When your partner is the high bidder, they’re the star of the show. Put your ego aside and focus primarily on ways to boost your partner’s hand and help them maintain control of the tricks. Focus on passing cards that will help strengthen their hand, even if it means giving up melds for yourself. This article gives some tips on how to approach passing when your partner is the high bidder and suggests an order of priorities to help you make critical passing decisions.
Passing Priorities
1. Always pass Trump Cards (Except 9s)
Passing trump cards (except 9s) strengthens your partner’s trump suit and improves their control of the game.
2. If the trump suit is Spades or Diamonds pass Pinochle parts
- If Diamonds are trump, pass Spade Queens.
- If Spades are trump, pass Diamond Jacks.
- Do not pass Pinochle parts if Hearts or Clubs are trump—let your partner pass them back to you since they are likely trick losers for them.
If your partner choose Spades or Diamonds as the trump suit and their bid signals that they are going for a Double Pinochle, you may decide that they are holding the other Pinochle cards, and choose to pass your Pinochle cards before passing trumps.
3. Other Aces
Passing Aces may help your partner get Aces Around and are essential for winning tricks, so passing them will help your partner maintain control of the tricks for as long as possible.
4. Trump 9s
While lower in priority, passing Trump 9s can be useful if there are no better options, as having many trumps in hand will also help your partner maintain control of the tricks.
Deciding What to Keep
If you have more than four valuable cards to pass, consider the following when choosing which ones to keep:
1. Trump 9s
Always keep Trump 9s if you must decide between other high value cards.
2. One of a Pair (in Trumps or Aces)
- If you have two identical Trump Jacks, keep one.
- If you have two Aces in a non-trump suit, keep one.
3. Non-Trump Pinochle Ace (If Spades or Diamonds Are Trump)
- If Spades are trump, keep the Diamond Ace to win your partner’s Jack.
- If Diamonds are trump, keep the Spade Ace to win your partner’s Queen.
4. Aces in Strong Suits (If Hearts or Clubs Are Trump)
- Pass Aces in suits where you still have a strong card (like a King or 10), allowing you to discard them strategically.
5. Aces in Long Suits Over Short Suits
- Keep Aces in your longer suits and pass Aces from shorter suits, as short-suit Aces are more likely to be trumped by the opposing team.
Special Considerations
Choosing between Aces Around or Trump Cards
If you have Aces Around (one Ace in each suit) along with other non-9 trumps, follow these guidelines:
- Keep Aces Around intact if your only non-9 trump is an Ace.
- Pass non-9 trumps to your partner if you have any, keeping Aces Around for a minimum guaranteed 10 point meld.
- Even if your partner fails to form a run, they will still get at least 4 meld points for getting a trump marriage and you’ll keep your 10. In this case, 14 certain points is often more prudent than 15 potential points.
Choosing between Kings, Queens, or Jacks Around or Trump Cards
- The math changes a bit for these as these sets have lower meld value than Aces Around.
- It’s usually better to pass a trump King or Queen to increase your partner’s chances of making a run or at least a trump marriage.
- It’s usually better to pass a trump Jack, even if it means breaking up your Jacks Around, since a potential 15 point run is worth significantly more than a measly 4 points for Jacks Around.
What If You Don’t Have Enough Good Cards to Pass?
If you have fewer than four high value cards, consider these options instead:
1. Passing Non-Trump 10s and 9s
- Hold on to your Kings or Queens to potentially form marriages or complete sets when your partner passes cards back to you.
- If you have two identical 10s, pass one of them.
2. Passing Side Suit 9s When Out of Trumps, Aces, and Pinochle Parts
- Retaining non-trump Jacks increases the chance of forming Jacks Around or a Pinochle if Jack or Diamonds.
- Passing non-trump 10s is risky since they may be lost to an opponent’s Ace. If you have other cards in the same suit keeping them can be better as it allows you to discard them strategically for tricks when you know your partner will win the trick.
3. Passing Strongest Cards from Your Longest Suit (If No Trump or Aces)
- Strengthening your partner’s long suit can help them take more tricks.
- If you have a suit with two 10s, consider passing them.
4. Passing Three Kings, Queens, or Jacks from Different Suits
- There’s a 55% chance your partner holds the fourth card, leading to potential Kings, Queens or Jacks Around melds.
- Alternatively, keep your three non-trump Kings, Queens, or Jacks and wait to see if your partner passes the fourth trump back to you.
Final Thought
Although these tips can help guide your thought process, there is one single approach that works in every situation. Use your own judgment and the hints you pick up on during gameplay to make the best passing decisions. Once you become an experienced player, sometimes using your intuition is best…if you have a strong hunch telling you what to do, sometimes it’s ok to forgo these practices and take a chance on your gut.
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