player has a meld, he or she is required to open the bidding; otherwise, they may pass or bid. If he or she passes, the obligation to bid passes to the next player, if meld is held. Once a player passes, he or she is out of the auction.

Bidding begins at 20, or as little as 19 if dealer, and increases in multiples of 1. The highest bidder wins the auction and turns up the three-card kitty for all to see. The three widow cards are placed in the bid winner's hand. The bid winner then declares trump and lays down meld. The other two players also lay meld face-up for count. After the appropriate points have been tallied the bid winner must set aside any three cards that have not been melded. This will reduce the bid winner's hand to 15 cards. For all three players, meld is now returned to each respective player's hand, and the round is played. During the round, a player must take at least one trick to "save one's meld", even if the trick contains no points; otherwise, no meld points will be counted for that player during that round.

After all tricks are taken, counters are tallied for each player. The three discards by the highest bidder count toward their counter score for the hand, so there is always a total of 25 points for the trick score among the three players. If the highest bidder fails to make their contract by adding meld points and trick points from the play, then their score is negative the amount of the bid for that hand. The meld count is cancelled.

* After viewing the kitty, the highest bidder may concede the hand and take a negative score for the amount of their bid; however, they still must name trump and the other two players score their meld. Conceding the hand does save the trick points opponents would score playing their hands, although opponents will not have an opportunity to lose their meld by failing to take a trick.

The game is won when one player reaches 100 points. It is possible for two or all three players to go over 100 on the same hand. There are three methods of resolving ties:

* Playing another hand 
* The game is extended becomes a contest to 125 points. If two players exceed 125 points on the same hand, the contest lengthens to 150 points. This rule holds regardless of score fluctuations (players "going minus"—failing to reach their bid amounts—and falling below 100 points.
* If two players exceed 100 points on the same hand, then the high bidder for that round automatically is declared the winner. If two non-bidders exceed 100 points on the same hand, then either of the other methods apply.

===Renege===
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Any time a player accidentally misplays during the play portion of the hand, it is called a [[renege]]. There are various forms of misplay:

* Playing out of suit
* Sloughing on a trick when holding trump 
* Playing out of turn
* Failure to discard three cards prior to the play portion of the hand—this constitutes a renege if bidder has led to the first trick
* Purposely exposing any portion of your hand to another player (during the play portion of the game for all players and also during the meld portion of the hand for nonbidders with the exception of meld cards)
* Failure to kill (Not going over the played card when required to during the hand)
* Any other action that disrupts the harmony of the game
* After play begins, any discovered misdeal not caused by a card-fault in the deck constitutes a renege for the dealer and any player on the dealer's team.

If the bidder reneges, they automatically take a double set and the amount of the bid is subtracted from their score. The two opposing players get to count their meld points and the remainder of the hand is thrown in.

If either of the two nonbidders misplay, the bidder automatically makes their bid. The bidder gets to score the amount of their bid and meld, the player that misplayed loses all meld and takes a single set, and the third player scores only their meld.

If at any point during melding or play it is determined that a non-standard deck is being used, any player may declare a card-fault misdeal. This results in the nullification of the entire hand including all meld and points obtained.

===Cutthroat===
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Similar to three-handed pinochle, cutthroat is a simple modification. The dealer deals the entire deck out (16 cards to each player), in packets of four. The player to the left of the dealer begins the bidding once meld has been silently determined by all players. Play continues normally in terms of scoring and trick taking. The only way to win in cutthroat pinochle, however, is to "bid and out", or to have taken the bid and surpassed the predetermined winning score. It is then possible for multiple players to go over the winning score, yet if none has taken a bid and met the resulting contract, a win has not happened and play continues. It is also possible for a person to lose with the high score if they do not take a winning bid.

===Four-handed===
Four-handed pinochle, or "partnership pinochle"<ref name="The New Complete Hoyle Revised"/> is played with two teams of two players each. Partners are seated opposite from each other. Each player is dealt 12 cards. The opening bid is typically 150, but can be a higher agreed on value. All four players may bid. Both the bidder and his partner have their score count towards making the contract. High bidder names trump. There typically is no kitty. With a kitty, the four cards are distributed, one to each player, by the bid winner. Each hand must meld separately. As in the three-handed version, the first player is forced to bid when holding meld. Play is often to 1000 but can increase to 1500 during partnership.

===Five-handed and larger===
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Games with five hands or more typically modify partnership pinochle in a variety of ways. They are generally played with 1 1/2 or doubled decks, with extra dix added or withheld to make an even deal. With an odd number of players, the bidder asks for a desired card in the trump suit, with the first matching player being partner for that hand. Everyone else plays against the team. In larger groups, one or more players can sit out each hand allowing the remaining players to follow the appropriate rules for the respective number of players.

===Check===
Check pinochle<ref name="The New Complete Hoyle Revised"/> is a gambling variant of three-hand. It is the same as to 1000, except that players keep track of "checks". If playing for $1 stakes, each check gained means that the other two players owe a dollar. The following events cause a gain or loss of checks.

* Flush or run  +1 check
* Aces  +1 check
* Roundtable +2 checks (marriage in each suit)
: Note that checks for meld can be earned either by the bidder or non-bidder. Checks are kept even if the bid is not made.
* Looking at the "talon" and losing the hand (either by conceding or playing) −1 check
* Playing the hand and losing −1 additional check 
* Not looking at the talon and conceding 300 points. – no gain or loss of checks (happens when forced to bid)
* Double marriage (two marriages in same suit) +1 check 
* Double pinochle +1 check 
* Double aces, double kings, double queens, or double jacks +2 checks 
* Winning the game +5 or +10 checks
* 7 nines  +5 or +10 checks (do not need to win the bid to get credit)

===Double-deck===
Today "double-deck" pinochle<ref name="The New Complete Hoyle Revised"/> is a popular form of the game, exclusively played by the National Pinochle Association, the American Pinochle Association, the Cambridge Pinochle Association, and in the "World Series of Pinochle".<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030612013538/http://grandprixtournaments.com/ Grand Prix Tournaments]}}</ref>

Double-deck pinochle is played with two pinochle decks, without the nines. This makes for an 80 card deck.

Play is similar to regular pinochle, except 20 cards are dealt to each person and minimum bid is increased to 500 points. In some variations, bids are made in increments of 10 or more points until 600 is reached, then by 50 points. This version often features "meld bidding", a bid made to let a partner know what is in the bidder's hand. The only communication during bidding should be a numerical number or "pass", any other way of communicating is called "talking across the table" and is forbidden.

There are occasionally different meld values for a run and a pinochle; a run being 250 or 150 points, and a pinochle being 150 or 40 points. All other aspects of the game generally remain the same.

====Technical Misdeal====

If a player is dealt 13 or more non-counters and no aces, the player may declare a technical misdeal. This must declared before he or she plays the first trick. A technical misdeal nullifies all points melded for all players. The hand is then re-dealt by the original dealer of that hand.

===Triple-deck, six-handed===
This version follows the rules of double-deck pinochle.

In triple-deck pinochle<ref name="The New Complete Hoyle Revised"/> six play in two partnerships of three each; each player has an opponent at their right and left. Three pinochle decks with no nines are mixed together, making a pack of 120 cards. Each player is dealt 20 cards, and the rules of double deck pinochle apply, except that the minimum bid is 75, and the last trick is worth 3 points. most of the extra melds made possible by the triple pack do not count extra. i.e. if a player should hold twenty aces, five of each suit, the value would be that of double aces and triple aces combined.<ref>''Bicycle Official Rules of Card Games''. 60th Edition. Cincinnati: US Playing Card Company. 1966.</ref>

===Racehorse===
Note that this use of the term "racehorse" is inconsistent with the commonly understood meaning of the term when applied to Pinochle. As summarized by Dave LeVasseur: "Racehorse means that, after the winning bidder has named trump, that player's partner passes cards across the table"<ref>{{Cite web |last=LeVasseur |first=Dave |date=12 August 2001 |title=Pinochle Rules , Six Card Racehorse |url=http://davelevasseur.com/pinochle.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624154922/https://davelevasseur.com/pinochle.htm |archive-date=24 June 2015 |website=}}</ref>

Played much the same as "double deck" but to six hands, the point values are inflated.

Two teams are formed, 20 cards are then dealt to each player and four cards are dealt to the blind. Bidding commences with the person immediately to the left of the dealer automatically bidding 500. The winner of the bid includes the blind into their hand, calls trump and melds.

{| class="wikitable"
! &nbsp;
! Around (1 of each suit)
! Twice around
! 4 of a kind
|-
! Aces
| 100
| 1000
| 1000
|-
! Kings
| 80
| 800
| 800
|-
! Queens
| 60
| 600
| 600
|-
! 10s or 9s
| 0
| 0
| 0
|}

Note: all runs, double, triple, and quadruple, marriages must be in trump

{| class="wikitable"
! &nbsp;
! Not trump
! Trump
! Double
! Triple
! Quadruple
|-
! Marriage
| 20
| 40
| 300
| 900
| the game
|-
! Pinochle
| 40
| -
| 300
| 900
| the game
|-
! Run
| -
| 150
| 300
| 900
| the game
|}

The game continues with the standard rules of play. When the play is over each team adds up their points in the count with kings, 10s, and aces worth ten points, while queens and jacks are worth zero. If a team count plus meld does not equal their bid, they "go set". By going set the amount of the bid is subtracted from the team's score and their count is discarded. The other team retains both their meld and their count provided they took at least 10 points in the count.

===Eight-player double-deck===
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Two full decks are dealt between eight players, forming four teams. Team members are spaced so that they are not able to see any other hands. The game is usually played to a score of 5,000 or higher. Other than this, the four-player rules apply, and any variations may also be used. There is an increased possibility that when one team declares trump another team may have an equal number of trump also, which may lead to an interesting game. An optional scoring rule rewards 1,000 points for a quadruple pinochle—four jacks of diamonds and four queens of spades in a meld.

===Alternate end games===
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One variation on winning allows a team or individual to win instantly from any score by taking all the tricks in a hand.  To win in this fashion, the winning player or team must play very skillfully to prevent opposing players from taking even one lowly (even zero-point) trick.  This victory is known as "pinochling".  A player or team can play for this victory even if they are not the highest bidder. "pinochling" does not require a bidder to make their bid.  They also can play for this victory even if their bid cannot be made with the maximum number of trick points available plus their meld.  However, the highest bidding player or team can prevent other players from attempting this if they elect to "throw in" the hand before the first card is played.

Another version of this, known as "shooting the moon," can be called out by the highest bidder before melding. In this variation, neither team lays their meld down, and the partner of the high bidder does not participate in trick taking. If the high bidder succeeds in taking every trick, they have successfully "shot the moon," and the game is over. If they do not successfully take every trick, this is known as a "miss," and the shooting team immediately loses the game. Yet another variation has a point value of 1000 or 100 for shooting the moon, and an equal negative penalty for missing, and the game continues.

When playing "bid-out" rules, a team can win without bidding if their score reaches (and remains above) the agreed-upon game-ending score while their opponents fail to make their bid three times.  This is known as a "slide-out".  Not all versions require the opponents to fail to make their bid three times in order to cross the winning point threshold. 

Some versions have an "out backwards" contingency, where if a team goes into the negative equivalent of what the game winning score is, they lose the game.