Truco

Argentina’s bluffing game. Three cards, three tricks, and calls of Truco and Envido to raise the stakes. 2–4 players, in partnerships.

Who To Play With

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How to play Truco

  1. 1Truco uses forty cards: no eights, nines or tens. The jack, queen and king stand in for the Spanish 10, 11 and 12. Two play alone, three play each for themselves, and four play as two partnerships.
  2. 2Everyone gets three cards. The player after the dealer is the mano: they lead first and win any tie for the hand or the envido.
  3. 3The card order is fixed and suits don't matter for following: the ace of spades is highest, then the ace of clubs, the seven of spades, the seven of diamonds, the threes, the twos, the other two aces, kings, queens, jacks, the other two sevens, sixes, fives and fours.
  4. 4Each trick is won by the strongest card, and the winner leads the next one. Two tricks win the hand. If a trick ties, the hand goes to whoever won the first trick that didn't tie; if all three tie, the mano’s side wins.
  5. 5A hand is worth 1 point. On your turn you can call Truco to make it worth 2. The other side accepts, gives up (you score what the hand was worth), or raises to Retruco (3). The side that accepted the last call is the only one that can raise again, up to Vale cuatro (4).
  6. 6During the first trick, before you play your card, you can call Envido instead. Your envido is 20 plus your two best cards of one suit (face cards count 0), or your best single card. Envido is worth 2, Real envido 3, and Falta envido whatever the leader still needs to win. Accepted calls are added up; a refused call gives the caller what was already accepted, or 1.
  7. 7Envido can answer a Truco call that hasn't been accepted yet; the Truco waits until the envido is settled. Once a Truco is accepted, envido is gone.
  8. 8On your turn you can also fold and give the other side the hand at its current value (not in a three-player game). The first side to 15 points wins.

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