Once melding is done, all cards return to hand and the real card-by-card play begins. This is the phase where the bidder tries to actually capture the points they bid for.
Who Leads
The bidder leads the first trick. After that, whoever won the previous trick leads the next one. Play moves clockwise.
Following Suit
Each player must play a card of the suit that was led, if they have one. If they don’t have that suit, most tables require them to play a trump card if possible (“must trump in”) — this is a common house rule variation, so confirm it before you start. If a player can’t follow suit and can’t trump in, they may play any card.
Winning a Trick
- If no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
- If any trump is played, the highest trump played wins the trick, regardless of the led suit.
- The winner of a trick collects all 4 cards and leads the next trick.
Card ranking within a suit follows the order A-10-K-Q-J-9 — see Pinochle Card Ranking if that’s still unfamiliar.
Card Point Values in Tricks
Every card captured in a trick contributes points toward the total. This is separate from meld scoring — it’s counted from the cards actually won during play.
| Card | Point Value |
|---|---|
| Ace | 11 |
| 10 | 10 |
| King | 4 |
| Queen | 3 |
| Jack | 2 |
| 9 | 0 |
There are 240 total trick points available across all 48 cards each hand, plus a 10-point bonus for winning the last trick, making 250 points total in play per hand.
Playing Out All 12 Tricks
Play continues until all 12 tricks are played and every card has been used. Each partnership adds up the point value of every card they captured.
After the Last Trick
Once all tricks are played, each side’s trick points are added to their meld points from earlier. The bidding side checks whether they reached their bid; the defending side simply banks what they earned. Full scoring math with worked examples: Pinochle Scoring Explained.