Pinochle Glossary

Pinochle glossary: A complete reference of Pinochle terminology, from basic terms every beginner should know to advanced vocabulary used by competitive players.

Bidding & Game Structure

Auction — The bidding process where players compete to win the right to name trump. The highest bidder wins the contract.

Bid — A declaration of how many total points (melds + tricks) a player believes their team can score. The minimum opening bid is typically 20.

Contract — The bid amount the winning bidder’s team must achieve to avoid being set.

Dealer — The player who deals the cards. Rotates clockwise each round.

Hand — One complete round of play including dealing, bidding, melding, and trick-taking.

Pass — Declining to make a higher bid, removing yourself from the current auction.

Trump — The suit declared by the winning bidder that outranks all other suits during trick play.

Melds

Around — A group meld consisting of one card of the same rank from each of the four suits (e.g., Aces Around = A♠ A♥ A♦ A♣).

Common Marriage — A King and Queen of the same non-trump suit, worth 2 points.

Dix (Deece) — The 9 of trump, worth 1 meld point in some variants.

Double Pinochle — Both Jacks of Diamonds and both Queens of Spades (all 4 cards), worth 30 points.

Flush — See “Run.”

Marriage — A King and Queen of the same suit. Royal Marriage (trump) = 4 points; Common Marriage (non-trump) = 2 points.

Meld — A specific combination of cards laid out during the melding phase for bonus points.

Pinochle — The game’s namesake meld: Jack of Diamonds + Queen of Spades, worth 4 points.

Royal Marriage — A King and Queen of the trump suit, worth 4 points.

Run (Flush) — A-10-K-Q-J of the trump suit, worth 15 points. The highest-value standard meld.

Trick Play

Counter — A card worth 1 point when captured in a trick: Aces, Tens, and Kings.

Duck — To deliberately play a low card to avoid winning a trick.

Follow Suit — The requirement to play a card of the same suit that was led, if possible.

Lead — The first card played to a trick. The trick winner leads the next trick.

Renege (Revoke) — Illegally failing to follow suit or trump when required. Usually results in a penalty.

Ruff (Trump) — Playing a trump card on a trick led in a different suit. Mandatory when void in the led suit and holding trump.

Smear — Playing a counter card on a trick your partner is winning, adding points to your team’s capture.

Trick — A round of play where each player contributes one card. Won by the highest card of the led suit, or by the highest trump if ruffed.

Void — Having no cards in a particular suit, forcing you to trump (if holding trump) or discard.

Scoring

Bags — Not used in standard Pinochle (this is a Spades term). In Pinochle, overtricks have no penalty.

Counters — Aces, Tens, and Kings collectively. 24 total in a standard Pinochle deck.

Last Trick — The final trick of a hand, worth 1 bonus point to the team that wins it.

Meld Points — Points earned from card combinations during the melding phase.

Set — When the bidding team fails to make their bid. They lose points equal to their bid amount.

Trick Points — Points earned from capturing counter cards during trick play. Max 25 per hand (24 counters + 1 last trick bonus).

Deck & Cards

Pinochle Deck — A 48-card deck containing two copies each of 9, 10, J, Q, K, A in all four suits.

Card Ranking — From highest to lowest: A – 10 – K – Q – J – 9. The 10 ranks above the King, unlike in most card games.

Duplicate Cards — Pinochle’s defining feature — every card appears twice in the deck, creating unique strategic situations.

Game Variants

Cutthroat — Three-player Pinochle with no partnerships. Each player plays individually.

Double Deck — Uses 80 cards (two Pinochle decks). 20 cards per player with higher meld values and bids.

Two-Hand — A two-player variant where cards are drawn from a stock pile between tricks.

Widow — The leftover cards (usually 3) in three-hand Pinochle, taken by the high bidder.

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