Rules for playing Luxury Family (game variant of Pinochle)
1. Game preparation
This game is always played by three players and requires two packs of 32 cards each. At first, all eights and nines are extracted from both card packs. Now, each player receives four of these cards with different suits. These cards form the "suit cards" and must be placed face up by each player, so that everybody can see them. The remaining four cards may be set aside. Once the first dealer is determined, the remaining 48 cards are shuffled and dealt one at a time, so that everyone has 16.
2. Bidding
Once each player has taken up his cards, the player to the left of the dealer starts bidding. That means that he pre- dicts his prospective total number of points that he will reach at the end of the game with his meld and trick points. The bid points predicted must be divisible by 10. Now, it is the turn of his neighbor on the left to bid. If he cannot bid higher than his predecessor, he says "pass". Otherwise, he predicts his new bid points. Now, it is the dealer's turn to overbid the last predicted bid points again, and so on. The player who bids the highest at the end becomes the game maker. Once his bid points have been registered the game maker may determine which suit is trump.
3. Melding
Now, the game maker starts melding. Consequently, he puts down all his melds, face up on the table. After that, the other players may show their melds. If all melds are registered, the cards shown may be taken up again by each play- er. The following card combinations can be melded:
| Card combinations | Simple | Double |
| The Seven of the trump suit: | 10 points | 20 points |
| A couple (King and Queen of one suit): | 20 points | 60 points |
| A couple of the trump suit: | 30 points | 90 points |
| A family (King, Queen and Jack of one suit): | 40 points | 160 points |
| A family of the trump suit: | 60 points | 240 points |
| A luxury family (Ace, Ten, King, Queen and Jack of one suit): | 100 points | 1000 points |
| A luxury family of the trump suit: | 150 points | 1500 points |
| Four Kings of different suits: | 40 points | 240 points |
| Four Queens of different suits: | 60 points | 360 points |
| Four Jacks of different suits: | 80 points | 480 points |
In case of a family with a double couple, the second couple counts three times (100 or 150 points).
In case of a luxury family with a double couple, the second couple counts five times (200 or 300 points).
In case of a luxury family with a double family, the second family counts five times (300 or 450 points).
4. Trick taking
Card suits (1st ranking): trump suit, played suit, other suits (descending order)
Card values (2nd ranking): Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Jack, Seven (descending order)
Now, the game maker starts to play his first card. In turn, each player must lay out that suit which has been played. The player with the highest value of a suit may take all three cards and play the next card. If two cards of the same value are played to a trick, the first card played wins the trick. A player who cannot lay out the played suit must turn the corresponding card of his four "suit cards" face down (not earlier!). After that, he must play a trump suit. If the trump suit has already been played, any other suit can be laid out. The same applies if a player has neither the played suit nor the trump suit. In this case, two "suit cards" must be turned face down before a card is laid out.
If a player forgets to turn a "suit card" or it is turned after he has already laid out a card, he gets 20 penalty points. If a player plays or lays out a suit that he has already turned, he gets 50 penalty points. In both cases, the error must be noticed before the next card is played. A player, who uncovers turned cards, gets 100 penalty points.
5. Calculating the final score
Power points: Ace: 11 points, Ten: 10 points, King: 4 points, Queen: 3 points, Jack: 2 points
After the last trick each player adds up his power points. The total of all power points of all three players must be 240. If this is the case, the power points are converted (after deduction of penalty points) as follows:
As from 60 power points each further point counts twice (e.g.: 90 power points = 120 trick points).
As from 120 power points each further point counts three times (e.g.: 150 power points = 270 trick points).
As from 180 power points each further point counts four times (e.g.: 210 power points = 480 trick points).
The sum of meld and trick points is the total score of the first round. However, the total score of the game maker must be at least as high as he has bid at the beginning of the game. If he achieves fewer points, they become invalid and his bidding points are registered as minus points. The other players can have any score. Subsequently, the player to the left of the current dealer becomes the new dealer. The player with the highest score after three rounds wins.
6. Score List
| Luxury Family Score List |