INTRODUCTION TO PINOCHLE (ON THE WEB) Lesson 1: Counting Meld

Course Description

To continue to lesson one click the “>” The purpose of this course is to assist new players in understanding the rules and strategies involved in playing pinochle accessed through the Web and Yahoo Games For more background info and to view the disclaimer press enter or click the “i” action button To continue to lesson one click the “>” action button

Hello and welcome to my course Hello and welcome to my course! This course started out as a Word document that I put together to help some friends understand the rules and some of the strategies involved in playing pinochle. This is in no way an official document or related to any “official” rules and regulations. This document is based entirely on my opinion and on the way I choose to play pinochle. If you disagree with any information provided here, that is fine! Ignore it or this entire course as your will dictates. However, if you find any of the information provided in this course is helpful to you, then you are very welcome to use it. Thanks, Jim To go to lesson one (or press enter) Back to Course Description

Lesson 1 Counting Meld

OBJECTIVE At the completion of this lesson, new pinochle players will be able to: Identify point values related to basic meld.

As we will soon learn, there are two phases to each hand As we will soon learn, there are two phases to each hand. A bidding phase and a playing phase. The first phase is the bidding phase. In order to properly bid, one must be able to identify the points in one’s hand. This lesson will identify the different types of meld that is available and the point values assigned to each. A PDF reference table of all meld is available on Jim’s Web Site.

ACE (A) – TEN (10) KING (K) – QUEEN (Q) JACK (J) RUN ACE (A) – TEN (10) KING (K) – QUEEN (Q) JACK (J) (all in the same suit) POINT VALUE: 15 Points

A DOUBLE RUN POINT VALUE: 150 Points A,A–10,10–K,K–Q,Q– J,J (all in the same suit) POINT VALUE: 150 Points

Aces Around POINT VALUE: 10 Points One Ace in each suit POINT VALUE: 10 Points

Double Aces Around POINT VALUE: 100 Points Two Aces in each suit POINT VALUE: 100 Points

Kings Around POINT VALUE: 8 Points One King in each suit POINT VALUE: 8 Points

Double Kings Around POINT VALUE: 80 Points Two Kings in each suit POINT VALUE: 80 Points

Queens Around POINT VALUE: 6 Points One Queen in each suit POINT VALUE: 6 Points

Double Queens Around POINT VALUE: 60 Points Two Queens in each suit POINT VALUE: 60 Points

Jacks Around POINT VALUE: 4 Points One Jack in each suit POINT VALUE: 4 Points

Double Jacks Around POINT VALUE: 40 Points Two Jacks in each suit POINT VALUE: 40 Points

A Marriage POINT VALUE: In Off-suits 2 Points In Trump Suit 4 Points K+Q in the same suit POINT VALUE: In Off-suits 2 Points In Trump Suit 4 Points

A Pinochle POINT VALUE: 4 Points Q of Spades + J of Diamonds POINT VALUE: 4 Points

A Double Pinochle POINT VALUE: 30 Points 2 Q’s of Spades + 2 J’s of Diamonds POINT VALUE: 30 Points

A Triple Pinochle POINT VALUE: 45 Points 3 Q’s of Spades + 3 J’s of Diamonds POINT VALUE: 45 Points

A Roundhouse POINT VALUE: 24 Points 1 K + 1 Q In each suit POINT VALUE: 24 Points K’s around = 8 Q’s around = 6 3 Off Marriages = 6 1 Trump Marriage = 4 Total = 24

To summarize, the meld values are listed in the following table To summarize, the meld values are listed in the following table. This table is available in PDF format on Jims Web site. Feel free to print or save and use as a quick reference for the next lesson. Meld Point Values Run - A, 10, K, Q, J (Same Suit) 15 Single 150 Double ACES in each suit 10 Single 100 Double KINGS in each suit 8 Single 80 Double QUEENS in each suit 6 Single 60 Double JACKS in each suit 4 Single 40 Double Marriage K + Q in same suit 2 Off suit 4 Trump suit Pinochle Q Spades + J Diamonds 30 Double 45 Triple RoundHouse K + Q in each suit 24 Points

This completes the first lesson. Coming soon… Lesson 2: Bidding Basics