Card game · 2 players or 4 in pairs

Truco: Argentine card game online

The great bluffing card game of the River Plate: three cards, three tricks and lots of bravado. Call envido when your cards add up, raise the truco up to vale cuatro and fold to the deck when you must. Games to 15 or 30, with or without flor.

Play Truco How to play

Players: 2 to 4
Elo-ranked games: Yes

How to play: Truco

Argentine Truco with the 40-card Spanish deck, head to head or 4 in pairs (partners sit opposite). The first to reach 30 points (or 15) wins.

Everyone gets 3 cards and three tricks are played: each player throws one card and the highest takes it. Whoever wins two tricks wins the hand. The mano (who plays first) rotates.
Card order, highest first: ace of swords, ace of clubs, 7 of swords, 7 of coins, threes, twos, the other aces, kings, knights, jacks, the other sevens, sixes, fives and fours.
If a trick is tied (parda): a tied first trick is decided by the second; a tied second or third goes to whoever took the first; three ties go to the mano.
Envido: in the first trick, before throwing your card, you may call envido (2), real envido (3) or falta envido (what the leader still needs to win). It can be raised: envido, envido again, real envido and falta envido. Points: two cards of a suit add 20 plus their numbers (face cards are 0); otherwise your highest card. The best wins; on a tie, the mano.
If the envido is refused, the caller takes what was accepted until then (at least 1).
Truco: on your turn you may call truco (the hand is then worth 2). Whoever accepts it may later raise to retruco (3) and the other side to vale cuatro (4). If refused, the caller takes what the hand was worth before the call.
Envido comes first: if truco is called during the first trick, you may still answer with an envido; it is settled and then you answer the truco.
You may go to the deck (fold): the rivals take what the hand is worth. A hand without truco is worth 1.

Tips and options

Ranked: head to head to 15 points without flor; if nobody of your level shows up, you play a bot. In a room with friends you choose 2 or 4 players, 15 or 30 points, flor and the time per turn.
With flor (optional), three cards of one suit are announced when the hand starts and are worth 3 points; if both pairs have flor, the best takes them all. There is no envido that hand.
To 30 points, the first 15 are the “malas” and the other 15 the “buenas”.
If your time runs out, you refuse what was called or throw your lowest card. If someone leaves, their partner loses the game.

Frequently asked questions

How is the envido counted?

Two cards of the same suit are worth 20 plus both values (face cards count 0, the rest their number). Without two of a suit, it is your highest card. The best is 33: a 7 and a 6 of the same suit.

Which cards are the highest?

The ace of swords, the ace of clubs, the 7 of swords and the 7 of coins, in that order. Then come the threes, the twos, the other aces (cups and coins), kings, knights and jacks, the other sevens, and the 6s, 5s and 4s.

What if a trick is tied?

If the first trick is tied, whoever wins the second takes the hand. If the second or third is tied, whoever took the first wins. If all three are tied, the mano (first player) wins.

What is falta envido?

An envido worth whatever the leading pair still needs to win. If it is accepted and you win it, it can decide the game.

Is flor played?

Not by default. The host can turn it on: three cards of the same suit are a flor (3 points) and there is no envido that hand.

Envido, truco, retruco and vale cuatro: call, bluff and take two tricks.

Play Truco