Truco

Object of Game

Truco is a very popular game in South America that is a fun mix of poker, spades, and war. It's played with a 40-card deck by removing the 8's 9's and 10's from a standard 52-card deck.

Truco means Bluff and the fun of the game lies on winning tricks by fooling the opponent team.

The object of the game is to win the most points from taking "tricks" in hands of three cards (See Gameplay).

The first team to reach the points goal wins.

Plato Truco's can be played with different variations maintaining the basis gameplay (See Variations).

Players

2 - 4 players

• The game can be played by 2 or 4 forming duos when played by 4 players, sitting in alternate positions.
• Deck of Cards - a traditional (or Spanish) pack, without Jokers, 8's, 9's or 10's.
• Distribution - 3 cards each participant per round.
• Objective - reach score 12, 15 or 30 points ( See Variations).

Game Loop (playing tricks)

1. Every player is dealt with 3 cards.
2. Counterclockwise a player plays one card each.
3. Once all cards are played the trick winner is declared according to the card rank order.
4. The player than won the trick, leads the next hand.
5. If the player ( or team) wins two of the three hands in the round, the round is won and the points bet is added to the scoreboard of the player.
6. If the player/team total score reaches the goal (12, 15 or 30) the game ends. If not, it goes back to step 1.

Card Ranking

In Truco suits have no meaning and only card ranks counts, with exception to the four high ranked cards known as Cartas Bravas in Spanish or Manilha in Portuguese.

Ranks have the following order, going from high to low:

3 > 2 > 1 (Ace) > 12 (King) > 11 (Queen or Horse) > 10 (Jack or Sota) > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4

Note that, as in many games of Portuguese ancestry (such as 🇧🇷), the Queens rank lower than the Jacks.

Bets (raising points at stake)

Remember: Truco means Bluff and Retruco means Accept bluff and raise.

During the game loop when a player turn is starting, and before playing the card, the player can play 'Truco', meaning that a challenge is set for the next player to act upon. The challenged player can, accept, reject or 'Retruco' (adding extra points to the current bet) challenging the original challenger. Once the bet is taken the game continues. If a challenged player rejects a bet the bidding team wins the round and the current stake is added to their scoreboard.

Points

Truco is normally played to 12, 15 or 30 points according to the game variation that is being played. Teams earn points per hand win. The points won per hand will be the value that it's at stake by the round end. Players win hands by taking the majority of "tricks" played in that hand.

Winning the Game

The game ends as soon as a player or team reaches the score goal for the game.

Tips

Understanding the Basics of Truco Game

At the Truco Game it's important to grasp the rules of the game

Know the Cards

To excel at Truco make sure to memorize the card order, which can aid in devising a Truco strategy

Strategy

• Try to win the initial round as if subsequent round is a tie the team/individual who wins the first round wins the hand
• Truco is a game of Bluff so make sure to 'hide' your real intentions so you can win "tricks" even when you don't have the upper hand.
• A smart Truco strategy is to spend sometime before the game with your partner to decide the gesture codes and use it at opportune time to tell your teammate which card you want to play. These signals can also be used to puzzle your opponents and this is one of the important Truco tips for smart Truco game trick
• Well-timed bluffs to confuse your opponent and is the key component of strategic gameplay. Don’t go overboard in calling Re-truco if the cards in circulation show possibility of trump cards being available with your competitors
• Pay close attention to the opponent’s playing style as this can be leveraged to enhance your strategy in subsequent hands
• Be flexible in your approach and adjust your strategy if at any point in the game you get cues opponent’s playstyle changing
• Evaluate the risk and reward of each move and don’t blindly throw a card or call Truco. You should think about the consequence of any move choice on the subsequent moves and your probability of winning the hand

Summary

Mastering Truco requires a combination of tips & tricks like strategic thinking, adaptability, understanding the basics, gameplay strategy and incorporating advanced techniques. Like any skill worthy to be mastered this comes through devoting enough gameplay hours and reflecting on any decisions made by you and their consequence on the outcome of the game.