Smear (card game) may be discarded in a trick won by the player's partner, like in Pinochle, or even to "smudge," which is the highest bid in some forms of Pitch. Partnership Smear is played by four players in fixed partnerships, sitting crosswise. It can also be played by six players in three partnerships. The following version is one of several described by John McLeod. The game is played with a deck of 54 cards including two Jokers (Jo). The cards are ranked in the usual order, Aces ranking high. In a feature borrowed from Euchre, the Jack that is not trump but
Pinochle team or player has been "set". This means that the total bid amount is subtracted from the total game score, often accompanied by losing the points scored in meld for that hand as well. This can result in a negative score. A related though different style of bidding is for the players to bid individually, and partners' bids are then summed. The winning bid only decides trump; both (or all) teams' bids become their contract, meaning any team can score or be set. This creates a more balanced game. In some versions of pinochle, after the bid has been taken