1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Pinochle

PINOCHLE, or (Ger. Pinochel or Binochel, of uncertain etymology), a game of cards probably invented by Germans in the United States about the middle of the 19th century. It bears a general resemblance to Bézique (q.v.), and has almost entirely usurped the place of the older game in America. Pinochle may be played by two, three or four persons. Two packs, from which all cards below the nines have been deleted, are shuffled together, forming one pack of 48 cards. The object of the game is to make 1000 points. The cards rank as follows: ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3, knave 2. The nine counts nothing unless it be turned for trumps, when it scores 10. The last trick scores 10. The term "to meld" (Ger. melden, to announce), as used in pinochle, means "to declare." "Melds" are combinations which are declared during the play of the hands. They are of three classes: (1) "marriages" and "sequences," (2) "pinochles," and (3) "fours." The "melds" of the first class score as follows: "marriage" (king and queen of any plain suit), 20; "royal marriage" (king and queen of trumps), 40; "sequence" (the five highest trumps), 150. In the second class the "melds" are "pinochle" (queen of spades and knave of diamonds), 40; "double pinochle" (both queens of spades and knaves of diamonds), 300; " grand pinochle " (king and queen of spades and knave of diamonds), 80; this "meld" is not often played in America. Of the third class the "melds" are: four aces of different suits, 100; four kings of different suits, 80; four queens of different suits, 60; four knaves of different suits, 40; eight aces, 1000; eight kings, 800; eight queens, 600; eight knaves, 400.