A game played by tricks with no trump suit, inspired by the famous game Poker and the Latin American game Truco.

Usually played with an English deck.

Played best with 4 players in teams of 2 (2v2). Can be played with 2 or 6 players (1v1 or 3v3 respectively). Can also be played all for all, for more chaotic game.

Setup

Dealer deals 6 cards to each player, and then, 2 more cards face-up called the ‘the show’ or ‘la muestra’. They will only be used for the Envido part.

Communication

Players of the same team are encouraged to communicate the strength of their hand to their team mates, without giving out their play to the contrary team.

The game

The objective of the game is to win 2 of the 3 tricks played.

Players must play 2 cards at a time. The player to the right of the dealer (the hand) leads, the rest follow counterclockwise. The player to win the trick leads the next one.

Winning

The value of the cards are standard: ace are strongest and 2s are weakest.

The value of the pairs played are poker-like: any pairs beat a high card, and pair ace beats all pairs.

The team that manages to win best of 3, wins the hand.

If there’s a tie in the first trick, the winner is directly defined in the second trick. Tie in any other trick gives the victory to the winner of the first trick (thus, the first trick is slightly more valuable).

The last team standing wins the game.

Betting

Each team starts with a stack of chips that they can bet throughout the game. Players can raise the stake of the hand at any time. Betting is otherwise poker-like.

If a player raises the stake, the other team must call, or raise, to keep on playing. If they fold they loose the hand.

Envido

Before the tricks start, a team can request the other to play “Envido” for a side-pot. Players bet into a side-pot (poker-like) before they play it.

In Envido, players form poker-like hands with 5 of their 6 cards, plus the 2 “show” cards (just like in texas hold-em poker). Whoever has the best game wins. In case of a tie, the lead of the trick wins.

Players should not show their hand to the other players here: they just announce what they have. They should disclose as little information as possible to decide the winner.

Example: the hand leads, declaring as little as possible, they might say “double pair”. To which the player to the right might say:

• “Good enough” if any double pair beats him
• “Full house is better” if they have it
• “Double pair are mine” if they tie in this way. In that case, the lead must then give more information of their hand: “high pair of 7s”, and so on until a winner is decided.

Lying in Envido is possible, but discouraged. If a player is caught lying they lose the side-pot and pay a fine to the other team (something like 1/4 of the starting stack)

If a team wins the Envido, but folds in the trick before all cards are exposed, they should still reveal their hand, showing the Envido they declared. Failure to do so can be considered cheating.