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Large-Print Pinochle Score Sheet

Print a big, clear Pinochle score sheet with columns for the bid, meld, trick points and running total, or keep score on this page: enter the bid, meld and tricks, and the score keeper works out who made it, who went set, and who reaches 1,500 first.

Print a score sheet Keep score on screen

Common rules, your way. This page uses common rules for four-handed partnership Pinochle with a single 48-card deck. Rules vary from group to group, so adjust them as you like: you can change the winning score and switch the “save your meld” rule on or off.

How to play Pinochle in 6 easy steps
  1. Four players, two teams. Partners sit across from each other. A Pinochle deck has 48 cards: two each of the 9, jack, queen, king, 10 and ace in every suit. Deal 12 cards each.
  2. Bid. Starting left of the dealer, each player bids in tens or passes. Many groups open at 250. The highest bidder picks trumps, and their team must now reach that bid.
  3. Show your meld. Everyone lays down scoring sets, such as a marriage (king and queen of one suit) or a pinochle (jack of diamonds and queen of spades). Write down each team’s meld, then pick the cards back up.
  4. Play 12 tricks. Follow suit if you can and play higher if you can. If you cannot follow suit, play a trump. The highest card wins; if two identical cards tie, the first one played wins.
  5. Count trick points. Aces, 10s and kings in the tricks you won are worth 10 each, and the last trick earns 10 more. That makes 250 trick points in every hand.
  6. Score the hand. If the bidding team’s meld plus trick points reach the bid, it scores them all. If not, it “goes set” and loses the bid. The other team scores its meld and trick points. First to 1,500 wins.

How to use this score sheet

  1. Choose teams or players and how many (2 teams for classic partnership Pinochle, 3 for cut-throat, up to 6 in all), then type the names or leave the boxes empty to fill in by hand.
  2. Pick Large or Extra large print and your paper size, then press Print score sheet.
  3. Each hand, the bidding team writes its bid in its Bid box. After the meld, both teams write their meld. After the tricks, write trick points, then the new running Total.
  4. On a tablet, use the score keeper below: choose who won the bid, type the bid, meld and tricks, and the scores work themselves out.

Quick tips

  • Before you bid, add up your meld. With 150 in meld you only need 100 trick points to make a bid of 250.
  • Write the bid down the moment the bidding ends. It saves arguments later.
  • Play your aces early when you can. They are the safest way to win counters.
  • When your partner is winning a trick, give them a 10 or a king to add points.

Make your printable score sheet

Who is playing?
Partnership Pinochle is 2 teams. Choose 3 for cut-throat or six-handed (three teams of two). You can print for up to 6.
Print size
Names (optional)
Common: 1,500. Change it if your group plays to a different score.

Pinochle score keeper

For each hand, choose who won the bid, type the bid, then each side’s meld and trick points. The hand scores and running totals are worked out for you and saved on this device. Press New game to clear the scores.

What is on this Pinochle score sheet printable

Each team has four columns: Bid, Meld, Tricks and Total. Only the team that won the bid writes in its Bid column, which makes it easy to see later who was bidding in each hand. There are 14 numbered hand rows, the winning score is printed at the top, and a reminder of how each hand is scored is printed underneath.

For four to six teams or players there is not room for four columns each, so the sheet switches to a compact layout: one shared Bid column (write who won the bid and how much), then a Score and a Total column for each side. It still fits on one page.

Large print uses about 16-point names and 13-point column labels; Extra large uses about 20 and 15. The sheet is plain black and white, so it photocopies cleanly.

Pinochle scoring quick reference

Common partnership Pinochle scoring (rules vary)
ScoringPoints
Each ace, 10 or king won in tricks10
Last trick10
Total trick points in a hand250
Bidding team makes its bidmeld + tricks
Bidding team goes setminus the bid
Other teammeld + tricks
Common winning score1,500
Common single-deck meld values
MeldPoints
Run: ace, 10, king, queen, jack of trumps150
Aces around (one ace of each suit)100
Kings / queens / jacks around80 / 60 / 40
Double pinochle300
Pinochle (jack of diamonds + queen of spades)40
Royal marriage (king + queen of trumps)40
Marriage (king + queen, other suit)20
Dix (9 of trumps)10

A worked example. Your team bids 300, melds 180 and takes 140 trick points. 180 + 140 = 320, which reaches the bid, so you score 320. The other team melded 60 and took 110, so it scores 170. If you had bid 350 instead, you would have gone set and scored −350.

Running Pinochle at a senior center

Printing tips

Frequently asked questions

What happens when the bidding team goes set?

Its meld and trick points do not count, and the amount of the bid is taken off its total. That can leave a team with a minus score, which is normal.

What does “save your meld” mean?

In many groups, a team only keeps its meld points if it wins at least one counter or the last trick during play. The score keeper uses this rule unless you untick the box. It treats zero trick points as “no trick taken”.

What if both teams pass 1,500 in the same hand?

A common rule is that the bidding team wins, as long as it made its bid. The score keeper follows this rule; otherwise the higher total wins.

Can I use this for three-handed or double-deck Pinochle?

Yes. Choose three players for cut-throat, or three teams for six-handed double-deck. You can print for up to six sides. The scoring boxes are the same, though meld values and the opening bid differ in those games, so use your own rules.

Are my scores saved?

Yes, in this browser on this device only. Nothing is sent to us. Press New game to clear them. See the privacy policy.

More free score sheets: Hand and Foot, Canasta and Mexican Train, or see all score sheets.