Use this glossary alongside the rules and meld chart to quickly look up any term you encounter at the table or in strategy guides.

A

Ace Around (Aces Around): A meld consisting of one Ace in each of the four suits. In double deck pinochle, a single Ace Around scores 10 points; a double Ace Around (two Aces in each suit) scores 100 points.

Around: Any meld consisting of one card of the same rank in each of the four suits. The four arounds are Aces Around, Kings Around, Queens Around, and Jacks Around.

B

Bid: The number of total points (meld + trick points) a team declares they will earn during a hand. The team that wins the auction at the highest bid must earn at least that many points or be set. Standard opening bids begin at 50.

Bidding: The auction phase that occurs after the deal. Players take turns bidding or passing. The partnership that wins the auction chooses trump and plays the hand as the declaring team.

Book: Winning at least one trick during trick play. Required for meld points to count. A team that wins no tricks cannot score their meld.

C

Counter: Cards that score trick points when won: Aces, Tens, and Kings. Each counter is worth 1 trick point. With the last-trick bonus, total trick points per hand = 26.

Counters Count: The total trick points a partnership earns, calculated after trick play ends.

D

Deal: The distribution of 20 cards to each of the four players (80-card deck ÷ 4 players). Cards are typically dealt in groups of 4 or 5.

Declaring Team: The partnership that won the auction and chose trump. They must earn at least as many points as their bid.

Double: Any meld that contains two copies of a normally single meld. For example, a double run contains two complete runs in trump. Doubles are typically worth 10× the single meld value.

Double Deck: The 80-card deck used in this game, consisting of two standard pinochle decks (each a 48-card deck using ranks 9, J, Q, K, 10, A in all four suits) combined.

F

Flush: See Run.

J

Jack Around (Jacks Around): A meld of one Jack in each of the four suits. Single Jacks Around = 4 points; Double Jacks Around = 40 points.

K

King Around (Kings Around): A meld of one King in each of the four suits. Single Kings Around = 8 points; Double Kings Around = 80 points.

Kitty: Not standard in double deck pinochle (unlike single-deck variants). There is typically no kitty in the 4-player partnership game.

L

Last Trick: The team that wins the final trick of the hand scores 2 bonus points (sometimes called “last trick” or “taking last”). This is included in the 26 total trick points per hand.

Lead: The card played first in a trick. The player who leads determines which suit (or trump) the other players must follow.

M

Marriage: A meld consisting of one King and one Queen of the same suit. A marriage in a non-trump suit scores 2 points. A marriage in the trump suit (called the Royal Marriage or Trump Marriage) scores 4 points. Double marriages (two K-Q pairs in the same suit) score 4 points in non-trump or 8 in trump.

Meld: A scoring card combination displayed face-up before trick play. The main meld types are: Runs, Marriages, Arounds, Pinochles, and Nines.

Meld Points: Points earned by displaying valid meld combinations. These points are added to the team’s score only if they win at least one trick.

N

Nine (Nines): In double deck pinochle, 9s are the lowest-ranked cards and typically do not score in trick play (they are not counters). However, some groups count 9s as counters worth 0 points — check house rules. In single-deck pinochle, the 9 of trump (called “Dix”) scores 1 point; this rule is less common in double deck.

Non-Trump: Any suit that is not the declared trump suit for the current hand.

P

Pass (Bidding): Declining to make a higher bid during the auction. Once a player passes, they may not re-enter the bidding in that hand.

Pinochle: The specific meld consisting of the Jack of Diamonds and the Queen of Spades. A single pinochle scores 4 points; a double pinochle (two J♦ + two Q♠) scores 30 points.

Partnership: Two players seated opposite each other who play as a team. Their meld and trick points are combined for scoring purposes.

Q

Queen Around (Queens Around): A meld of one Queen in each of the four suits. Single Queens Around = 6 points; Double Queens Around = 60 points.

R

Round House: A meld containing a King and Queen (marriage) in every suit simultaneously. Scores 24 points (4 marriages × the applicable values). Requires holding 8 specific cards.

Run: A meld consisting of the Ace, Ten, King, Queen, and Jack all in the trump suit. Also called a flush. A single run scores 15 points; a double run (two complete sets in trump) scores 150 points.

S

Set: When the declaring team fails to earn total points (meld + trick points) equal to or greater than their bid. The declaring team loses points equal to their bid; the defending team scores their meld normally.

Suit: One of the four card suits — Spades (♠), Hearts (♥), Diamonds (♦), Clubs (♣). In pinochle, players must follow suit (play a card of the led suit) if possible. If unable to follow suit, they must play trump if possible.

T

Trick: One card played by each of the four players in turn. The highest trump wins the trick; if no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins. The winner of each trick leads the next.

Trump: The suit designated as the strongest suit for the current hand, chosen by the declaring team. Trump cards beat all non-trump cards regardless of rank. Within trump, the ranking is: Ace > Ten > King > Queen > Jack > Nine.

Trump Marriage: A King and Queen in the trump suit. Scores 4 points (double the value of a non-trump marriage).

V

Void: Holding no cards in a particular suit. A void allows a player to play trump when that suit is led, potentially winning the trick.

W

Win the Bid: Successfully making at least as many combined points (meld + trick points) as the bid. The declaring team scores all their earned points. If they fail to win the bid, they are set.