How to Play Truco
Bluff, bet, and outwit — Latin America's card game.
Learn Vanikar’s fixed-rank Truco: three-card hands, Envido and Truco raises. Compare card points with the separate points awarded for a bet.
31 Envido is not 31 match points
Your two hearts give 20 + 6 + 5 = 31 Envido. The king of another suit does not add to that pair. Winning an accepted, unraised Envido scores 2 match points, not 31.
| Situation | Result |
|---|---|
| 6♥ + 5♥ | 31 |
| Envido accepted and won | 2 |
| Envido declined | 1 |
These are Vanikar’s fixed-rank, no-Flor rules. Brazilian and other regional Truco variants use different rankings and bets.
Practise this game in your browser🎯 Objective
First side to the target score wins: 30 unless you change it at setup (5 to 30, in steps of 5).
🃏 Truco Setup & Rules
- Uses a 40-card Spanish deck: a standard deck without the 8s, 9s and 10s.
- Deal 3 cards to each player. No trump suit is declared; card power follows the fixed hierarchy.
▶ How to Play Truco
- CARD ORDER (highest to lowest): 1♠ > 1♣ > 7♠ > 7♦ > 3 > 2 > 1♥/1♦ > K > Q > J > 7♥/7♣ > 6 > 5 > 4.
- Each hand has up to 3 tricks (rounds). Best of 3 wins the hand.
- ENVIDO (point bet): on your turn, before you play your first card, you may call Envido (2 pts), Real Envido (3) or Falta Envido, whichever side you are on. It stays open until the first trick is complete, an Envido is answered or a Truco is accepted, and it is accepted or declined as called: no raising an Envido. Two cards of one suit score 20 plus their numbers (face cards 0, an ace 1); with no two of a suit your best single card counts; partners play the better hand, and a tie goes to the mano.
- TRUCO (hand bet): on your turn, at any point of the hand — before the first card too — call "Truco!". The other side accepts (2 pts), raises to Retruco (3), or declines; after an accept only the side that accepted may raise, up to Vale Cuatro (4). An accepted Truco closes Envido.
- EL ENVIDO ESTÁ PRIMERO: answering a Truco before your first card, you may call Envido first. The Envido is settled, then you answer the Truco.
- FOLD: on your turn, or when answering a Truco, Fold gives up the hand and the other side scores what it is worth — 1, or the accepted level. Decline answers a pending call: the caller scores the level below.
- A tied trick (parda) counts for nobody: after a tied first trick the next trick taken decides; a later tie goes to whoever took the first; three ties go to the mano.
🎬 Watch: How to Play Truco
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📖 Detailed Guide
Setting up the game
- Truco is played by two or four people, with partnerships sitting opposite each other in the four-player game.
- Each player receives three cards from a 40-card deck, and each hand is decided over three quick tricks.
- There is no trump suit. Instead the cards follow a fixed power order that has to be learned.
- The real game is not the tricks themselves but the betting that runs alongside them.
Envido
- Envido is a side bet on card points. Any player, on either side, may call it on their turn before playing their own first card; it closes once the first trick is complete, an Envido has been answered or a Truco accepted.
- Your envido score is two cards of the same suit, 20 plus their numbers (face cards 0, an ace 1); with no two of a suit, your best single card counts. Partners play the better hand, and a tie goes to the mano.
- The other side accepts or declines; declining concedes a point at once. An Envido is accepted or declined as called — it cannot be raised.
- Falta Envido is the biggest call: it is worth whatever the side in front still needs to reach the target.
Truco bidding
- At your turn, at any point of the hand — before the first card too — you may call Truco, raising what the hand itself is worth.
- Your opponent accepts, declines, or raises again to Retruco, and from there to Vale Cuatro. Only the side that accepted a call may raise it next, and because you can call with any hand at all, bluffing pays.
- Answering a Truco before your first card, you may call Envido first — "el envido está primero". The Envido is settled, then the Truco is answered.
- Decline hands the caller the level below without playing on; Fold, on your turn or when answering a Truco, gives up the hand for its current value — 1, or the accepted call. Either is often the right choice with a weak hand.
Winning the hand
- Whoever wins two of the three tricks wins the hand and collects whatever it was worth after the bidding.
- A hand nobody raised is worth the base amount, so calling is how you make a good hand pay.
- A tied trick counts for nobody: after a tied first trick the next trick taken decides, and three ties go to the mano.
- Play continues until a side reaches the agreed target, with the escalating bets making late hands decisive.
📊 Truco Scoring
Envido: 2 pts (Real Envido 3, Falta Envido what the leading side still needs; 1 if declined), and reaching the target on an Envido wins at once. Truco: 1–4 pts; a declined call scores the level below, and a Fold gives the other side the hand's current value. No Flor, and no raising an Envido. First side to the target (30 by default) wins.
❓ Truco — Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do you need for Truco?
Truco is played with 2 or 4 players. On Vanikar, empty seats can be filled with AI opponents so you can always start a game.
What are the strongest cards in Truco?
The Ace of swords, the Ace of clubs, the Seven of swords and the Seven of coins, in that order. Below them come the 3s, 2s, the other Aces, Kings, Knights, Jacks, then 7s, 6s, 5s and 4s.
What is Envido in Truco?
A bet on the best two cards of one suit in your hand, called before the first trick: two cards of a suit score 20 plus their values, face cards counting 0. It is settled before the tricks and scores 2, or 1 if declined.
What happens when you call Truco?
The hand's value rises from 1 to 2 points. Your opponents may accept, decline, which gives you the point at stake, or raise to Retruco (3) and then Vale Cuatro (4). Calls can be made at any trick.
Does the app play with Flor?
No. Flor, the bonus for three cards of a suit, is not used, and an Envido cannot be raised. Real Envido and Falta Envido are available.
📱 Truco in the app
A step-by-step look at a real game on the table.
