Truco


Truco is a trick-taking card game originally from Valencia and Balearic Islands. It is a variant of Truc. It is popular in South America and Italy. It is usually played using a Spanish deck, among two, four or six players, divided into two teams.

Card ranking

The Uruguayan version uses a "Muestra" each hand. The following cards of the same suit as the "Muestra" are ranked higher than the Ace of swords and are called "Piezas": 2, 4, 5, Knight, which in some regions is called Perico, worth 30 points, and the Jack, which in some regions is called Perica, worth 29 points. Finally, if any player has the King of the same suit as the "Muestra" and the "Muestra" is a "Pieza", the King becomes that card.
The Venezuelan version is similar to the Uruguayan version, exception that the "Piezas" 2, 4, and 5 are not used. The "Muestra", or "vira" as it is known in Venezuela is designated by turning over the top card of the deck after shuffle or optionally, the top card following the deal. "La Vira" is then placed beneath the deck offset 90 degrees so that it is visible during the hand. The suit of La Vira designates the suit of El Perico and La Perica which become the highest two cards in the game. The remaining three Knights and Jacks are ranked as initially specified.

Mano (Mão) and Pie (Pé)

In Truco, two concepts govern which player begins the round and who ends it. The mano in Spanish or mão in Portuguese is the one that plays first and the pie in Spanish or pé in Portuguese, the dealer, is the last to play. The hand is always the player on the right of the foot. The turn to deal is then passed counterclockwise, so the hand of the first round is the foot of the second and so on. If playing in teams, partners sit opposite each other.
They can also refer, when playing in teams of two, which player of the partnership plays before and which after. This has no significance in the game, as the playing is always done counterclockwise. But it has strategic significance since the foot of a team is traditionally considered the "captain" of the partnership that round.
If the game is tied, the hand wins. That advantage is offset by the fact that, as the last one to play, the foot plays with all their opponent's cards in sight. Also, the foot and the one sitting to the foot's left call envido in a game of four or more. Then, the hand is the first one to call his points for envido.

Scoring

Players can earn points in three ways:
The points won by a player are added to their team's score. Any bet, win, loss, or surrender by a player also affects their partners. For this reason, partnerships are usually formed by mutual arrangement. As in bridge, it is not rare for partners to share information using pre-established signs and gestures. Communication is usually performed by standard gestures. Arranging a secret set of gestures is frowned upon.

Gameplay

Each player is dealt three cards from a subset of the deck consisting of the numbers 1 to 7 and figures sota in Spanish or valete in Portuguese, caballo in Spanish or dama in Portuguese and rey in Spanish or rei in Portuguese.
The most common form of the game is the four-player version, in which two teams of two players sit opposite each other. For six players, the two teams have three players, with every second player on the same team.
The game is played until a team finishes a game with 30 points or more. The 30 points are commonly split into two halves, the lower half called malas in Spanish or ruins in Portuguese and the higher half called buenas in Spanish or boas in Portuguese. Therefore, a team with 8 points would be ocho malas or oito ruins, and a team with 21 points would be seis buenas or seis boas. However, because both teams can score points in one round, it is possible for both teams to go over 30 points in one round. Usually as soon as one team goes over 30 points, the game is ended, to prevent a tie. However, sometimes the winner is the one with more points, otherwise another hand is played, until the tie is broken.
Each type of scoring can be bid on to score more points. Bids can be accepted, rejected or upped. Bluffing and deception are fundamental strategies.
Each round has three tricks. The mano leads to the first trick by playing one card. Then, counterclockwise, each other player plays one card. The player with the highest card wins the trick. The cards remain face-up on the table during the round. Sometimes the highest cards tie. If these tied cards were played by the same team, that team wins the trick. Otherwise, the trick is called a draw, parda. The same mano then leads the next trick.
Winning two of three tricks wins a round, equivalent to one point. If one team wins the first two tricks, the third is not played. But if one of the games ends in a parda, the team that won the earlier of the other two tricks wins the round. That concept is often referred to as "primera vale doble". In the case of two pardas, the winner of the remaining trick wins the round. In case of three pardas, the mano wins the round. The winner of each round is the first to play the next card. If a round is tied, or "parda", the hand plays first.
During play, the teams have multiple opportunities to raise the stakes.
Truco must be accepted explicitly: if truco is said, the only way to accept it is by saying quiero, but in a less competitive fashion it could be accepted to close the challenge saying veo, dale or another way of saying yes. To call retruco immediately, it is necessary first to say quiero. Instead of saying explicitly quiero, a player can play a card and it is implied that they accepted.
A player can play his card face up or face down, in which case it does not count towards the score. A card can be played face down in order to prevent opponents from deducing the value of a remaining card. In some cases, other players may be able to deduce the value of some of the remaining ones. If a player does not want his opponents to know his cards, which can be done in order to trick them into raising their bets, they can play their card face down. This should not be confused with irse al mazo, which means a whole team admits defeat without finishing the hand.

''Envido''

In games of two people, envido must be said before the player plays a card. In games of four or six, the foot and the player to the left of the foot are the ones who say envido.
Envido bets have precedence before Truco bets. If one team calls Truco, and then the other calls Envido, the last must be completed before the Truco.
When Envido is said, the challenged team/player can answer in any of these ways:
For Real Envido, the answers are the same, excepting Envido. For Falta Envido, the answers are also the same as in Envido, excepting Envido and Real Envido.
Quiero and No quiero close the bet and after one of that, no other Envido bet can be opened. In the cases where the bet is ended with Quiero, a comparison of the pairs is performed to see which team/player has the highest and wins the bet. The puntos de envido are calculated thusly:
The puntos de envido are told from the mano to the dealer player anticlockwise. In case of a tie, the earliest has preference. Any player with a bad envido can fold without revealing his cards to the other team/player by saying Son buenas. To say this when playing in teams is to surrender on behalf of the team. It is usual that while telling the puntos de envido, the partner of the player that with the highest envido remains silent unless the other team says a higher envido. Then, the silent player either raises or folds.
After finishing the truco, the winner of envido has to show his cards by placing them on the table and announcing " en mesa", or, in Argentina "las jugadas" meaning that the announced cards have been played. Failure to do so may be noted by the other team who then takes the points.
The envido is also referred to as tanto, in order to talk about it without actually proposing it.

Flor

A Flor is three cards of the same suit in the hand. Any player with Flor must announce it or risk a penalty. The player with the best Flor wins 3 points for each Flor. A player without a Flor cannot announce one.
The call for Flor can only be made before playing the first card, by simply saying Flor. Then, any other player having Flor must announce his/her own, going anticlockwise and by saying any of:
After calling ContraFlor, the challenged team must answer:
After ContraFlor al resto, the answers are:
After the bet has been closed by saying con Flor quiero or con Flor me achico, players announce the Flores. The comparison between Flores is done as in Envido: the values of the three cards are added up plus 20. When two Flores have the same suit, the one of that player playing earlier has precedence. If an earlier player announces a better Flor, it is usual to say son buenas, admitting defeat but without revealing information about their cards. At the end of the hand, the Flores must be shown.
As with all bets in Truco, each Flor is made on behalf of the team.
In Argentina, Truco is sometimes played without Flor, called Sin Flor, or Sin Jardinera.

''Pedir Flor''

This is a penalty for those players that, having a Flor, do not announce it. If a player suspects that another is hiding a Flor, he/she can challenge this player by saying Pido Flor. In the case that the player had actually a Flor, the challenger team earns three points. But, if the challenged player shows at least two different cards, his/her team earns one point.

Tricks

Truco players trick their opponents:
In a game of 6, sometimes Pica Pica is also played. Instead of two teams of three, opposing players pair up and play a game, adding the resulting points to their team's score. Usually Pica Pica is played every other game, but only if a team has 5 or more points, and no team has more than 20. Pica Pica is also known as Punta y Hacha.
This is a way of finishing the game more quickly, because each pair in a pica pica plays a complete hand, with corresponding scores. Therefore, it is possible to have, for example, three vale cuatro in the same hand, which quickly raises scores. However, envidos and its raises are usually capped.

''Truco'' in Brazil

Truco is popular in Brazil, with many regional variations. The most known versions use a French deck and different rules. Truco Paulista can be known as Ponta Acima in some regions.
Truco in Brazil is mostly associated with college culture and lifestyle. Students typically sit on a table to play while drinking alcoholic beverages. This scene has been featured in advertising campaigns and it was included in the program of every University "Olympic" Games around the country, known as Jogos Universitários. Truco can be played by two, three and even four people in each team, which makes is thought to make it more exciting.
Brazilian Truco has a maximum score of 12 points, values hands and cards differently. It is common to use a best-of-three games system.

''Truco'' ''Paulista''

Truco Paulista is played mostly in the state of São Paulo and is usually played between two teams of two players each. The game is won by the first team to reach 12 points. Each regular round is worth 1 point.
One player is the first to shuffle and deal. The dealer is allowed to look at the faces of the cards while shuffling so as to be able to place certain cards at certain spots within the deck. They are not allowed, however, to browse freely through the deck. After shuffling, the deck must be handed to the player to the left, who can either reshuffle. cut it or do nothing. The deck is then returned to the dealer who deals the cards from the top or bottom of the deck. The cards must be dealt counter-clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer's right. They can be dealt one at a time or, most commonly, three at a time. If the cortador chooses not to reshuffle, they can deal their and their partner's cards in advance.
The players each play one card, starting with the player to the right of the dealer, the mão and ending with the dealer, called the pé. The player who played the highest-ranked card wins the trick for the team and begins the subsequent trick.
The rounds consist of a best-of-three tricks. The team that wins two tricks wins the round and gets the point. If the first trick ends in a tie, the winner of the next trick wins the round. If the second or third tricks end in a tie, the winner of the first trick wins the hand. In the rare occasion that all three tricks end in ties, nobody is awarded the point. In the case of a tie, the following trick is started by the player who tied the last trick.
At any point during the game any of the players can raise the stakes by saying truco. When a player asks for truco, the opposing team has three options:
If the team chooses to ask for 6 the round is now worth three points. The opposing team has the same three options:
This system goes on in this same pattern, with the players raising the stakes further to game and finally match.
When one of the teams reaches 11 points, they play the mão-de-onze. In this round, the members of each team can see their partner's cards before the round begins and the team with eleven points may choose to play the round of run away. If they choose to play, the round is worth three points. If they choose to run away, the opposing team is awarded one point. If any of the players ask for truco during the round of eleven, the team loses the round. For this reason, if one of the players is dealt an unbeatable hand they may simply show the cards to the rest of the table and win the round without having to play. If both teams reach eleven points, the round must be played.
If one of the players receives fewer or more than three cards dealt by a member of the opposing team, they can point out this error after the round has begun and win the round. If the error is pointed out before the hand begins the deck must be shuffled and the cards dealt again.
In Truco Paulista the cards are ranked in the following order, from strongest to weakest:
8s, 9s and 10s are never included. Upon agreement, the 7s, 6s, 5s, and 4s can be removed from the deck, this is called playing with a clean deck.
After the cards are dealt, one card from the remainder of the deck is turned over to determine the trump cards, which rank above all others. The trump cards are the cards directly above the one which was turned over. The strength of a trump card when compared to the others is determined by its suit, with diamonds being the weakest, followed by spades, hearts and clubs being the strongest.

''Truco Mineiro''

Truco mineiro is a variety of Truco played mostly in the state of Minas Gerais. The rules are mostly the same as in Truco Paulista, except:
The round of eleven is replaced by the roughly similar round of ten, except that only the team with ten points is allowed to see each other's cards and that the round is worth four points instead of three. If both teams reach ten points the round must be played and they are not allowed to see each other's cards.
Truco mineiro uses a fixed set of trump cards, so there is no need to turn one card over after dealing to determine them. The ranking of the cards is:
The game can also be played with only the cards up to the Queens, removing 4 through 7.

''Señas'' (signals)

Señas are gestures used between players of the same team to tell the pie their most valuables cards or if they have a good envido score. In some versions the official señas must be used, rather than private ones not generally understood. In the Argentine game the accepted señas are:
Señas take time to master. The player has to be careful to avoid detection by opposing players, although because of this the señas also can be used as a strategy to trick them.

Jargon (Spanish)

Many informal expressions have become part of the game, such as:
In Truco Paulista, manilha are the cards of the next number of the one who was trumped at the beginning of the round. For example: if a 2 is trumped, the manilha are the 3s. Then, the strength of each manilha depends on the stamp, which follows : clubs, hearts, spades, diamonds.
Jargon is often used to fool the other team.