HEY SPORTS FANS, we're back....................
Another Wednesday in the books, another snowstorm on the way.... WHAT THE @&%!
12 to 18 inches starting later tonight into and through late Friday morning. Oh well, the bright side, I laid in plenty of firewood, food and beverages (fill in beverage of your choice, we probably have it somewhere in the house) and we got class number three in the books. Tonight's blog will be a little verbose as we delve into bidding and some pinochle basics. So pour a drink, cozy up to the monitor and follow along...!
Got a "Hershisher" thrown at us tonight (Orel Hershisher, pitcher Texas Rangers threw a monster curve ball). Played Four Handed Pinochle, YIKES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, basics. Three handed, three people or two people and a dummy or kitty hand (refer to blog two) bidding starts at 15 and you play to 100. Four handed, four people, no dummy or kitty, bidding starts at 20 and you still play to 100.
Bidding: you count what's in your hand (meld - look this up on pinochle.com too long to explain here) and possible tricks (winning hands or rounds you'll take) in order to determine your bid. Example: I have four different aces (worth 10 points total) two marriages (King and Queen of the same suit worth two points each marriage, unless they are trump (trump, dominate suit, called by the bid winner, kills every other suit) marriages then worth four points each). So let's say I have four aces and two non-trump marriages, I have fourteen points in my hand so in three handed I'd have no trouble bidding 15 to start since I only have to take one trick to make my bid. If you don't make your bid you lose the bid number off your total score (this sucks) and you could go negative score. Look, I know I'm jumping around here, but if you read every blog I promise you, you'll be able to play basic pinochle. There are two kinds of bidding, Auction bidding, going around starting at fifteen until someone wins the bid (which could take awhile) or our favorite, Twice around. Starting with the dealer everyone bids once, unless everyone passes and then the dealer is stuck with the bid, or if someone bids high (let's say three handed with three people. Person to the left of the dealer bids fifteen, next person bids sixteen, dealer bids seventeen, it goes around again and if no one bids higher, seventeen wins). Get it? Come on, this isn't rocket science...... Well, four handed is the same starting at twenty.
Well................ we played and for the first time I was separated from my best friend. She was on another team. I was lost, I was lonely, I was naked (not really, you'd have seen a news report about a room full of people projectile vomiting) but anyway we were apart, sniff....
And..................I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes believe it or not, my partner and I won four handed resoundly over our adversaries. Yep, I won, Huzzah huzzay, let the doves loose! My partner and I were able to work together to take tricks and win the match over our challengers who consistently had better hands. Why you ask? We both knew how to count and keep track of what was played. So back to an earlier tip. PLAY, PLAY, PLAY, the only way to get better.
So pinochle and snacks fans, we'll be playing through the next two days of snow and honing our skills. I/we sincerely hope we meet you in a dark alley one night, you holding your pinochle deck, looking for an easy mark and we are doing the "Crane Technique" ready to kick that deck out of your hands and win the match..... AHHHHHHHH hahahahahahahhahahahha.........cough, cough...
See you next Wednesday! Same Bat time, same Bat channel.....
PROUD MOMENT: Our son's 800 free relay team (swimming for you neophytes) set a new college record tonight!
TIP THREE: wait for your partner or your opponent to play, don't rush. You could throw away a card and lose a later trick that could cost you the game.
RECIPE THREE: Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Take a package of pita bread and slice them into 1/4 inch ribbons. Melt 1 and 1/2 sticks butter in a sauce pan, mix in Parmesan cheese (at least one cup) and dried oregano (at least 1/2 cup) and mix well. Mix cheese into butter in small batches to prevent clumping. Stir in oregano. Mix cheese, oregano and butter mixture with pita ribbons in a large bowl and spread on a cookie sheet covered with non-stick aluminum foil. Place in oven and check every three to five minutes. They will go from light brown (done) to charcoal in a flash due to the large amount of butter. Cool, place into a serving bowl and enjoy with an ice cold beer!
NEXT WEEK: Class four, more tips, more snow, and a beefy, sexy snack...!
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