Pinochle Most books of post-1945 rules say that unless trump is led, there is no requirement to try to win the trick. It is only when trump is led that "heading" the trick is mandatory. In pinochle circles and tournaments the post-1945 rules are played about half of the time according to Pagat and Hoyle. If two identical cards are played, the first one outranks the second. After the first trick, the winner of each trick leads the first card for the next trick, until all the cards are played. Points are scored based on the tricks won in the hand.
History of Skat Altenburg suit bidding ("Altenburger Farbenreizen") and the point bidding system used today was that the suit bidding offered only the basic values of the games. Except in special cases, a player could not be overbid by an unfavourable Unter/Jack in the Skat, since the position of the Unters was not taken into account when bidding. "Matadors" ("Spitzen") were not taken into account until after the game. In addition, the game types differed from today's: Little is known about the early history and origins of point bidding. The first Skat Congress failed in its attempt to found an all-German Skat Association