Pinochle (sometimes pinocle, or penuchle), is a trick-taking game typically for two, three or four players and played with a 48 card deck. Derived from the card game bezique, players score points by trick-taking and also by forming combinations of cards into melds. It is thus considered part of a "trick-and-meld" category which also includes a cousin, belote. Each hand is played in three phases: bidding, melds, and tricks.
In some areas of the Un...
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Pinochle (sometimes pinocle, or penuchle), is a trick-taking game typically for two, three or four players and played with a 48 card deck. Derived from the card game bezique, players score points by trick-taking and also by forming combinations of cards into melds. It is thus considered part of a "trick-and-meld" category which also includes a cousin, belote. Each hand is played in three phases: bidding, melds, and tricks.
In some areas of the United States, such as Oklahoma and Texas, thumb wrestling is often referred to as "pinochle". The two games, however, are not related.
Pinochle derives from the game bezique, which is virtually identical to the original two-handed version of pinochle that is still played by some. The French word "binocle" also meant "eyeglasses". The word is also possibly derived from the French word, "binage", for the combination of cards called "binocle". This latter pronunciation of the game would be adopted by German speakers. German immigrants brought the...
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