If you’re close to getting a run and only missing one card, there’s a 66% chance your partner will have the card you need, and they are likely to pass it to you if you choose that suit to be trump. The next thing to consider is whether or not you’re close to getting a meld, and think about how likely it is you’ll get the cards you need from your partner. However, if you don’t have any of these things, or just a single marriage or pinochle, you might not want to bid much higher than 20, and it may be best to pass and hope your partner has something better. If you have Kings around or Queens around, maybe 20-25. If you have Aces around, you should be bidding between 25-30. If you have a double pinochle, go as high 40-45.

If you have any incidental marriages or a pinochle, it’s safe to increase your maximum bid to 35-40. There’s a good chance you’ll improve your hand even more after passing cards with your partner. You know that you’ll be guaranteed to get at least 15 meld points and if you play well you should be able to collect at least another 15 points from tricks. If you’re lucky enough to get a run in your initial hand you can probably safely bet up to 30, and might consider going as high as 32. The first thing to look for when estimating your hand’s worth is how many melds you already have starting out with. On the other hand, if you have very strong cards with a lot of melds or heavy on Aces then go in strong and bid until you take it or until your opponents bid above your maximum. If you have a mediocre hand, and your partner is bidding strong, you should yield and let your partner take it. But it is important not to over bid, as this will result in negative points, and you certainly don’t want to get into a bidding war with your own partner. Bidding StrategiesĮach player wants to win the bidding so that they can choose the trump and pass cards with their partner. After all melds are counted, the trick-taking phase begins starting with the high bidder. The high bidder examines these cards and then chooses 4 cards from their hand to pass back.Īfter the high-bidding team passes cards to each other, each player identifies melds in their hand, showing the cards in each meld to all other players and then meld points are totaled. After the trump is announced, the high bidder’s partner then chooses 4 cards from their hand to slide across the table face-down to their partner. The high bidder wins the bidding and then gets to declare which suit will be trump for the hand. Each player must either increase the bid or pass until there is only one player remaining. Once all cards are dealt, each player picks up and examines their cards and the bidding begins starting with the player to the dealer’s left. To begin, the dealer shuffles the deck and deals out the entire deck to each player, 3 cards at a time if single deck or 5 cards at a time if double deck. The non-high-bidding team gets to keep the points they earned during the hand regardless. If the high-bidding team makes their bid they get to keep their points but if they come up short, instead, their bid amount is subtracted from their score. At the end of the hand each player’s trick points are combined with their partner’s and added to their meld score. Similarly, each player earns trick points for pointer cards taken (Aces, Tens, and Kings). Each player gets points for the melds in their individual hand, and then each player’s points are combined with their partner’s. Whichever team wins the bidding gets to choose the trump and exchange 4 cards with their partner. In this form of the game there are two 2-person teams playing against one another.

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