Meld Bidding In Pinochle
Meld bidding should occur on the first bid and only the first bid of every hand for each member.
1. If you open with a bid of 50, it means you either have a run and can name trump but don't have enough meld to give a meld bid, or you see your partner could get stuck with the bid and you are giving a save bid so he/she doesn't get stuck without a marriage
2. The most often used meld bid is up 1 point for every 10 meld points in your hand
a. You never meld bid "up-1" because "up-1" means you want to take the bid and name trump, your partner can usually assume you have at least 10 meld points so an initial bid of 50 means you have a good enough hand to name trump.
b. An initial bid(only works if you are the first bidder) of 51 means you have Aces around
c. You would use 52 if you were the first bidder, to tell your partner you had 20 meld point
d. Never include runs in your meld bid because they are only true if that run is trump.
3. A meld bid of 59 tells your partner you have double aces around but perhaps do not have a run or worse a marriage so your partner had better bid if he/she has a marriage.
4. You can usually stretch a meld bid if you have 16 or 18 up to 24 meld points bid up 2
5. A meld bid of 3 up from the previous bidder usually means double pinochle or 30 meld points
6. A meld bid of 4 up from the previous bidder could mean double Jacks around or 40 meld points
7. A meld bid of 6 up from the previous bidder usually means double queens around
8. A meld bid of 8 up from the previous bidder usually puts you into the 60's and no longer is helpful.
9. If you have a double run, you should right away bid 65 or higher
10. If someone has bid in the 60's already and you want to tell your partner you have a huge meld (30 or more points) do a "jump bid" which means if you are up to bid 65, skip the 65 and bid 70.
11. Generally speaking you count your meld points(including the run in trump) plus 10 points from your partner(unless you know better) and plan to capture 20 points in tricks which gives you an idea what should be a safe maximum bid in each hand.
Some Play Hints To Give Your Partner
1. An ace played on your partner's ace means you either have the rest of the aces in that suit or you have an ace that isn't covered and you gave it to you partner so you wouldn't give it to opponents.
2. A Jack played on your partner's Ace usually means you have an ace in that suit too but it wasn't included in your meld. Always play a King or 10 on your partners Ace if he/she already knows you have an ace.
3. If you no longer have a point(K or 10 or A) to play on your partners Ace playing a Q means you are running out of that suit, let's bleed them.
4. If you can't figure what would be the best lead after you've run out of Aces and sure trick takers lead a Queen. A queen assures the opponents must play a counter if they have one and you haven't given up any counters for that trick.