5-Handed Pinochle

This is a 5-handed trick-taking card game app that will be easy to learn for all pinochle players. Growing up in a house full of pinochle players, there were many times we had exactly 5 players -- so my family invented this 5-handed game. It uses a double pinochle deck with 9s removed. Each player is dealt 16 cards, and the bidding begins at 40, 45, or 50.

After years of trial and error, Dad and I agreed on a good method for choosing the high bidder's partner: After someone wins the bidding and names trump, four 9s are dealt face down to the center of the table. Each player (but not the bid winner) flips over a 9. In this app, you can tap a 9 yourself, or let the robots pick theirs first. The player whose 9 suit matches the bid winner's trump suit becomes the bid winner's partner for that hand. The other 3 players form a team to oppose them. (In this app, the bidding team is blue, their opponents are yellow.)

The high bidder and their partner exchange 4 cards. Then everyone lays down meld and plays tricks. The bidding team's meld and tricks are weighed against their high bid, and the 2 players will lose the bid amount if they fall short, or add their meld and tricks to both players' scores if they meet or exceed the bid. The non-bidding team's meld and tricks are added to each of those 3 players' scores.

Five-handed pinochle is probably my favorite version of pinochle. The double deck and passing cards result in great hands, so the bidding can go high. It's lots of fun and can be risky -- you don't know who your partner is until after you've bid and named trump. Since each player's score is calculated separately, the game ends (after 5 hands) with usually just one winner. Good luck!

Dave