Pinochle

DeWitts like their card games! Some of my very limited memories of my Great Grandma and Grand parents were of them playing cards with my Mom and Dad. All card games are superior to board games (with the exception of Settlers of Catan). And of all the card games to be played, Pinochle is the very best. It is full of strategy, best played in teams, always different and like the lottery (which we don't play) there is always the chance for miraculous fortune. We have tried teaching Pinochle to Dave's family and many friends but with all of its complexity it often discourages new learners. And so as Dewitts (and in-laws) we are proud connoisseurs of the very prestigious game of Pinochle.

We play many games when we go for a visit to Arizona. Dave and I had played who knows how many games, and had lost them all. It was very discouraging. And then to make matters worse...way worse...my Dad rubs it in with a double run! For all of you non-pinochle playing people, a double run is very rare! So rare that I have only seen it three times in my life. So rare that it is worth 150 points. That wins you the game right then and there, you only play to 150 points! It was sickening. I was turning yellow and green (a bit of envy) by the minute watching my Dad jumping up and down for joy holding up his hand full of cards. I mean it really was rubbing it in. We were total losers, failures and really having no fun at all!

And then it happened. Redemption! After getting our butties kicked game after game, night after night we finally had some extraordinary luck ourselves. While a double run is hand down, undeniably the rarest awesome luck in the world, double aces don't happen every day either. So here is my hand, double aces 100 worth 100 points and a run worth 15 points! Plus we took every trick, another 25 points. With that one hand alone (with a bit of meld from Dave) we finally one a game! What an amazing week for cards!