Tips for Passing When Your Partner Wins the Bid

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.

No comments

Leave a Reply

Online Now

  • Greatest One

    Rating 152
  • Faybee

    Rating 980
  • joe

    Rating 1061
  • RB

    Rating 1600
  • Edgar

    Rating 1371
  • thebrain

    Rating 1654
  • ClarkBar

    Rating 1880
  • friar

    Rating 1170
  • Smiles

    Rating 4791
  • LizaMari

    Rating 1500
  • Shanee

    Rating 880
  • maire

    Rating 1006
  • Dominic

    Rating 1153
  • Ruby

    Rating 200
  • more

    Rating 1242
  • Tom

    Rating 822
  • Djs

    Rating 6870
  • MTG

    Rating 2047
  • carnell

    Rating 966
  • The User

    Rating 2781
  • Carter

    Rating 1632
  • midge

    Rating 1539
  • glen

    Rating 1762
  • Nick

    Rating 1883
  • steam

    Rating 1448
  • delco

    Rating 1236
  • John

    Rating 1903
  • Bill

    Rating 1222
  • Cyndi

    Rating 1279
  • annie

    Rating 1428
  • Bolger

    Rating 4581
  • Charles

    Rating 3388
  • Lillian

    Rating 1603
  • K K

    Rating 1045
  • hummel

    Rating 1240
  • Camie

    Rating 1639
  • Chi

    Rating 1330
  • daft

    Rating 1419
  • Jeff

    Rating 3270
  • flag

    Rating 1374
  • redbug

    Rating 1379
  • jd

    Rating 249
  • P E

    Rating 2067
  • Avalon

    Rating 1745
  • CK

    Rating 1229
  • Hick

    Rating 1475
  • buzz

    Rating 1377
  • Tidy

    Rating 349
  • Otis

    Rating 931
  • Jim T

    Rating 4105
  • Notsolucky

    Rating 3638
  • snarf69

    Rating 1561
  • Skunkle Hoecheck

    Rating 1648
  • boomer

    Rating 1188
  • pete

    Rating 1290
  • Eddie

    Rating 1272
  • zet

    Rating 1348
  • sammy

    Rating 1533
  • rizz

    Rating 942
  • faith

    Rating 1443
  • Dennis

    Rating 1393
  • manny

    Rating 1827
  • Takao

    Rating 1611
  • laurence

    Rating 1141
  • Eagles

    Rating 3895
  • broke

    Rating 999
  • lilah

    Rating 1056
  • Brigitte

    Rating 3689
  • Zeb

    Rating 1087
  • jemma

    Rating 1181
  • Antonina

    Rating 1696
  • sniper

    Rating 903
  • crypto

    Rating 1722
  • Mizzy

    Rating 4076
  • Tyana

    Rating 1977
  • jenifer

    Rating 1204
  • Lori

    Rating 788
  • Scotty

    Rating 1961
  • robin

    Rating 1714
  • Suz

    Rating 922
  • buddie

    Rating 1710
  • sheldon

    Rating 986
  • Theo

    Rating 3085
  • moirer

    Rating 403
  • dullboy

    Rating 1443
  • Tiberius

    Rating 1644
  • tractor

    Rating 1410
  • Clara

    Rating 1571
  • James

    Rating 5167
  • Mark

    Rating 2022
  • Avi

    Rating 834
  • wigton

    Rating 1345
  • chief

    Rating 1470
  • simone

    Rating 1197
  • Horan

    Rating 880
  • manser

    Rating 1152
  • Curdell

    Rating 1035
  • Walleye

    Rating 2239
  • hogue

    Rating 1775
  • Hemi

    Rating 1325
  • Trenga

    Rating 1518
  • rudy

    Rating 1396
  • felix

    Rating 1556
  • Storm

    Rating 1822
  • Ashley

    Rating 980
  • Vinnie

    Rating 1819
  • Putin

    Rating 1606
  • Chioma

    Rating 1733
  • Herman

    Rating 1275
  • Sandy

    Rating 3
  • james

    Rating 972
  • Steven

    Rating 1299
  • Robert

    Rating 798
  • Tamero

    Rating 1125
  • Trent

    Rating 1438
  • Phil

    Rating 1655
  • Darrin

    Rating 1594
  • Frank

    Rating 3146
  • Hunter

    Rating 2087
  • fretz

    Rating 1419
  • puñeta

    Rating 1393
  • Billy

    Rating 788
  • sergei

    Rating 1297
  • sandra

    Rating 1512
  • palmer

    Rating 1958
  • E

    Rating 1516
  • lynn

    Rating 1468
  • irma

    Rating 1912
  • Rats

    Rating 1604
  • BP

    Rating 1291
  • Arbek

    Rating 1084
  • kellee

    Rating 1097
  • Star

    Rating 1052
  • smores

    Rating 1408
  • Cherry

    Rating 1090
  • gary

    Rating 1134
  • ryan

    Rating 2114
  • mrsmith

    Rating 1175
  • Gail

    Rating 5400
  • Betimgood

    Rating 2141
  • Val

    Rating 3298

Today's Best Hand

Karen

Double Deck Cutthroat
King of DiamondsKing of DiamondsQueen of DiamondsQueen of DiamondsQueen of ClubsQueen of ClubsQueen of ClubsQueen of SpadesQueen of SpadesQueen of SpadesQueen of HeartsQueen of HeartsAce of ClubsAce of ClubsTen of ClubsTen of ClubsTen of ClubsKing of ClubsKing of ClubsJack of ClubsJack of ClubsJack of DiamondsJack of DiamondsJack of Diamonds
  • Ernie

    Rating 29495
  • John

    Rating 10496
  • Joe

    Rating 10184
  • Player

    Rating 9473
  • Brady

    Rating 9123
  • Dave T

    Rating 8986
  • Mark

    Rating 8006
  • Otto

    Rating 7828
  • Djs

    Rating 6870
  • Dakota

    Rating 6685