to bid, the player may either bid or pass. A popular variation for four (or three) player pinochle involves dealing a 4 card kitty (3 or 6 cards for three players), with the bid winner taking the kitty and discarding 4 (3 or 6) cards from his hand. The point value of the discards can sometimes be added to the bid winner's total trick count or not, depending on the pre-established rules. In three player games the 6 card kitty can often lead to very competitive and extravagant bidding. Each bid must be greater than the previous one, and be a multiple of 10 or 25 (if playing without trailing zeroes, the bid must be one or two greater respectively). When a player passes, they can no longer bid. The auction ends when all subsequent players in rotation have passed after the last bid. The last bid becomes the "contract". The player that made this final bid will then declare trump in the suit that is desired. In some house rules, trump cannot be declared in any suit not containing a "run", "marriage" or "dix" meld. In order for the winning bidder to win the hand, the combined total of melding and trick points must be equal to or greater than the winning bid. Thus bidding involves anticipating the points that will be accumulated from melds and from the points accumulated from winning tricks. If the combined score is lower than the bid, then the bidding 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. Passing cards In some versions of pinochle, after the bid has been taken and trump declared in a partnership game, the bid winning team exchanges cards. It may be two, three, or four cards, depending on the version of the game. The partner of the bid winner passes first. The objective of the partner is either to add to the total points in meld or