Skat (card game) each, then deal the "Skat", then four cards each, then three cards again (“three–"Skat"–four–three”). In four-player rounds, the dealer does not receive any cards and skips actual play of the round. He or she may peek into the hand of one other player (if allowed to do so) but never into the "Skat". Dealing rotates clockwise around the table, so that the player sitting to the left of the dealer will be dealer for the next round. After the cards have been dealt, and before the deal is played out, a bidding or auction () is held to decide: The
Pinochle and is forbidden. There are occasionally different meld values for a run and a pinochle; a run being 250 or 150 points, and a pinochle being 150 or 40 points. All other aspects of the game generally remain the same. Technical Misdeal If a player is dealt 13 or more non-counters and no aces, the player may declare a technical misdeal. This must declared before he or she plays the first trick. A technical misdeal nullifies all points melded for all players. The hand is then re-dealt by the original dealer of that hand. In triple-deck pinochle six play in