Chapter 01

The deck

Truco is played with the 40-card Spanish deck (baraja española): four suits, ten ranks per suit, with the 8s and 9s removed. No jokers.

The ranks

1 (As / Ancho), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, then the three court cards: 10 — Sota, 11 — Caballo, 12 — Rey. All three court figures are male; there are no Queens.

Chapter 02

Card ranking for trick-taking

The ranking below is used only for winning tricks (the truco phase). It has nothing to do with envido scoring. It's the most important thing to memorize.

The four matadores (bravas)

Unique cards — they cannot tie with anything. Memorize this order:

1. 1 de Espadas "el macho"
2. 1 de Bastos "el bastillo"
3. 7 de Espadas "el siete bravo"
4. 7 de Oros "el siete de oro"

The bulk ranks

Cards of the same number tie (a parda) unless noted.

Chapter 03

Hand structure

Dealing

The opponent cuts after the shuffle. The dealer deals 3 cards each, one at a time, starting with the non-dealer. The non-dealer is mano — they lead the first trick and win all ties. Deal alternates each hand.

Three tricks per hand

Each hand has three potential tricks: primera, segunda, tercera. Mano leads primera; whoever wins a trick leads the next.

Winning the hand (with parda logic)

Se va al mazo (folding)

A player can say "me voy al mazo" at any time. Treat as a "no quiero" at the current live call level. Any already-accepted envido still pays.

Chapter 04

Envido phase

A side bet on the value of your three cards, played only during primera, before the second card is played.

Calculating envido points

• Face cards (10 / 11 / 12) count as 0.
• Numeric cards (1–7) count as their pip value.
• Two or more cards of the same suit → 20 + the two highest pips of that suit.
• No same-suit pair → score = your single highest pip value (face cards still 0).
• Maximum: 33 (7 + 6 of one suit).

The calls

The ladders

• Envido alone → 2 / 1
• Envido + Envido → 4 / 2
• Envido + Real Envido → 5 / 2
• Envido + Envido + Real Envido → 7 / 4
• Real Envido alone → 3 / 1
• Real Envido + Falta Envido → falta / 3
• Falta Envido alone → falta / 1

Falta envido math

Falta = points the leader needs to reach 30. Leader at 22 → falta = 8. Leader at 5 → falta = 25. One winning falta envido can close out a match.

Declaring (cantar los tantos)

1. Mano declares first — says a number ("veintisiete").
2. Pie either says a higher number, concedes with "son buenas", or matches (mano wins ties).
3. Mano can say "son mejores" to decline to state their exact number — a power move.

El envido está primero

Chapter 05

Truco phase

The escalating bet on who wins the hand.

Rules

• Either player can call Truco at any point during the hand.
• Retruco can only be called by the side that accepted the Truco.
• Vale Cuatro can only be called by the side that accepted the Retruco.
• Responses: quiero (accept, may re-raise to next level), no quiero (reject, pay rejection value), or re-raise (implicit quiero + next level).

Chapter 06

Match scoring

The match (un chico)

• Standard match: 30 points — 15 malas + 15 buenas.
• Short match: 15 points (malas only).
• Tournaments often play best-of-three chicos.

Scorekeeping

Traditionally tracked with matchsticks (fósforos), beans (porotos), or paper tally squares. Each completed square + diagonal = 5 points. Malas and buenas drawn on separate sides; a horizontal line marks the transition.

Chapter 07

Vocabulary & cantos

Game positions

The cantos

Declarations & concessions

Folk sayings

• "Primera la gana cualquiera" — anyone can win the first trick. Don't over-commit.
• "Al que no le gusta, la levanta" — if you don't like it, raise it. Cheeky reply after a truco call.
• "La mesa enseña" — the table teaches. Learn by playing.
• "¡Quiero retruco y vale cuatro en las narices!" — braggadocio re-raise.

Chapter 08

Strategy

Beginner

• Identify matadores and 3s/2s instantly.
• Envido thresholds: call with 28+ as mano, 30+ as pie. Accept simple Envido with 26+.
• Don't lead with your best card on primera unless you're locking a win.
• Don't call truco without at least one 3 or better.

Intermediate

• Bluff truco with marginal hands when mano has lost primera.
• Read the opponent's first-card choice — a very high lead often signals weak backup.
• As mano: be aggressive on envido and truco. As pie: more conservative on envido, look for parda lines.
• Use "el envido está primero" as a trap — call truco on primera to draw out opponent's envido.

Advanced

• Count matadores still in play. Probability opponent holds at least one matador in their initial 3-card hand: roughly 27%.
• Equilibrium thresholds: ~27 for Envido, ~30 for Real, ~31+ for Falta.
• Bluff with tuned frequency: ~22% on primera, tapering to ~8% on tercera.
• Score-state-dependent play: fold marginal calls when opponent is 1–2 from winning the chico.

Chapter 09

Pedagogical sequence

Recommended 10-step path from zero to confident:

1. The deck — suits, no 8s/9s, ranks, court names.
2. Truco rank — the four matadores; learn the falsos trap.
3. Simple trick-taking — 3-card hands, no calls, just 2-of-3 and pardas.
4. Envido math — 20 + two highest, face cards = 0.
5. The basic Envido call — call/declare/accept/score.
6. Envido stacking — Real Envido, Falta Envido, the full ladder.
7. The Truco call — Truco/Retruco/Vale Cuatro in isolation.
8. Combined gameplay — full hands, "el envido está primero" rule.
9. Full match scoring — malas/buenas, Falta Envido math.
10. Strategy and the farol — thresholds, bluffing, reading opponents.

Chapter 10

Variants & defaults

Truco has regional variants. The Spanish Minds app picks the most common modern Argentine choices.