Cutthroat Pinochle

Cutthroat is a fast-paced three-handed every man for himself Pinochle game.

Cutthroat is a popular Pinochle variation for three players. Unlike most partnership Pinochle games, Cutthroat pits each player against one another, every man for himself. It’s a fast-paced, highly competitive, and very strategic card game, requiring careful planning, good memory and discipline.

In this game, you can play online against real people or choose between 8 computer opponents, each with different skill levels and unique styles of playing. Each player is dealt 15 cards with 3 cards dealt face-down to the widow. Players bid after initial cards are dealt and the high bidder combines the widow cards to potentially form a stronger hand, then discarding the three weakest cards.

As of this release there are 12 options to customize game play to user preferences:

Number of Decks: Single|Double

Sound Effects: On|Off

Game Speed: Normal|Fast|Slow

Undo Button: On|Off

Must bid to win: On|Off

Minimum Trick Points: 0|1|2

Minimum Bid: 15|20|25

Bid Increment: 1|2|3

Point to Win: 75|100|150

Must Throw Higher Card: On|Off|Trumps

Must have marriage in trump: On|Off

Winner if multiple players make winning score

What's New in the Latest Version 4.2.0

Last updated on Apr 18, 2024

Added Expert-level tables

Objective

Cutthroat Pinochle is a trick-taking card game where the goal is to be the first player or team to reach a predetermined score.

Setup

* Use a standard deck of 48 pinochle cards.

* 2-4 players can play.

* Deal 12 cards to each player if playing with 2 or 3 players, or 10 cards if playing with 4 players.

* The remaining cards form the stock.

Gameplay

* The player to the left of the dealer leads with any card.

* Other players must follow suit if possible. If unable to follow suit, they may play any card, including a trump card.

* The highest card of the suit led wins the trick, unless a trump card is played, in which case the highest trump wins.

* The winner of the trick leads the next card.

* If a player wins all 12 tricks, they achieve a "pinochle" and score 300 points.

Scoring

* Aces: 11 points

* Kings: 4 points

* Queens: 3 points

* Jacks: 2 points

* Other cards: 1 point

* Pinochle: 300 points

* Marrying (taking a King and Queen of the same suit): 40 points

* Going alone (winning all 12 tricks without melds): 200 points

Melds

Melds are combinations of cards that score additional points:

* Run: Three or more cards in sequence, such as 5-6-7.

* Flush: Four or more cards of the same suit.

* Marriage: A King and Queen of the same suit.

Bidding

Before the first trick, players bid on the number of points they think they will score. The highest bidder becomes the "dummy" and plays with their partner against the other players.

Going Alone

A player may declare they are going alone at any time during the game. This means they will attempt to win all 12 tricks without any melds. If successful, they score 200 points.

Winning

The game continues until one player or team reaches the predetermined score. The player or team with the highest score wins.