Auction Pinochle
The 3-player Pinochle variant where you bid to play alone — meet your contract or pay all three kitty values.
What Is Auction Pinochle?
Auction Pinochle is the three-player version of Pinochle. Instead of partnerships, one player bids and plays alone while the other two team up to stop them. The twist: three face-down widow cards help the bidder. The scoring structure rewards big bids but punishes failure — and all three players can win or lose chips on the same hand.
What You Need
- A 48-card Pinochle deck (two of each: 9, 10, J, Q, K, A in all four suits)
- 3 players
- Chips or a score pad
Card Rankings
Ace (highest), 10, King, Queen, Jack, 9 (lowest). Applies to both trump and non-trump suits.
Setup
- Deal 15 cards to each player, plus 3 face-down cards to the center — the widow.
- Bidding begins with the player left of the dealer. Minimum bid is 300.
Bidding
Players bid in multiples of 10 until two players pass. The highest bidder wins the auction. The other two players become the defenders.
Taking the Widow
- The bidder picks up the 3 widow cards (now 18 in hand).
- Declare the trump suit.
- Show your melds face-up and score them.
- Discard 3 cards face-down (they count as tricks won by the bidder for scoring).
- Bidder must be able to score at least their bid from melds + trick points, or concede.
Melds (same as regular Pinochle)
- Run (A-10-K-Q-J of trump): 150 pts
- Aces Around: 100 pts
- Kings Around: 80 pts
- Queens Around: 60 pts
- Jacks Around: 40 pts
- Pinochle (J♦ + Q♠): 40 pts
- Royal Marriage: 40 pts
- Common Marriage: 20 pts
Trick Play
Bidder leads first. Defenders must follow suit; trump if unable to follow; play any card only if they have neither. Trick points: A=11, 10=10, K=4, Q=3, J=2. Last trick = 10 pts.
Settling Up
- Bidder makes bid: Each defender pays bidder a chip value based on the bid amount.
- Bidder fails: Bidder pays BOTH defenders (double the chip value).
- Conceding before play: Bidder pays a reduced amount.
Strategy Tips
- The widow can save a borderline hand — but don’t overbid hoping for a perfect widow.
- Lead trump early to strip defenders’ power.
- Defenders must coordinate — one covers trump, the other feeds points to the trump leader.