I used to play this game every day at work in Dublin Ireland when I was an apprentice. I loved the game, I'm now in my seventies and have lived in the US for 48 years, It's very nostalgic for me to hear terms like "marriage" "aces around" etc, that are the lingo of this great game, now if I could only find three other people.... Thanks for posting this and bringing back memories.

My mother taught me how to play Pinacle 45 years ago. I've taught several people how to play it. Love the game.

I learned to play and love this game many years ago while in active service. I googled "how to play pinochle" and your video popped up first. So glad that I viewed yours. Clear, easy to follow directions. Now I've got to get back in the game! Thanks!

Thank you so much for making this clear and easy to understand video. I am really challenged trying to read complicated rules in a book but this video made it so easy for me to see the big picture, get the rules down, scoring... and then teach my family to play! Thank you!!

Great instructions!! I cannot wait to try 4 player games and I’ve been playing a ridiculous amount with 3 player games. I cannot believe I waited to see how pinochle is played with 4 players. I’ve only been in 3 player games receiving 16 cards each. I was unaware of how many cards were dealt to each person. We used to do 4 cards dealt with each turn to a player. Then we were changing the dealing to whatever the person wanted to deal out so 1 card each changed to 5 then back down to one. So it looks like 3 player always gets dealt 4 cards each. Plus we added a zero to the point system. Like double pinochle was worth 300 points instead of 30. 1000 points was the win whereas 150 points total wins the game. I like how the cards are also put down. Plus I was unaware of bidding through to more than one cycle. We did this wrong too!!

My grandfather would play this a gambling spot. I never knew what the game was, I just knew he was very good and always won a lot of money...he was really smart too. After watching this I cam see how it would be a fantastic game to gamble on.

Great video, really helped to catch me up on a game I haven't played in probably 15 years. My mom taught me and loved to play, we recently lost her and are going to start playing in her memory. : ) It's really not a difficult game to learn, just keep playing and you'll get it.

Thank you... I was looking for a refresher and you covered the game perfectly and simply... Thanks again!

PASS 4 IN PARTNERS!! 3 HANDED IS REALLY FUN AS WELL, WHEN YOU BID ON THE KITTY!!

Another well made , thorough video ! I think we used to play a game called Bezique , very similar , but I think the deck went down to 7. Keep up the great work!

How to play Pinochle: go to jail.

Fantastic explanation!!! Thanks - Hubby and I will give it a try.

Thanks for the reminder video ..it's been about 16 or more years since I've played...but I do remember that in Partners we always passed 4. My partner and I always had so many strategies.. My mom & brother could never best us...lol RIP to my family.. I miss them but my oldest son wants to learn Pinochle. I needed a reminder video so Thx ...just mainly on the tricks. I forget what we did on points... We counted them different at the end. I wish I could remember?? Having epilepsy has ruined my memory. Even though doing better now it's best to keep up with your favorite games. I was a professional at it...still am @ Poker, but I enjoy a good ole' fashioned Pinochle game any day of the week! 🤩

Thank you! Great clear video. I want to re-learn pinocle and your video is perfect.

I initially didn't like this game, but I am starting to appreciate it. Thank you.

Awesome tutorial. Thanks a million

Thanks, great instructions!

Great video explanation! I know that you have to take the bid to go out, but if the bid is dropped on you? Is that still considered bidder’s out?

I grew up in northwest New York, and my dad's family would get together and play all night long sometimes. I was 8yo and Dad created a cheat sheet of meld points for me. Wait til you learn double pinochle! So many cards to hold and track!

FANTASTIC GAME AND SUPER FREAKING AWESOME. SUPER EASY TO PLAY!!!! Check it out and try a couple of hands. After a couple of hands you'll get the trick. Thanks for the video.

Excellent tutorial

What’s the song in the end ? Great tutorial

Thanks, great tutorial!

So im taking notes becausr it helps me remember stuff and i noticed something. Both double trump marriage and a double trump 9 dont have double scores, its a pattern that all doubles tack on a 0 at the end, is it the same for those two?

Thank you.

There are many variants of this game. And it's a little intimidating at first partly because of the unique card deck and the various melds. But great fun once you get the hang of it, especially judging when to pass on bidding - the trump suit gives you great power but bid too high, the penalty is severe.

Would love to see a video on some strategies of play. I used to play with my parents & sister long ago & just started playing again with friends. Didn’t understand why player C would lead with that 10 when the ace was still out?!

I'm here because I read "Scary Stories to Read in the Dark", and there was a song with the lyrics, "the worms play pinochle on your snout"

Holy moly! Now I know why I never played this ... too complicated for me. My mom used to play Casino with me and I think she beat me 19 games to 1. I wasn't good at Mah Jongg either. LOL BUT now, I see that the video game shown here must be fun after the #45 - tricks and trumps and is this the game with a Dummy? Thanks for showing this! I *did* enjoy watching and listening.

Thank you. This was most helpful! Now I can begin playing with my wife’s grandfather and know the ropes a little. This game should be easy(ish) for me to pick up considering I’m an avid Spades player after deployment. Thank you once again now I’ll have a basic knowledge of both the game and game play... so I’ll know if he is trying to be sly. You gotta keep an eye on the older gentlemen you play cards with. Lol. They have been around the block and know a few more tricks. Lol

I played this game as a baby before I could read, but now I can't play as an adult and very thankful that I can read. Hey, you play the had we all have been dealt.

My family plays it a little differently. We start the bid at 25. If the first 3 players decide not to bid, the dealer can get it for 20 or pass and it will get reshuffled. The teammate of the player, who won the bid, can send up to 4 cards, instead of 3. My family will also play it with different amounts of people. I have played Pinochle with 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 people, but the rules change depending on how many people are playing.

After player D plays an Ace, player B will sometimes play a King and keep their 10, why not give the 10 to your partner if they have the upper hand? I also noticed in that particular instance, sometimes player B gives their highest card to player D, sometimes only their second highest (as in the king instead of 10). I'm confused o_0

wow this game is at first glance difficult to play...... but I wanna learn..... my dad played it I know with his co workers back in the day..... the day means... the 60's and 70's...... those guy were engineers though..... good with numbers I guess....

thanks.

Pretty cool. It's like playing a trick taking game and cribbage at the same time

in a three player game if you don't take the bid do you have to take a point to save your meld? Also to take the bid do you need a nine or a marriage in the trump suitf?

Thanks for the Diagram

I want to learn how to play pinochle for 3 players please help me

Does the player have to show all his melds? Or is there a strategy point on declaring fewer melds than you really have in order to avoid showing too many cards?

A very complicated game if you ask me. My Dad LOVED this game

Can anyone answer for me if, during the exchanging stage, you can pass any number of the same cards back that your partner passed to you? Like, for example, let's say I won the bid, and my partner passed me "xxx9," the 9 here being any off-suit 9. Can I pass the 9 back to them along with whatever other 3 cards I choose to pass them? Or must I pick 4 entirely new cards? (*Note: I am referencing 4 cards to be passed instead of 3 cards because that is the more popular number of cards to pass that I have seen now in more than one space; therefore, that is the number I have chosen to play with.) Thanks!

If a player gets the bid, but cannot meld under but can take every trick, can he still play the hand?

Could you please explain the strategy when passing cars to your teammate when you win the bid? What do you want to give each other? If player A wins the bid and chooses hearts for trump, then would their partner want to give them their hearts/ highest cards in order to make the bid? And then A gives their partner their low cards back? Or is it about melding? This part is unclear to me. Thanks!

Three questions: 1. If you don’t have the suit played but someone has already laid down a winning trump card, must you still play trump (if you have it) even though you can’t win? 2. If you have the option to play multiple cards within a suit, do you have to play your highest card in suit (like an Ace of Spades) when your opponent has already played the matching card (Ace of Spades) and is already winning? Or can you lay down another card in suit (since you can’t win anyway) and save your high card for another hand? 2. I’ve been told that you can’t play a trump card until trump has been broken. Is that just a variation? In your example, you started the game with the trump ace. Thanks for your tutorial!

Which version of Pinochle is more elaborate? Single-deck or Double-deck?

Can you use the cards won from tricks to meld? Or just the other way around?

Do you think you can do a 2-player pinochle video?

great explanation. can't understand why one would prefer this game to euchre tho.

If you're looking for folks to play Pinochle with, there is an excellent free Pinochle app available, by KARMAN games. You can play with/against the computer (i.e., a computer-generated partner and two computer-generated opponents on the other team); this is especially useful if you're just learning, or want to test different strategies. When you're ready then, you can play "rated" games with/against other real online players. You join an online room (based on the type of Pinochle you want to play - there are several variations) and wait for the computer to match you up with a partner and two opponents, folks who typically are around the same level of player as you. You then play a game (up to 150, as this video explains). The losers each lose one point (in their rating score, which starts at zero and can eventually reach 100); the winners win a point, more or less (depending on whether you play folks rated higher or lower than your team). The variation described in this video is one deck Pinochle, with a three card pass. The Pinochle app has a room for this variation, except that it is a four card pass. Most any time, there are 50-200 online players of this version in the room. There are also variations with two decks and with no cards passed. Note that there is significant strategy in three areas: 1) Deciding how much to bid. This is based on your anticipated meld and how many tricks you expect to take (average two point counters, A/10/K, per trick). Keep in mind that if you win the bid, you will have four cards passed from your partner, so you should generally bid with the assumption that you will receive a card you need (to make a run or four aces, for example). So it is good to understand the percentages of receiving what you need. For example, if you have A/10/K/Q of hearts, but no J, you have a 55% chance of your partner passing it to you. To understand this percentage, note that there are two J of hearts cards. The probability of your opponents having Jack #1 are 2/3. Similarly, the probability of them having Jack #2 are the same 2/3. Thus, statistically, the probability of them having both (Jack #1 and Jack #2) are 2/3 * 2/3 = 4/9 = 44.4%; thus, the odds of your partner having at least one of the two jacks is 55.6%. Note that there is also bluffing (bidding higher than your hand will support, planning to allow your opponent to have the bid at a high enough level that he goes set). There is obviously a risk with bluffing. There is also signal bidding (aka, leg bidding), where rather than bidding up one point higher than the last bid, you can bid an increase of two or three points, thus signalling to your partner (and the opponents as well) that you have two or three of the double-pinochle legs). 2) Deciding which cards to pass to the declarer (or to pass back). The general preference is to pass at least one each of any important Trump cards (i.e., those needed for a run: A/10/K/Q/J), then non-Trump Aces, then trump nines, then either nines or tens of non-trump. However, if your partner bids in a pinochle suit, it should also be a priority to pass any non-Trump pinochle cards (especially if you or he used leg bidding to signal). When passing back, it's generally best to pass non-trump Kings/Queens to your partner, so as to maximize marriages. However, if you have an extra trump King or Queen, passing that can sometimes provide your partner with Kings or Queens around for extra points. Note that there are other variations of passing which are learned with experience. 3) How to play your cards. It's generally preferable to play your Aces first, starting with an Ace of trump, as these will generally be pretty sure wins. Keep in mind, though, that if an opponent has no cards in a particular suit, they can trump your Ace, win that trick, and then take over the lead, now playing their aces. It is thus preferable to have your opponents play all their trump, so that you, as the declarer, have all the remaining trump cards. If you have A/A/10 of Trump, plus others, you are usually in good shape. But if you only have five or six trump, (e.g., A/10/K/Q/J/9) it is harder. After playing your aces, you may want to lead a Queen of trump - to hopefully extract A/10/K from the opponents (albeit, they will win that trick). There is plenty of additional strategy in playing your hand, to be learned with experience. For example, if you have six trump cards and then six high cards in one other suit, then once your have exhausted your opponents' trump cards, those high cards in that other suit are unbeatable. I hope this is of some help. Have a great day!

Wait, does everyone show off their cards during the melding phase?

confused on how to know when to stop your bid # and how to decide which three to trade with your partner.

What happens if someone cheats on the playing phase

I LEARN TOO

On the 10, club lead you said highest card must be played but you didn’t lay Q club

I am here because we have a deck for it and they played it in Percy Jackson 😔 Something might me wrong with me, I am too obsessed..

So why did team A in first round give his king counters to the other team.

What am I missing. I counted a trump marriage in hand c. along with the run. Is that incorrect?

WHEN YOU GET SET DO YOU DEDUCT 25 FROM THE PREVIOUS SCORE

Must you play on teams?

What if you don't get past your bid goal?

What happens if you bid and don't get the points? I'm so confused

The double trump run is very rare. When a player ever has that combination, their team will win the game immediately.

"Well, [pinochle] is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all *civilized* young men to know the rules."

I thought at first you count the bid as points, until I saw the end of the video 😂 🤦‍♂️

I think double deck without 9’s is funner

man im watching the godfather with subtitles on and just found out its pinochle and not pea knuckle

I prefer this scoring system (for counters): Jacks are worth 2, queens 3, kings 5, 10s are 10 and aces are 11.

Partners

White snak

It looks like it’s like spades ♠️

I want to learn this game, bcz I've heard mobsters are playing it, so it must be a cool game ;d

Wait a minute. Where's the little wooden puppet with the long nose?

Can you teach 2 player pinochle?

How to play the most complicated card game ever invented. No wonder dad never took the time to teach me when I was a kid, I barely understand it as an adult! Bid points, win points, lose points... points have nothing to do with face value of the cards, just randomly assigned by "tricks" (perfect name for this trick of a game)... 35 different phases of the game, all scored differently and seem to have no correlation to each other... I'm starting to think this game was created as a joke, and everyone took it seriously. "A pen and paper will be necessary to keep score" No shit! I need to take notes just to get through this video! I feel like I'm cramming for a school aptitude test... 900 different rules for scoring... how the hell can people remember all of this?

Came here from the sopranos to learn what the heck this was lol.

a widow and a swordsman.

In la county jail, there are no nines. Just 10 up

Partets

I’m here from Percy Jackson

I've played thousands of pinochle hands starting back in 1970, on the corner, in houses, at parties etc...NEVER saw ANYONE pass three cards...That ain't how we play in philly...Good explanation otherwise...And; NO SNITZLE?....:)... ( taking all the tricks)

We used to slap the loser's knuckles with the remaining deck.

First you start with a snack........

Godfather brought me here

I thought it was pronounced pee-no-kull.

so it's like spades...

I'm only here cause of Percy Jackson anyone else??

learn to count and the rest is easy

this is basic and too easy, cutthroat is harder and more fun. pinochle is a little confusing in the beginning, but once the basics are understood it gets much easier

Mannnnnn, I'm out.

Geezzz too complicated for me

Too much

Mr. D please stop

You lost me at passing cards

Too complicated for me.

I couldn't spend so much time saying 'trump' ... Ugh!

Your example of leading with a 10 of clubs is foolish. You never lead with a counter unless it is necessary or strategically sound. You also failed to discuss the matter of playing a singleton Ace as well as the strategy of disgarding.

Democrats must hate this game.