Meld chart
The double-deck Pinochle meld chart
Meld is the half of Pinochle you can count before a card is played. The values are not intuitive and they do not multiply, which is why the second copy of a combination is worth so much more than the first.
The complete chart
| Meld | What it is | One | Two | Three | Four |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trump run | A 10 K Q J of trump | 15 | 150 | 225 | 300 |
| Aces around | One Ace in all four suits | 10 | 100 | 150 | 200 |
| Kings around | One King in all four suits | 8 | 80 | 120 | 160 |
| Queens around | One Queen in all four suits | 6 | 60 | 90 | 120 |
| Jacks around | One Jack in all four suits | 4 | 40 | 60 | 80 |
| Pinochle | Q♠ with J♦ | 4 | 30 | 60 | 90 |
| Marriage | What it is | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Royal marriage | King and Queen of trump | 4 each |
| Plain marriage | King and Queen of any other suit | 2 each |
Marriages are the one family that does multiply: three plain marriages in three different suits are simply 6, and three royal marriages are simply 12.
Sources: Pagat: Double Deck Pinochle; Cool Old Games: Double Deck Pinochle.
Many clubs still use the older scale, where every value above is multiplied by ten and a run is 150 rather than 15. Both describe the same game. Check which scale a printed score sheet is using before you argue with it.
Sources: Bend Pinochle Club: double-deck rules and scoring; Trickster Cards: Pinochle rule options.
The run absorbs its own marriage
A trump run contains the King and Queen of trump. Those cards are already paying you inside the 15-point run, so you do not also score a royal marriage for them.
Worked example
Run, then run plus a spare marriage
Holding A 10 K Q J of hearts with hearts trump is 15 and nothing more. Add a second King and a second Queen of hearts and you now hold a run plus one spare royal marriage: 15 + 4 = 19.
Sources: Pagat: Double Deck Pinochle.
Why the second copy is worth so much
The jump from one to two is the steepest step in the game. One run is 15 and two runs are 150. One Aces around is 10 and two is 100. That is ten times, not two.
Worked example
Counting a real hand
Suppose spades are trump and you hold two Aces of spades, two Tens, two Kings, two Queens, and two Jacks of spades. That is two complete trump runs: 150 points from ten cards, before any other combination in the remaining ten cards is counted.
This is why a bid that looks reckless can be sound. A hand one card away from a second run is worth bidding on, because completing it adds 135 rather than 15.
Around meld needs four suits, not four copies
Aces around means one Ace in each of the four suits. Four Aces of spades are four copies of one card and score nothing at all in the around family. It is the single most common misread of a meld chart, and it is easy to make when a double deck keeps handing you duplicates.
Pinochle itself is the specific pairing of the Queen of spades with the Jack of diamonds. No other queen-and-jack combination counts, and the pairing does not change when the trump suit changes.
Sources: Pagat: Double Deck Pinochle; Cool Old Games: Double Deck Pinochle.
Meld changes when trump changes
The same twenty cards score differently under each trump suit, because the run and the royal marriage both follow trump. Before you bid, count your best suit rather than your favorite one, and remember that the suit you name must usually contain a marriage to be legal at all.
Quick answers
Meld FAQ
How much is a run worth in double-deck Pinochle?
Fifteen for one run of A, 10, K, Q, J in trump. Two runs are 150, three are 225, and four are 300.
Does a trump run also score the royal marriage?
No. The run already contains the King and Queen of trump, so it absorbs that marriage. A second King and Queen of trump does score a royal marriage on top.
Is double Pinochle worth twice a single Pinochle?
No. A single Pinochle is 4 and a double is 30. Every meld combination jumps to a table value rather than multiplying.
What counts as Aces around?
One Ace in each of the four suits, worth 10. Four Aces of the same suit score nothing, because around meld needs all four suits.
Stop counting by hand
Use the free meld calculator
Enter your twenty cards, pick a trump suit, and see every combination itemized.