Pinochle cards from each player's discard pile are included in totals for a total of 240 counters per round, plus one counter for winning the final trick. One variation to make it more difficult for the bid-winning player, the discard pile created by drawing cards is used by the non-bidding player to score towards tricks. In Three-handed pinochle each player plays for him or herself. The dealer deals 15 cards to each player and three cards to the kitty—a separate pile in the middle. All players review their cards and silently determine their bids. The player to the dealer's left initiates
Officers' Skat wins or loses, whereas game points determine how much is won or lost. Many people calculate the points using additional matadors ("Spitzen") as in Skat, so that in a game with all four Jacks and the Ace of trumps, the winner gets 5 matador points for a game value of 6 times the base value. The same goes for the calculation of "Unters" or Jacks not held. In addition there are also simplified forms of scoring: If agreed, a game can also be played where players can 'pass' instead of choosing trumps. If the actual declarer passes, the dealer can