How to Play

Cinch (High Five, Double Pedro) is an American partnership trick-taking game in the All Fours family, immensely popular in the late 19th century. 4 players auction for the right to name trump; the two Pedros (5 of trump, Right Pedro; 5 of same-colour suit, Left Pedro) each score 5 of the 14 points per hand, and first team to 51 wins.

Cinch (also High Five or Double Pedro) is an American partnership trick-taking game in the All Fours family, immensely popular in the late 19th century. 4 players in fixed partnerships auction for the right to name trump; the standout feature is the two Pedros (the 5 of the trump suit and the 5 of the same-colour suit) which each score 5 points in captured tricks, out of 14 points available per deal. The first partnership to reach an agreed target (commonly 51 points) wins the match. A full session of 51-point Cinch takes about 45 minutes.

Players

4 players in two fixed partnerships; partners sit across from each other. Two-, three-, five-, and six-player individual variants exist (see Variations) but the canonical Cinch is the 4-player partnership game. The first dealer is chosen by cutting for high card; the deal rotates clockwise after each hand. The deal rotates after each complete hand.

Card Deck

One standard 52-card deck, no jokers. All four suits (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades) and all thirteen ranks are used. Rank order within a suit: Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (low). A trump suit is named each hand by the bid winner (see Bidding); the 5 of trump is called the Right Pedro and the 5 of the same-colour suit as trump is called the Left Pedro. Both Pedros rank as trumps for the hand.

Objective

As the bidding partnership, capture at least the number of points bid from the 14 available in each deal. Over successive deals, the first partnership to reach the agreed match score (commonly 51 points) wins. The bidding side that makes its bid scores the points it captured; the side that fails has its bid deducted from its running score.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 52-card deck thoroughly and offer a cut to the player on the dealer's right.
2. Deal 9 cards to each player in batches of 3, clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer's left. Set the remaining 16 cards aside as a face-down stock; it is used after bidding.
3. Bidding: Each player gets one chance to bid, starting with the player to the dealer's left and proceeding clockwise. Bids range from 1 to 14; each successive bid must be higher than all previous bids, or the player passes. A player who has passed cannot re-enter the auction. The highest bidder becomes the maker for that hand and their partnership is the bidding team.
4. Trump declaration: The maker announces the trump suit out loud.
5. Discard and draw: Every player now discards face-down any non-trump cards they do not want to keep (typically all non-trump cards); the dealer then deals each player enough cards from the stock to fill their hand back up to 6 cards. If the stock runs out during refill (rare), the dealer distributes the remaining cards as evenly as possible. The maker may sometimes take more cards than 6 if they wish to see more of the stock.
6. Misdeal: If a card is exposed during the initial deal or the wrong number of cards is dealt, the deal is void and the same dealer redeals.

Gameplay

1. Leading the first trick: The maker leads any card (including non-trump) to the first trick.
2. Trick structure: Play proceeds clockwise. Each player plays one card face-up to the centre. You must follow suit if you hold any card of the led suit. If void, you may play any card including a trump.
3. Pedros follow trump suit: The Left Pedro (the 5 of the same-colour non-trump suit) is considered trump for the hand. If trump is led, players holding the Left Pedro must play it (since it counts as trump and they are not void in trump). If the Left Pedro's natural suit is led, players may play the Left Pedro as a trump rather than following suit, because it is now part of the trump suit rather than its natural one. Standard All Fours rules apply: treat the Left Pedro exactly like any trump card.
4. Winning a trick: The highest trump played wins the trick. If no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins. The trick winner leads the next trick. Trump ranking with Pedros: A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 of trump (Right Pedro), 5 of same colour (Left Pedro), 4, 3, 2 (low). The Right Pedro ranks between the 6 and the 4 of trump; the Left Pedro ranks just below the Right Pedro.K♠Q♠J♠10♠9♠8♠7♠6♠5♠
5. Reneging (revoking): Failing to follow suit when able is a renege. Standard penalty: the non-offending side scores 14 (the maximum per deal); the reneging team scores zero. If the bidding team reneged, their bid is deducted from their cumulative score as a set.
6. End of hand: All 6 tricks played; each side counts the point cards captured.

Scoring

• Point cards (14 points per deal): Ace of trumps = 1 (High); Jack of trumps = 1; 10 of trumps = 1 (Game); lowest trump in play that hand counts as 1 point for whoever captures it (Low; sometimes awarded to the trump holder at deal time); Right Pedro (5 of trump) = 5; Left Pedro (5 of same-colour suit) = 5. That is 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 5 + 5 = 14 points per deal.A♠J♠
• High, Low, Jack, Game: The classic four All Fours points. 'High' goes to whoever captures the Ace of trumps; 'Low' to whoever captures the lowest trump in play that deal; 'Jack' to the capturer of the Jack of trumps; 'Game' to the capturer of the 10 of trumps.A♠J♠4♠
• Making the bid: If the bidding team captures at least their bid in points, they score the number of points they actually captured (not just the bid amount). The opponents also score any points they captured.
• Set bid: If the bidding team fell short, they are set: subtract the bid amount from their running score (scores can go negative). The opponents still score the points they captured.
• Non-bidding team scoring: Whichever partnership is not the bidders always scores the points they captured in tricks, win or lose the bid.
• Running totals: Track each partnership's cumulative score on paper. The target is commonly 51 points; some groups play to 42. The first partnership to reach or exceed the target wins the match.
• Negative scores: A partnership set several times in a row can have a large negative score; this is normal and does not end the match unless the target is reached by the opposing team first.

Winning

• Match winner: The first partnership to reach or exceed the agreed target (51 typical; 42 in faster sessions).
• Tie-breakers: If both partnerships would cross the target in the same deal, the bidding team is checked first: if they made their bid, they win (because their points count first toward the target). If they failed, the opposing team's points count.
• Negative-score target: Some groups stop the match early if any team's score falls to -30 or similar; the opposing team wins. This is an optional house rule.

Common Variations

• Auction Cinch: Multi-round bidding; each player may keep bidding as long as their bid exceeds the current high bid.
• Pedro Sancho: Adds the 9 of trumps (Sancho) as an additional 9-point card; total per deal becomes 23 points and the maker typically bids higher.
• Dom Pedro: Similar, with additional 3 of trumps for 3 points.
• Heasly: A Midwestern 6-player cut-throat variant; every player scores individually and the target is higher.
• Two-deck Cinch: Rare; use two decks with different backs for longer games with larger hands.
• All-hands Pedro: The Left Pedro is replaced with the Jack of the same-colour suit, making the Jack of trump the Right Bower and the other Jack the Left Bower (Euchre-style).
• Simple Cinch (no draw): Skip the discard-and-draw phase; play the original 9-card hand throughout.

Tips and Strategy

• The two Pedros are worth 10 of the 14 points in every deal. Bidding should be driven by whether you hold a Pedro, whether your partner likely holds one, and whether you can trump to capture an opponent's Pedro.
• Lead trumps early and often, especially the Ace and King. Pulling opposing trumps lets you run long non-trump suits safely in the endgame.
• Protect your Pedros by playing them under a partner's winning trick, or by leading low trump to draw out opposing higher trumps first so your Pedros can be safely cashed.
• Bid around partnership strength: partnership trick potential grows with each ace, king, and Pedro between the two hands. Bids of 9 to 11 are common with reasonable hands; 12-14 bids require Pedros and several top trumps.
• Discard-and-draw is a powerful information-and-hand-strengthening step. Use it to shed all non-trumps you do not need so your 6-card hand is loaded with trumps and side-suit winners.
• Track Pedros as they fall. Once both Pedros are played, the rest of the deal is a race for the 4 remaining points (High, Low, Jack, Game).

Glossary

• Trump: The special suit declared by the bid winner; beats any non-trump card in every trick.
• Right Pedro: The 5 of the trump suit; worth 5 points when captured.
• Left Pedro: The 5 of the same-colour non-trump suit (for example, if spades are trump, the 5 of clubs is the Left Pedro). Worth 5 points. Ranks as part of the trump suit for that hand.5♣
• High, Low, Jack, Game: The four classic All Fours point cards; High = Ace of trumps, Low = lowest trump in play, Jack = Jack of trumps, Game = 10 of trumps. 1 point each.A♠J♠4♠
• Maker / bidding team: The highest bidder's side; undertakes to capture at least their bid in points.
• Discard and draw: The phase after bidding where every player discards unwanted cards and the dealer refills each hand to 6 cards from the stock.
• Set: When the bidding team fails to make their bid; they lose the bid amount from their score.
• Renege / revoke: Illegal failure to follow suit when able; penalised (the offending team loses the hand, or scores zero).
• All Fours family: The broader family of trick-taking games that evolved into Cinch, Pitch, Setback, and related variants.