Double-Deck Pinochle

Double-Deck Pinochle combines two Pinochle decks with the 9s removed, giving an 80-card deck and much bigger melds.

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What Changes From Standard Pinochle

The core structure — bid, meld, play tricks — stays identical to standard partnership Pinochle. What changes is scale:

• Deck: 80 cards — A, 10, K, Q, J in each suit, four copies of each (no 9s, so no dix)
• Players: 4, in two partnerships
• Hand size: 20 cards each instead of 12

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Bidding and Melding at Double Scale

Double-Deck uses its own, smaller point scale. Aces, 10s and Kings are worth 1 point each in tricks and the last trick earns 2, so there are 50 trick points per hand. Meld is on the same small scale — a run is 15, a royal marriage 4, a pinochle 4, Aces around 10 — with big jumps for multiples: a double run is 150, a double pinochle 30, double Aces around 100. The opening bid is usually 50, and the game is played to 500. Scoring scales for triple and quadruple melds vary widely between groups, so confirm yours before you play. See Pinochle Bidding Rules for the base mechanics.

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Dealing for Double-Deck

With 4 players, each receives 20 cards, commonly dealt 4 or 5 at a time. See Pinochle Dealing Rules for the base dealing sequence.

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Trick-Taking Stays the Same

Once meld is counted, trick-play follows the exact same rules as standard Pinochle — follow suit, trump wins, highest card of the led suit otherwise. See Trick-Taking Rules.

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Where to Find a Double Deck

Most players combine two standard Pinochle decks with matching backs and remove all eight 9s. Some card makers also sell ready-made double-deck sets.

See Best Pinochle Decks for options, including double-deck sets sold as a pair.