This page explains how to use the Five Crowns pack of playing cards in a five-suited version of East Point Pinochle. Nearly all five-suited packs will work, but they are difficult to find except for Five Crowns.

The Five Crowns pack has five suits: diamonds, hearts, spades, clubs, and stars. This description uses "pentagram" instead of "star" to reduce confusion, because the words spades and stars both begin with the letter s.

There are eleven ranks: king, queen, jack, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, and three. Aces and deuces are omitted for a reason that makes sense under the Five Crowns rules. Here, the eights substitute for the East Point deuces, and the sevens for the aces.

Thus there are 55 different rank-and-suit cards, each of which appears twice in the pack. With the addition of six jokers, the total becomes 116 cards. This adaptation uses sixty of them.

The East Point Pinochle rules for using the Five Crowns pack are the same as for using the four-suit pack, except as below.

Sixty playing cards are employed:

1. In order from highest to lowest, the seven ranks are:
   • eight (abbreviated E)
   • seven (S)
   • king (K)
   • queen (Q)
   • jack (J)
   • ten (T)
   • nine (N)
2. In order from highest to lowest, the five suits are:
   • pentagrams (★ or P)
   • clubs (♣ or C)
   • spades (♠ or S)
   • hearts (♥ or H)
   • diamonds (♦ or D)
3. The pack contains one eight and one nine in each suit, while in the remaining five ranks there are two cards in each suit. Summarized in tabular form:

   60-card pack
   	eight	seven	king	queen	jack	ten	nine
   pentagrams	1	2	2	2	2	2	1
   clubs	1	2	2	2	2	2	1
   spades	1	2	2	2	2	2	1
   hearts	1	2	2	2	2	2	1
   diamonds	1	2	2	2	2	2	1

The dealer distibutes fifteen face-down cards to each player, in batches of three. Each player's fifteen cards become his concealed hand, while the thirty cards that remain become the stock.

Cards won in tricks earn points:

points for cards	eight	seven	king	queen	jack	ten	nine
	30	25	20	15	10	5	0

This chart shows the combinations of cards which, when appearing in a player's hand, can be melded.

points for melds
name	contents	single meld		double meld			name	contents	single meld		double meld
		symbol	points	symbol	points				symbol	points	symbol	points
pentagram quintet	S★ K★ Q★ J★ T★	★5	191	★★5	382		seven quintet	S★ S♣ S♠ S♥ S♦	S5	196	SS5	392
club quintet	S♣ K♣ Q♣ J♣ T♣	♣5	181	♣♣5	362		king quintet	K★ K♣ K♠ K♥ K♦	K5	186	KK5	372
spade quintet	S♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ T♠	♠5	171	♠♠5	342		queen quintet	Q★ Q♣ Q♠ Q♥ Q♦	Q5	176	QQ5	352
heart quintet	S♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ T♥	♥5	161	♥♥5	322		jack quintet	J★ J♣ J♠ J♥ J♦	J5	166	JJ5	332
diamond quintet	S♦ K♦ Q♦ J♦ T♦	♦5	151	♦♦5	302		ten quintet	T★ T♣ T♠ T♥ T♦	T5	156	TT5	312
pentagram trio	K★ Q★ J★	★3	141	★★3	282		seven trio	S♣ S♠ S♥	S3	146	SS3	292
club trio	K♣ Q♣ J♣	♣3	131	♣♣3	262		king trio	K♣ K♠ K♥	K3	136	KK3	272
spade trio	K♠ Q♠ J♠	♠3	121	♠♠3	242		queen trio	Q♣ Q♠ Q♥	Q3	126	QQ3	252
heart trio	K♥ Q♥ J♥	♥3	111	♥♥3	222		jack trio	J♣ J♠ J♥	J3	116	JJ3	232
diamond trio	K♦ Q♦ J♦	♦3	101	♦♦3	202		ten trio	T♣ T♠ T♥	T3	106	TT3	212
pentagram duo	S★ T★	★2	91	★★2	182		seven duo	S★ S♦	S2	96	SS2	192
club duo	S♣ T♣	♣2	81	♣♣2	162		king duo	K★ K♦	K2	86	KK2	172
spade duo	S♠ T♠	♠2	71	♠♠2	142		queen duo	Q★ Q♦	Q2	76	QQ2	152
heart duo	S♥ T♥	♥2	61	♥♥2	122		jack duo	J★ J♦	J2	66	JJ2	132
diamond duo	S♦ T♦	♦2	51	♦♦2	102		ten duo	T★ T♦	T2	56	TT2	112

Although each player is dealt 15 cards, he never has more than 14 to choose from at the moment of melding.

The total point value of all the cards in an East Point pack is 900: 5 eights at 30, 10 sevens at 25, 10 kings at 20, 10 queens at 15, 10 jacks at 10, 10 tens at 5, 5 nines at 0.

Author's opinion. Five-suit East Point is superior to four-suit, largely because of the symmetry between five suits and five meldable ranks.