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Summary

Hearts is a 4 player "trick avoidance" game. The player with the lowest points wins. There are no teams. However, wise players will form temporary alliances as the game progresses, with the 3 high-point players cooperating to give points to the player with the lowest points during each hand.

Cards are ranked from Ace (high) down to 2 (low).


Discussion of advanced hearts strategy

Objective

The objective is to avoid taking cards worth points and to finish the game with the lowest score.

Heart cards are worth 1 point.
The Queen of Spades is worth 13 points!

Deal

Each player is dealt a hand of 13 cards from a standard deck of 52 cards.

Pass

Each player chooses 3 cards to pass to another player. Cards are passed to the left on the first hand, to the right on the second hand, across on the third hand, and no cards are passed on the fourth hand. This cycle then repeats itself until the end of the game. [Exception: the no-passing round is skipped when using "Tournament Rules".]

Play

The player with the 2 of Clubs starts things off by playing it. The other players then each play a card in clockwise order until all 4 players have played a card. Whoever played the highest card with the same suit as the lead card, takes the cards. This is known as "winning a trick".

The trick winner starts the next trick. They can lead any card, except Hearts.

Players must play a card with the same suit as the lead card. If they do not have a card with that suit, they may play any card. There is one exception. On the first trick, you may not play Hearts or the Queen of Spades. (There is an exception to this too. If the game has the Option to "Allow First Turn Hearts", then you may play Hearts on the first trick if you have no Clubs at all. See the "Game Specific Options" section below.) The first time a Heart card or the Queen of Spades is played is known as "breaking hearts". From this point on players can lead Hearts.

Shooting the Moon/Sun

Normally you try and avoid taking point cards, because points are bad. However, if you do the opposite and manage to take every single point card (every Heart card and the Queen of Spades) then you will have "Shot the Moon". When you "Shoot the Moon" all other players are punished with 26 points.

Even more difficult is "Shooting the Sun". This happens if you manage to take all 13 tricks, thus every single card. This will punish other players with 39 points! This is a VERY rare occurrence and is a sight to behold!

If punishing your opponents with points would cause one of them to take first place and win, then your score will be reduced by either 26 or 39 points instead.

TRAM

If it is guaranteed that your hand will win all remaining tricks, you will be presented with a TRAM button. This stands for "The Rest Are Mine". Clicking it will give you all the remaining tricks.

This is just a way to make the game move along a bit quicker. This option is only available if it is impossible for anyone else to take any tricks due to the cards you have in your hand (such as A, K, Q, J of the same suit).

Game End

The game ends when any player reaches 100 points.

The player with the lowest score wins!

Game Specific Options

Allow First Turn Hearts
Normally hearts cannot be played on the first turn. Turning on this option allows hearts to be played on the first turn.
Hearts tables that have this option set will show up with 'afth' next to them in the 'list of tables'.
You can also check to see if your table has this option set by clicking on the 'table info' link at the lower left of your table.

Strategy

Passing:

Playing:

History

This version of Hearts first appeared somewhere between 1850 and 1880. It's origins can be traced back even further to a family of games called Reversis, which was popular in Spain around 1750.

Web Links

Pagat.com Hearts Page

Summary

Spades is a 4 player "trick taking" game. There are two teams of two, with partners sitting across from each other.

Cards are ranked from Ace (high) down to 2 (low).

Objective

The objective is to be the first team to reach 500 points.

Deal

A random player is chosen to be the dealer.

Each player is dealt a hand of 13 cards from a standard deck of 52 cards.

The player to the dealer's left goes first.

Bid

Starting with the start player and proceeding clockwise around the table, each player places a bid. They are bidding how many "tricks" they think they can take. Players may bid from 0 (nil) to 13 tricks.

Each team adds together the bids of each partner. This is the number of tricks the team must take as a whole to avoid receiving negative points.

A bid of 0 tricks is known as a "nil" bid. This player is saying that they will not take any tricks this hand. If they succeed in not taking any tricks, their team scores a bonus. If they take 1 or more tricks, they fail and their team will receive a penalty.

Play

The start player starts the trick by playing any card from their hand, except Spades. The other players then each play a card in clockwise order until all 4 players have played a card. Whichever player played the highest card with the same suit as the lead card, takes the cards. This is known as "winning a trick".

The trick winner starts the next trick.

Players must play a card with the same suit as the lead card. If they do not have a card with that suit, they may play any card (except on the first trick, in which you may not play Spades). The first time a Spade card is played is known as "breaking spades". From this point on players can lead Spades.

Normally the highest card with the same suit as the lead card wins the trick. However, if a Spade is played on the trick, then the highest Spade card will win the trick instead. This is known as "trumping" and the Spades are considered a "trump" suit.

TRAM

If it is guaranteed that your hand will win all remaining tricks, you will be presented with a TRAM button. This stands for "The Rest Are Mine". Clicking it will give you all the remaining tricks.

This is just a way to make the game move along a bit quicker. This option is only available if it is impossible for anyone else to take any tricks due to the cards you have in your hand (such as A, K, Q, J of spades).

Score

After each hand, scores are calculated for each team.

If a team took at least as many tricks as they bid, they will gain 10 points per trick bid. Every trick taken beyond their bid is worth 1 point.

If a team did not take enough tricks to meet their bid, they will lose 10 points per trick bid. This is known as being "set". For example, if a team's combined bid is '5' and at the end of a hand they only took 4 tricks between the two of them, then they will lose 50 points.

Additionaly, for every trick taken beyond what the team bid, that team will earn a "bag". Over the course of the game these bags accumulate. Every time a team accumulates 10 bags, that team will lose 100 points.

If a player bid "nil" and successfully does not take any tricks, then their team will gain 100 points.

If a player who bid "nil" fails and takes any tricks, then their team will lose 100 points.

Note that if a "nil" bidder fails and takes tricks, those tricks do NOT count towards the team goal. A "nil" bidder is on their own and so is their teammate in regards to making the bid.

Game End

The game ends when any team reaches 500 points or falls to -200 points. The team with the highest score wins!

Strategy

Bidding:

Playing:

History

Spades was invented in the the USA in the 1930s and became quite popular in the 1940s. Spades is a member of the Whist family of card games.

Web Links

Pagat.com Spades Page

Summary

Euchre is a 4 player "trick taking" game. There are two teams of two, with partners sitting across from each other.

Cards are ranked from Ace (high) down to 9 (low) except for cards in the trump suit which are ranked:

Objective

The objective is to be the first team to reach 10 points.

Deal

A random player is chosen to be the dealer.

Each player is dealt a hand of 5 cards from a deck of cards containing only A K Q J 10 9 of each suit.

The player to the dealer's left goes first.

Consider Up Card

A card is dealt from the deck face up for all to see.

Starting with the start player and proceeding clockwise around the table, each player has the option to "Accept" the up card as the trump suit or "Pass".

If the Up Card is accepted by any player, that card is given to the dealer who must then discard a different card and then normal play begins.

If all 4 players choose to "Pass", then we move to the Consider Suit phase.

Consider Suit

Starting with the start player and proceeding clockwise around the table, each player has the option to choose any suit to become the trump suit or they can "Pass".

If 3 players pass, the dealer is then forced to choose a suit to become the trump suit. This is known as "Sticking the Dealer".

"Stick the Dealer" is the default option for Euchre at the site. You may choose to uncheck this Option, in which case the dealer may pass instead of being forced to make a choice for trump suit. Passing has no penalty; new cards are redealt and the choosing phase begins again.

Play

The start player starts the trick by playing any card from their hand. The other players then each play a card in clockwise order until all 4 players have played a card. Whichever player played the highest card with the same suit as the lead card, takes the cards. This is known as "winning a trick".

The trick winner starts the next trick.

Players must play a card with the same suit as the lead card. If they do not have a card with that suit, they may play any card.

Normally the highest card with the same suit as the lead card wins the trick. However, if a card in the trump suit is played on the trick, then the highest trump suit card will win the trick instead.

Score

After each hand, scores are calculated for each team.

The player that chose the trump suit is part of the "Maker" team.

The other team is the "Defending" team.

If the "Maker" team takes 3 or 4 tricks, they will receive 1 point.

If the "Maker" team manages to take all 5 tricks, they will receive 2 points.

If the "Defending" team manages to take 3 or more tricks, then they will receive 2 points.

Going Alone

When considering the up card and suit, the players can also choose to "Go Alone".

When choosing this option, your teammate will discard their cards and will not play this hand.

Instead you are all on your own when it comes to taking tricks.

If you manage to take 3 or 4 tricks when "Going Alone" your team will receive the standard 1 point.

If you take all 5 tricks, your team will receive 4 points!

If the "Defending" team manages to stop you by taking at least 3 tricks, they will receive the standard 2 points.

Game End

The first team to reach 10 points wins!

Strategy

Selecting Suit:

Playing:

History

Euchre was first known to exist around 1850. Euchre was the game responsible for introducing the Joker. The version of Euchrehere on World of Card Games is the USA version of the game, which does not use the joker.

Web Links

Pagat.com Euchre Page

Euchre Tutorial

Summary

Twenty-nine is a 4 player "trick taking" game. There are two teams of two, with partners sitting across from each other.

The Jack card has the highest rank. Next highest is the 9 card, followed by Ace, 10, King, Queen, 8, and 7 (lowest). Once the trump suit has been declared, cards in the trump suit outrank all other cards.

Objective

The objective is to be the first team to reach 6 points.

Deal

A random player is chosen to be the dealer.

Each player is dealt a hand of 4 cards from a deck of cards containing only A K Q J 10 9 8 7 of each suit. Everyone gets 4 more cards after the bidding phase.

Bid

Starting with the player to the dealer's left, and proceeding clockwise around the table, each player places a bid. The bid is a guess at how many points they think that their team can take. Players may choose to pass instead of bidding. If not passing, they must bid at least 15, up to a maximum of 28.

If one player makes a bid, the next player must bid higher than that, or pass.

Bidding continues either until a player bids 28, or until 3 consecutive players pass. In the latter case, the dealer is forced to bid 15.

Choosing Trump

The player who bid highest now chooses the "trump suit." Cards with the trump suit outrank cards of all other suits.

When the trump suit is chosen, it remains hidden from everyone. It is known only to the player who chose it. It is only revealed later in the game.

Second Deal

After the trump suit is chosen, 4 more cards are dealt to each player, for a total of 8 cards in hand.

Play

The player to the dealer's left starts the trick by playing any card from their hand. Play continues in clockwise order until 4 cards are in the middle pile. Each card played must be of the same suit as the lead card.

The trick is taken by whomever played the highest card with the same suit as the lead card. This is known as "winning a trick".

The trick-taker is awarded points according to these rules: the Jack is worth 3 points, 9 is worth 2 points, Ace and 10 are worth 1 point each. Other cards are not counted. For example, if there is 1 Jack in the pile, and 2 Aces, and a 7, then the trick-taker is awarded 5 points.

The trick winner starts the next trick.

As soon as a player cannot play a card with the same suit as the lead card, then the trump suit must be declared immediately. After that, the player who could not follow the lead card can play any other card in their hand. Even after trump is declared, players must always play a card from the lead suit, unless they cannot because they do not have one.

Each trick is normally won by the person who played the highest card of the lead suit. However, if one or more cards in the trump suit are played in the trick, then the highest trump suit wins the trick instead.

Score

After each hand, scores are calculated for each team by adding up the teammate's points. The team which took the last trick gets an extra point, so that the total of both team's points always sums to 29 - hence the name of the game.

The player that chose the trump suit is part of the "Declaring" team.

The other team is the "Defending" team.

If the "Declaring" team makes at least the number of points that they bid, they will receive 1 game point. Otherwise, they will lose 1 game point

The "Defending" team does not score any points.

Royal Pair

The King and Queen of the trump suit are called the "Royal Pair."

After trump has been declared, the player who holds the Royal Pair in their hand can announce it immediately after they or their partner wins a trick. (Note that it is possible - and even likely - that no one holds the Royal Pair, in which case this rule is never active.)

Announcing the Royal Pair affects the requirements for the bid. If a member of the "Declaring" team does it, their bid is reduced by 4 points, to a minimum of 15. If the "Defending" team announces the Pair, 4 points are added to the bid, to a maximum of 28.

Seventh Card

In games where the "Seventh Card" option was allowed, the high bidder may choose the trump suit to be determined by the suit of the seventh card that is dealt to them.

This 7th card is kept out of their hand, and may not be played, until they cannot follow suit during a trick. It cannot be used to lead a trick, unless it is the last card played.

If you chose the "Seventh Card" option, be aware that trump suit cards in your hand do not have the power to trump until the trump suit is declared. Do not play a trump suit card and expect it to take a trick unless trump has been declared! When you play your Seventh Card, the trump will be declared automatically. The trump suit is also declared if another player cannot follow suit, as usual.

When trump is declared, the 7th card is moved into the declarer's hand. Then, it may be played according to the usual rules.

Double / Redouble

In games where the "Double / Redouble" option was allowed, either player on the "Defending" team can say "Double", once the bid has been won, and before the remaining cards are dealt.

If this is done, scores are incremented or decremented by 2 instead of 1, at the end of the hand. So if the "Declaring" team makes their bid, then they are awarded 2 game points. If they do not, then they lose 2 game points.

In response to a "Double" challenge, either player on the "Declaring" team can say "Redouble". If this is done, scores are incremented or decremented by 4, rather than 2. If the "Declaring" team wins, then they are awarded 4 game points. Otherwise, they lose 4 game points.

Game End

The first team to reach 6 points wins! If a team hits -6 points, they lose.

Strategy

Selecting Trump Suit:

Playing:

History

Twenty-nine (29) is among the "Jass" family of card games, in which the Jack and 9 rank the highest. It should not be confused with Twenty-eight (28), a similar card game with slightly different rules. It is especially popular in South Asia.

Web Links

Pagat.com Twenty-Nine Page

Summary

Gin Rummy is a two-player "draw and discard" game. The players make choices with the goal of accumulating their cards into "melds."

A meld is a group of 3 or more cards which belong together. There are two types of melds, "sets" and "runs." Cards in sets have the same rank. Cards in runs have the same suit, with cards ranked in consecutive order.

For example, a "run" of the Ace of Hearts, 2 of Hearts, and 3 of Hearts is a valid meld (3 cards of the same suit in consecutive order). A "set" of the Queen of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds, and Queen of Spades is another possible meld. Note that the Ace is always a low card, so that it cannot be placed next to the King to form a meld.

Cards in your hand that do not belong to any melds are called "deadwood" cards. By forming melds, players minimize the number of points that they have due to deadwood cards.

Cards are ranked from Ace (1 point) to Ten (10 points), with face cards (Jack, King, Queen) also counting as 10 points. Once a player has 10 deadwood points or less, they may "knock," which ends the hand.

Objective

The objective is to be the first player to reach 100 points and win with the high score.

Deal

For the initial hand, a random player is chosen to be the dealer. After the first hand, the dealer is always the "loser" of the previous hand (the player who was not awarded points).

Each player is dealt a hand of 10 cards from a standard deck of 52 cards. The deck is then placed face down on the table. The player opposite the dealer goes first.

Consider Up Card

One card is dealt from the deck face up for all to see.

The dealer's opponent may "Accept" the up card, and take it into their hand, or "Pass." When picking the up card, you must finish your turn by discarding some other card - not the up card, which you just picked. After discarding, the other player's turn begins.

If the non-dealer passed, the dealer now considers the up card, either choosing to "Accept" it or "Pass." If accepting, they must discard another card. Then it is their opponent's turn.

If both players pass, then the non-dealer must draw an unknown card from the deck. Then, they must follow by discarding any card from their hand. It is permitted to discard the card that they just picked, because it was not the face-up card.

Play

After the initial phase, play continues with each player choosing to pick either the up card, or an unknown card from the deck. Notice that there is a slight difference from the initial phase, where the up card is considered by both players before it is allowed to take a card from the deck.

Players must always discard a card after picking. After the discard, it is their opponent's turn to play.

Knocking

If a player has 10 deadwood cards or less upon discarding, they are given the opportunity to "Knock." The knocker displays their melds and their deadwood cards. Their opponent also displays any melds in their hands at that time. If they have any deadwood cards that can be added to the knocker's melds, they may do so, which can reduce their deadwood points. This process is called "laying off" the deadwood.

For example, if the knocker has a meld of three Tens, and their opponent has the remaining Ten, the opponent may "lay off" their Ten against the knocker's meld. This reduces the opponent's deadwood points by 10.

Score

At the end of the hand, deadwood card points are counted for the knocker and their opponent. If the knocker's points are lower, they are awarded the difference in points.

If the knocker has the same or higher deadwood points than their opponent, they have been "undercut." The difference in points is awarded to their opponent, as well as an additional 10 point bonus!

A knocker who has no deadwood is said to have "gone gin," which is especially fortunate. In this case, their opponent is not allowed to lay off deadwood against their melds. The knocker is awarded their opponent's deadwood points, and they also get a 20 point bonus!

Game End

When a player reaches 100 points, the game stops. The final score is computed by adding together the following points for each player:

Strategy

Up Card:

Playing:

History

Gin Rummy was reportedly invented in 1909 by a Whist teacher named Elwood T. Baker, and his son, Charles Graham Baker.

Web Links

Pagat.com Gin Rummy Page

Summary

3-5-8 is a 3 player "trick taking" card game, in the Whist group. It is also known as "Sergeant Major" or "8-5-3".

Cards are ranked from Ace (high) down to 2 (low).

If you enjoy the strategy of "shooting the moon" in the card game Hearts, you may find 3-5-8 similarly entertaining. In 3-5-8, you will be trying to take as many tricks as you can.

Tips: try working through the Tutorial before playing a game! And try playing a few games with robots, before playing with humans. This will help you become familiar with the mechanics of the game.

Objective

The objective is to be the first player to take 12 tricks in a round.

Deal

A random player is chosen to be the dealer.

Each player is dealt a hand of 16 cards from a standard deck of 52 cards. The remaining 4 cards form a "kitty" and are placed to one side.

Players are assigned a target number of tricks that they must take. The dealer's target is 8, the player to the left of the dealer has a target of 5, and the player right of the dealer has a target of 3.

Choose Trump

The dealer picks a "trump" suit: clubs, spades, hearts, or diamonds. Cards with the trump suit outrank cards of all other suits.

Next, the dealer chooses 4 cards to discard, and then takes the cards from the kitty.

Play

The player who is left of the dealer leads the trick by playing a card first. Turns are taken in clockwise order, each player "following suit" by playing a card of the same suit as the first card, if possible.

Once everyone has played a card, the pile of 3 cards are taken by the person who played the highest card with the same suit as the lead card. This is known as "winning a trick".

If a player does not have a card with the same suit of the lead card, they may play any card. Cards with the trump suit are special - they override the rank of other cards. If a card in the trump suit is played on the trick, then the highest trump suit card will win the trick.

The trick winner starts the next trick.

Exchange

When all cards have been played, the deal moves clockwise, and a new set of cards are dealt to each player.

If a player did not take their target number of tricks in the previous round, then they are said to have "undertricked." Players who have met more than their target number of tricks are called "overtrickers," and are given an advantage.

Discard and Play

After the exchange, the dealer calls trump, discards four cards, and takes the four cards from the kitty.

If the dealer undertricked, they will have exchanged one or more high cards with an overtricker. If they find higher cards in the kitty that are of the same suit as those exchanged with an overtricker, they must show the overtricker those cards that are higher in rank than those that were traded.

After showing any such cards, play begins. The first card is played by the person who is left of the dealer, as before.

Game End

The first player to take 12 tricks (or more) during a round wins!

Strategy

Discarding Cards:

Playing:

History

3-5-8 was reportedly popular among members of Britain's Royal Air Force, where it was commonly called "Sergeant Major."

Web Links

Pagat.com 3-5-8 (Sergeant Major) Page

Summary

Double deck Pinochle is a 4 player card game. There are two teams of two players, with partners sitting across from each other. Points are scored in two ways: via "melding" and "trick taking".

After cards are dealt, players combine their cards into particular patterns - called "meld" - to earn points. All players display their meld, and points are recorded.

Next, each person plays a card into a "trick". The highest ranking card wins the trick for the person who played it. The Ace card has the highest rank, meaning it is the most powerful card. Next highest is the 10, followed by King, Queen, and Jack (lowest). Cards in the "trump" suit outrank all other cards.

The only cards in a trick that score points are the Ace, 10, and King - each is worth 1 point.


Double Deck Pinochle for beginners

Objective

The objective is to be the first team to reach 500 points.

Deal

A random player is chosen to be the dealer.

Each player is dealt a hand of 20 cards from a deck of cards containing four A, 10, K, Q, J cards of each suit (a total of 80 cards).

Bid

Starting with the player to the dealer's left, and proceeding clockwise around the table, each player places a bid. The player who wins the bid gets to choose the trump suit, which can help to win their team meld points and trick points. This makes choosing trump valuable!

However, there are costs to winning the bid. First, you can only choose a trump suit if you have a "marriage" (King and Queen) in that suit. So make sure that you have a marriage when deciding what to bid. Second, in placing a bid, you assert that your team will win at least the number of points bid. For example, if you bid 65, then you pledge that your team will win 65 points. If your team fails to do this, then you lose the number of points bid!

Players may choose to pass instead of bidding. If not passing, they must bid at least 50.

Each player must bid higher than the previous bid made, or pass. Each player may bid more than once, as long as they continue to bid higher than the previous bid.

Bidding continues until 3 consecutive players pass. If no one has placed a bid, the dealer is forced to bid 50. Otherwise, the player with the highest bid wins the bidding war.

Note that if the dealer is forced to bid 50, but has no marriages at all, then their team will lose 50 points automatically.

Choosing Trump

The player who bid highest now chooses the "trump suit." Cards with the trump suit outrank cards of all other suits.

Choices for trump suit are restricted to suits in which you have a "marriage". If you are choosing trump, but have no marriages at all, your team forfeits and your bid is subtracted from your score!

Showing Meld

After the trump suit is chosen, players show any "meld" in their hands. A "meld" is a group of cards in a specific pattern. For example, the Jack of Diamonds and Queen of Spades form a "pinochle" meld, which is worth 4 points. Two pinochle melds in your hand are worth 30 points.

During the meld phase, the total meld points for each team are computed. If a team does not have at least 20 meld points, they will not earn any meld points at all! Also, if the bidding team does not have 20 meld, they forfeit the hand, and their bid is subtracted from their score! Regardless, their opponents will earn their meld, provided it is worth at least 20 points.

Meld patterns are given in the following table:

TypeMeld1234
Type I - Runs
and
Marriages		Run - A, 10, K, Q, J
of trumps		15150225300
Royal Marriage
K, Q of trumps		481216
Marriage
K, Q not trumps		2468
Type II - PinochlesPinochle - J Diamond ♦ & Q Spade ♠4306090
Type III - AroundsAces around - A in each suit10100150200
Kings around - K in each suit880120160
Queens around - Q in each suit66090120
Jacks around - J in each suit4406080


A specific card in your hand may belong to more than one meld of different meld types, but it cannot belong to more than one meld within a meld type. For example, if you have Kings around - K♦, K♠, K♥, K♣ - and also a Q♣ card, the K♣ in your Kings around meld will be paired with the Q♣ in a Marriage meld. However, if you have a Run in Clubs - A♣, 10♣, K♣, Q♣, J♣ - the King and Queen in that meld cannot count towards a Royal Marriage. You must have an extra King and Queen of that suit to make up a Royal Marriage meld.

Do not be too concerned about computing melds. Use the "Show Meld" button to show all melds in your hand that do not require a trump suit. The only melds that you will need to find on your own are Runs and Royal Marriages.

Play

The player who won the bid starts the trick by playing any card, the lead card, from their hand. Play continues in clockwise order.

When following with a card, you must play a card that outranks the highest ranking card in the trick. This is called "crawling".

For example, if the trick started with a King of Diamonds, and you have an A♦, 10♦, and Q♦, then you cannot play the Queen; you must play either the Ace or the 10.

If you do not have any Diamonds, but do have a card in the trump suit, you must play a trump card. If there are any trump cards in the trick already, you must play a trump card that outranks that card, if possible. Otherwise you must play some other trump card.

If you have no cards that outrank cards in the trick, you may play any card in your hand.

After all 4 players have played a card, the trick is taken by whomever played the highest ranking card. Remember that trump cards outrank all other suits.

The trick-taker is awarded 1 point for each Ace, 10, or King in the trick. Other cards are not counted. For example, if there is 1 Jack in the pile, and 2 Aces, and a Queen, then the trick-taker is awarded 2 points.

The trick winner starts the next trick.

The team which takes the last trick gets 2 bonus points, so that the total of both team's trick points always sums to 50.

Score

After each hand, scores are calculated for each team by adding up the teammate's meld points and trick-taking points.

Rule of 20

A team with less than 20 meld does not score any meld points.

If the bid-winner's team does not have at least 20 meld points, their bid is subtracted from their score! In this case, their opponent will score meld points, but only if they have 20 meld points or more.

A team that does not take at least 20 points during the trick-taking portion of the game cannot take any points at all; even their meld points are not counted.

If the bid-winner's team does not take at least 20 points during the trick-taking portion of the game, their bid is subtracted from their score!

If the bid-winner's opponents did not have 20 meld points, they may still score points during the trick-taking part of the game. They are only awarded trick points if they score 20 or more points from their tricks.

Game End

The first team to reach 500 points wins!.

If both teams reach 500 points on the same hand, then the winner is the high-scoring team. If they are tied, the winner is the bidding team.

However, if the "bidder out" option was chosen, and both teams reach 500 on the same hand, then the bidding side wins, even if their score is lower than their opponents. For example if the bidding side has 510 points and the other team has 540, then the bidding side still wins.

Strategy


Signalling via a "meld" bid

In Pinochle, it is a valid strategy to use your bid to signal something about your hand to your partner.

Partners often develop unique systems for signalling via bidding, but a commonly used pattern works as follows:

If a player opens with a bid of 50, it usually means they want to choose trump. If their partner is the dealer, it may also mean that they have a marriage, and are offering to choose trump in order to save their partner from being forced to choose trump. Remember that if the dealer is forced to choose trump but does not have a marriage, their team immediately gets 50 points deducted from their score!

An opening bid of 51 means you want to choose trump in a specific suit and also have some Aces in other suits (so the hand is reasonably strong).

An opening bid of 52 or more is an indication of the "trumpless" meld points in the player's hand (i.e. all meld except Runs or Royal Marriages). It indicates 20 meld points of this type (2 x 10 = 20). Similarly, 53 bid indicates 30 meld, etc.

If a player bids 1 more than the previous bidder, it indicates a desire to choose trump.

If a player bids 2, 3, 4, ... more points than the previous bidder, they are telling their partner how many "trumpless meld points" they have. For example, suppose the first player bid 53 to show they have 30 meld. If you have 40 trumpless meld, you then bid 57 (4 extra points indicates 40 meld).

Bids of 60 or more are usually made to force other players out of the bidding. Remember that you are required to score your bid in meld and trick points, so bid wisely! If you bid 60, and only take 20 points in tricks, you must have 40 meld points between you and your partner to make up the difference.

General Bidding Strategy:

General Playing Strategy:

History

Double deck Pinochle is derived from Pinochle, which comes from a 19th-century French card game called Bezique.

Web Links

Pagat.com Double Deck Pinochle Page

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Hi there! I'm Holger, and in March of 2023, I took over World of Card Games from Marya, who had been running it since 2013 when she took it over from Robert, the creator of the famous World of Solitaire.

I'll do my utmost to uphold my predecessor's high standards and plan on adding new games in the future, such as Rummy, Whist, Old Maid, Canasta, Pinochle, and Bridge.

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Bug FixFixed bug in Twenty-Nine that made it look like trump cards were ignored after joining game in progress
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Bug FixFixed bug that caused Go Fish to break when double-clicking on a card
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Bug FixFixed a bug that caused some players to be unable to get to an existing ranked table
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PinochleBidder Out option is now the default in Double Deck Pinochle
Bug FixList of tables showed some players as ranked when they were not
ImprovementTournament administration panel now has extra information
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Bug FixBots may not be invited to a ranked table until the game has started
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Bug FixFixed server side memory leak
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Bug FixFixed performance problem with Pinochle in Internet Explorer
ImprovementRegistered players may now store 4 extra private table names
PinochleCards are now sorted in standard way, with Aces at the left and weaker cards to the right
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New AvatarAdded 7 new Avatars!
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New GameNEW GAME!!! Added the game: 3-5-8 (also known as Sergeant Major)
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ImprovementFive redeals are now allowed in Spades
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EuchreRobots now lead with trump suit cards when going alone
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ImprovementPlay/Pause buttons are available at private tables
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ImprovementAdded 'Like Player' button, a yellow star, to help track your favorite players
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Bug FixFixed a bug that caused Gin Rummy robots to time out
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New GameNEW GAME!!! Added the game: Gin Rummy
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Bug FixFixed a bug that sometimes caused avatars to vanish
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SpadesMade more improvements to robot strategy in Spades
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EuchreImproved robot strategy in picking the lead card
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ImprovementMade improvements to robot bid and play strategy in Spades
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Bug FixFixed bugs in Twenty-Nine that caused bids not to be visible
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Bug FixFixed a bug that caused some Hearts games to freeze
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Bug FixFixed a bug that caused some games to freeze
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EuchreRobots no longer overtrump their partner if they are the last to play and their partner will take the trick
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ImprovementRe-added the link to invite all robots at once. When clicked, game starts with robots, who will be replaced by humans when possible
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New AvatarAdded 6 new Avatars, including 1 for Easter!
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OtherMoved to new server
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Bug FixSpades players with 'No Bag Penalty' option checked will not be seated with those who did not check this option
Mar 30 2014
SpadesAdded the option 'No Bag Penalty'
Mar 28 2014
New GameNEW GAME!!! Added the game: Twenty-Nine (29)
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Bug FixFixed a bug in Hearts which blocked players from seeing whose turn it was
Mar 17 2014
Bug FixFixed a bug that caused the Hearts game to freeze
Mar 16 2014
EuchreRobots now guard high trump cards
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Mar 8 2014
Bug FixFixed a bug that sometimes caused it to appear that a trick was taken by the wrong player in Spades, Euchre, and Hearts
Mar 2 2014
New AvatarAdded 5 new Avatars, including 1 for St Patrick's Day!
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EuchreRobots no longer lead with a low trump card when opponent goes alone
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New AvatarAdded 3 new Avatars for Valentine's Day!
Jan 25 2014
ImprovementAdded a new table option: Experienced users of the site may now avoid playing with newer users
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ImprovementAdded a link to invite all robots at once. When clicked, game starts with robots, who will be replaced by humans when possible
ImprovementIf table options are set to 'private table' with table name 'none', the game starts immediately with robots
Jan 6 2014
EuchreRobots now lead with high trump cards when going alone
Bug FixFixed a bug where clicking on Hearts game sometimes resulted in a blank table
Dec 22 2013
SpadesThe first few times a computer forces your card to be played, a nil bid will be taken into account
ImprovementPrivate table input under Options settings is now selected when displayed
New AvatarAdded 5 new Avatars!
Bug FixAfter clicking Play Again in the Game Over scroll, table info was not always displayed correctly; this has been fixed
Dec 10 2013
EuchreRobots will sometimes 'go alone'
ImprovementOptions settings are now shown in a larger panel
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Nov 26 2013
Bug FixDue to bug reports, the custom cursor has been turned off by default for all browsers except Chrome
Nov 24 2013
ImprovementThe 'leave table' link has been moved away from 'chat log' link to avoid accidentally leaving the table
ImprovementStop chatlog from scrolling upon update, provided you are 'holding' the scrollbar
Bug FixFixed the problem that zooming at 75% or less in Chrome caused a blank screen upon reload
Nov 14 2013
Improvement'Kick Player' button has been replaced with a 'Dislike Player' button
New AvatarAdded 5 new Avatars, including one for Thanksgiving!
ImprovementModify robot strategy when leading a trick in Hearts
Bug FixFixed a bug in Hearts that caused points to be deducted from the score of someone shooting the Moon, when they should have been added to other players' scores
Oct 29 2013
ImprovementTwo new sounds indicating a player left or sat down at the table
Oct 27 2013
ImprovementGong sounds when the game starts
Oct 22 2013
New AvatarAdded 9 new Avatars!
EuchreRobots lead with the right bower when possible
ImprovementResync warning message displays when the cards are reset due to differences between server and browser
Oct 15 2013
Bug FixFixed memory leak caused by animations
Bug FixProfanity filter now works on the scoreboard text
Oct 1 2013
New FeatureAdded the 'Kick Player' button
Sep 3 2013
New FeatureAdded the 'Bots' option
New AvatarAdded 5 new Avatars!
EuchreFixed a bug where a player was skipped on the turn after 'Go Alone' was used
Aug 4 2013
New FeatureAdded a 'Game Info' link at the bottom left corner of each card game that can be toggled to show current total number of game players
New FeatureIn a card game, the lower left links take precedence when resizing the screen, so 'Leave Table' is readily available
EuchreImproved robot gameplay so that trump cards are not needlessly discarded
Jul 28 2013
Bug FixFixed 'synchronization' bug which sometimes caused cards to vanish when refreshing browser
Jul 24 2013
New FeatureAdded a profanity filter option for chat
EuchreFixed a bug in scoring when going alone
New AvatarAdded 8 new Avatars!
Jul 09 2013
Bug FixChange support email address
Jul 08 2013
Bug FixFixed a bug where chat stopped working after first game
Bug FixFixed 'synchronization' bugs relating to being forced to play when taking too long
May 20 2013
EuchreFixed a bug where when someone went alone, after the first trick the game would deal a second hand of cards
May 17 2013
Bug FixFixed multiple 'synchronization' bugs that caused very odd things to happen (cards going to the wrong people, duplicate cards, unequal hands, etc)
EuchreFixed a bug where you could not choose 'Go Alone' if you were in the second phase of considering where you needed to pick a suit
SpadesAdded an extra tip to the 'Help' section for euchre
HeartsWhen someone shoots, their name now correctly fits in the name plate
ImprovementDecreased how long players have to take their turns. This should cause the games to move along at a bit faster pace
ImprovementPlayers who miss too many turns in a row are now booted from the table earlier than they were before
Bug FixFixed a bug where registered players were not being matched with Registered Only tables
May 13 2013
HeartsWhen shooting the Moon or Sun, if adding points to your opponents would cause one of them to take 1st place instead of you, points will be subtracted from your score instead of being added to your opponents
ImprovementPlayers who miss too many turns in a row are now booted from the table a bit earlier than they were before
ImprovementAdded some web links to the 'Help' for each game for more information on each game
Bug FixFixed several bugs behind the scenes
May 11 2013
New FeatureEach individual game now shows how many players are playing that game
ImprovementImproved the speed of the custom cursor when moving it around the screen
ImprovementThe custom cursor is now disabled by default for Internet Explorer 9 or earlier users
Bug FixFixed a bug where the game selectors on the home page would run into the footer bar at the bottom right
Bug FixFixed several bugs behind the scenes that could cause the web server to stop responding
May 10 2013
New GameNEW GAME!!! Added the game: Euchre
ImprovementAdded Game Specific option descriptions to the Help for Hearts. Also added a new FAQ question
Bug FixThe 'Zoom' warning no longer appears incorrectly on later versions of Chrome
Apr 03 2013
New FeatureIf a game has a dealer (Spades and the upcoming Euchre), that person now gets a 'Dealer' chip to denote they are the dealer
Bug FixFixed a bug where in a multiplayer game if a player missed their turn, the game would freeze!
Bug FixFixed a bug that caused chat in chat bubbles to sometimes go outside the chat bubble
Bug FixFixed a bug with the Spades tutorial that showed double suit symbols in the chat bubbles
Mar 30 2013
New FeatureAdded an FAQ which can be found in the bottom right corner
Bug FixFixed a few bugs behind the scenes that should improve game stability
Mar 27 2013
New FeatureAll games now have full rules and strategy available! Click the new 'help' link in the bottom left corner!
ImprovementThe font has been changed to be more legible
ImprovementImproved the Tutorials of all the games to be a bit clearer
Bug FixThe social buttons (Facebook, G+ and Twitter) now will never appear above anything else
Bug FixFixed multiple bugs behind the scenes relating to game stability
Mar 24 2013
New RobotsRobots now have new and different avatars
ImprovementA 'Leave Table' link is now always visible at bottom left corner and you can leave any game at any time
SpadesFixed a bug where the robots would sometimes try to make an invalid move on the first trick (played a spade)
ImprovementThe message box in the bottom right corner of the table now is a bit larger
ImprovementPlayers that miss multiple turns in a row have their turn time limit shortened sooner than before
ImprovementPlayers that miss too many turns in a row are now booted from the table a bit earlier than before
ImprovementThe tutorial chat bubbles should color suit symbols in their correct color
ImprovementiPad users should have a slightly more iPad friendly experience
Mar 23 2013
ImprovementAdded descriptive tooltips to the hand score and game score to explain what they are. Also separated them a bit from each other
ImprovementThe menus now disappear after selecting an item, this makes it easier to see your change and is less confusing
Bug FixFixed an issue where hitting 'Play Again' would sometimes cause the table layout to become messed up
Bug FixFixed multiple bugs behind the scenes to make everything a bit more stable
HeartsFixed a bug where if a user leaves after a TRAM, the new user would see the pre-TRAM cards in addition to the next rounds cards
HeartsFixed a bug relating to being forced to pass cards when taking too long to select some
Mar 21 2013
New FeatureAdded pie charts for the 'Most Played Games' in the statistics window
New FeatureAdded Win/Loss ratio bar in the statistics window
Mar 20 2013
New FeatureYou can now view individual game statistics in the statistics window
Mar 19 2013
New FeatureAdded statistics! View them by clicking the 'stats' link next to your username at the top.
Mar 16 2013
New FeatureYou can now click on your Username to show your user account page
New FeatureAdded a Change Password form to the user account page (registered users only)
OtherRemoved the settings menu and moved these settings to the user account page
New FeatureIf you miss too many turns in a row, you will be removed from the table
ImprovementThe number of players online now shows up right away (before it took up to 30 seconds to show)
Bug FixFixed a bug where private tables without names were matching each other
Mar 13 2013
OtherAdded a privacy and cookie policy link to the about box.
Mar 6 2013
Bug FixI have fixed many bugs that caused the games or robots to become unstable and stop working. More bugs remain and I am working on them.
Feb 26 2013
New FeaturePrivate Tables can now have names. This allows you and your friends to play on the same table together
HeartsFixed a bug. Now the Queen of Spades can now be led even when hearts are not yet broken.
HeartsAdded the option 'Allow First Turn Hearts'
HeartsFixed a bug where the Robots would not dump the Queen of Spades or Heart cards until after someone else broke Hearts
Feb 25 2013
New GameNEW GAME!!! Added the game: Spades
Feb 14 2013
ImprovementThe site should load much faster now, especially when using Chrome
Feb 07 2013
ImprovementThe cursor is now MUCH faster when moving it around the screen
ImprovementThe login and register boxes can now be closed by pressing escape
Jan 25 2013
ImprovementIf you leave a solo game (just you and robots) you now have 1 hour to return instead of 10 seconds
Jan 24 2013
ImprovementChanging wallpapers now happens twice as fast
Dec 28 2012
Bug FixFixed a bug where you would get just a black screen when visiting the site
Bug FixThe Invite a Robot chat tips now appear in the correct places and they now accept clicks themselves
Dec 27 2012
ImprovementThe wallpaper menu now has larger preview sizes for several wallpapers
ImprovementPressing escape will now correctly close open menus, about boxes, chat logs and table info
Dec 26 2012
New DeckAdded the new 'Ninaste' deck!
New DeckAdded the new 'Azzedar-san' deck!
ImprovementThe register and login forms now give live feedback about any errors while filling out the form
ImprovementThe current game name now appears as a watermark in the center of the table until the game starts. It can also now be found in the Table Info
Bug FixThe Chat Log now correctly shows the usernames of players who left the table
Bug FixThe Chat button and bottom right messages no longer sometimes appear underneath the footer bars
Bug FixThe scroll bars now correctly respond to clicking in the track to jump around
Nov 1 2012
New FeatureYou can now turn on a card Drop Shadow effect in the Options menu. This may cause slower performance
New FeatureThe Custom Cursor can now be turned off in the Options menu
New FeatureYou can now turn Hardware Acceleration on in the Options menu. This may cause slower performance
Oct 24 2012
New DeckAdded the new 'Torres' deck!
Aug 17 2012
ImprovementAbout box now closes when you press Escape or click outside the about box
ImprovementThe social buttons from Facebook, Google and Twitter are now hidden when playing a game
Aug 16 2012
New FeatureAdded Facebook Like button, Google +1 button and Twitter tweet button
Aug 15 2012
New WallpaperAdded over 50 new wallpapers!
Aug 13 2012
ImprovementYou can now leave a table that is underway, so long as that table is a solo game
ImprovementChat Bubbles stay on screen longer depending on how long the chat message is
ImprovementThe scroll bars in the menu are now a bit more visible
ImprovementThe active player pulsating pulsation now stands out more
Bug FixButtons are now sized large enough so that the text in them is readable
Bug FixSafari 5.1 now correctly rotates cards
Bug FixFirefox now correctly shows the Game Over scroll
Bug FixFixed some minor layout issues on the Game Over scroll
Bug FixThe about box is now smaller so it shows up correctly in smaller browser windows
Aug 3 2012
HeartsWhen someone shoots the Moon or Sun, there is a nice pretty screen that is displayed to notify players of the accomplishment
Aug 2 2012
HeartsA TRAM button is now available when you are guaranteed to take all remaining tricks
HeartsFixed some assorted bugs with robot players making incorrect decisions
New FeatureThere is now a 'Table Info' link at the bottom left corner that shows the current table options
ImprovementIf you get disconnected for some reason, it will automatically try and reconnect
OtherHelpful tooltips for actions now stop showing up after you have performed the action twice (instead of just once)
Aug 1 2012
New FeatureThere are now 'Forgot?' links on the sign in form in case you forget your user name or password
Jul 26 2012
ImprovementAnimations are now much more smooth thanks to hardware acceleration being used now
Jul 25 2012
ImprovementCards in your hand are now larger
OtherCards now rotate both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions, whichever is the shortest path to it's destination angle
Jul 24 2012
ImprovementCards in your hand are now fanned out in an arc, like many do in real life
Jul 23 2012
HeartsThe robot players are better at keeping spades for protection when they have the Queen of Spades. They also now correctly dump their Queen of Spades when given the chance
HeartsFixed that prevented hearts from being led even though the Queen of Spades had been played
OtherThe pacing of Go Fish game messages has been sped up
Jul 21 2012
ImprovementThe Game Over screen looks much nicer now with new scroll graphic and a better layout
Jul 20 2012
ImprovementCards now move more smoothly from one spot to the next
Jul 16 2012
New FeatureIn solo games, you no longer have a turn time limit (thus, the Pause button has been removed)
ImprovementThe menu bar is now always visible and the style is a lot less cluttered
ImprovementGreatly improved performance when moving the cursor around the screen and using the menus
OtherYou are now disconnected if you are idle for over 12 hours.
Bug FixFixed a problem where unselectable cards in some decks appeared selectable
Jul 1 2012
New FeatureYou can now 'Pause' the game if you are playing by yourself
Jun 29 2012
New FeatureUser names can now include unicode characters like Renée
Jun 28 2012
Bug FixFixed the cursor when mousing over unselectable cards to not be a pointer
Bug FixFixed links in the About box being unclickable
Jun 25 2012
New AvatarAdded over 100 new Avatars!
Jun 22 2012
New FeatureAdded the about box, including the change history
Bug FixFixed the Wallpaper menu so it shows a scroll bar when needed
Jun 21 2012
New WallpaperAdded over 40 new wallpapers!
Bug FixFixed the position of the Chat Button to correctly be in the far bottom left corner
Bug FixFixed a bug that when re-connecting you were sometimes kicked from your active game
Jun 20 2012
New FeatureAdded a 'chat log' link at bottom left corner
New FeatureIf you miss turns, you will have less time for your future turns. Returns to normal once you take a turn again.
HeartsIncreased play card turn duration to 25 seconds (was 20)
HeartsIncreased pass/choose turn duration to 35 seconds (was 30)
Go FishDecreased turn duration to 20 seconds (was 30)
Go FishAdded instructional messages if it's your first time playing
OtherIncreased Chat Bubble display duration to 5 seconds (was 3)
OtherThe turn hourglass now appears when 15 seconds remain (was 10)
OtherChanging wallpapers now has a fade in animation
Jun 17 2012
OtherAdded a Zoom warning if the browser's Zoom level is not set to 100%
Jun 14 2012
New GameNEW GAME!!! Added the game: Hearts
May 30 2012
New FeatureTooltips have been added to various places, such as the 'Click to Play' tooltip on the main game selector screen
Apr 26 2012
New FeatureAdded a 'private' table option
Apr 23 2012
New GameOur first game is available! Added the game: Go Fish
Feb 26 2012
New FeatureAvatar support added!
Dec 15 2011
First EntryWorld of Card Games first started being developed on this day!
Last Updated On Mar 3 2023show change history Privacy and Cookie Policy
How do I start a game?
On the main screen, simply click on any of the big pictures to play the game denoted by that picture.
Where is the Options button?
There's a blog page about that! Click this link to read about the Options button. There's a screenshot to help.
How do I play against the computer?
At a table, click the little grey robot next to any empty seat to invite a computer player.
How can I play by myself?
Click on the 'Options' button and check the "[X] Private Table" option. This will ensure no other players join your table.
How can I play with friends?
Come up with a name for your table and tell your friends. Now you and your friends should click on the 'Options' button and check "[X] Private Table". Then click (change) next to the Name: and enter your table name. You and your friends will all be seated on the same private table.
How can I forbid robots at my table?
Click on the 'Options' button and set the "Bots" option to "No". You will be seated at a table where robots cannot be invited. Be aware that it may take longer for the table to fill up with this setting; it will usually be faster when "Either" is chosen.
How can I turn off this custom cursor? It's moving slow.
Click on your username at the top right. Then uncheck the "[ ] Custom Cursor" option.
Why should I register?
Registering allows you to pick your own username. All your settings and statistics are tied to this account and thus you can play from different computers. As a registered user, your stats are never cleared. Registered users have extra privileges, like being able to save hand histories, and being eligible to play ranked games.
How do I chat?
Click on the Chat button in the lower left corner, and a small text area will open up. Start typing, and see your words appear in the text area. Hit the Enter key, and your words appear on the screen.
Someone is being rude, what can I do?
There is a red ⓧ icon below and left of the player. Clicking this icon records the fact that you dislike this player, and you will not be seated with them again. If the player is abusive, it is probably best to "dislike" them in this way and then abandon the table.
I "disliked" someone accidentally, what can I do?
Click on your user name in the upper right corner, and you will see a "Manage Dislikes" area with a list of any disliked players. Click on the "remove" link to undo the dislike, so you will be able to play with this person once again.
I have another question...
E-mail me your question at holger@worldofcardgames.com I personally respond to every e-mail I get.
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