Rules of Truco Argentino

Truco Argentino is a very popular game in Argentina, with similarities to Truco Venezolano and Truco Uruguayo. It is played with a 40-card Spanish deck, without eights, nines, or wildcards.

Number of players

It can be played with 2, 4, or 6 players.

Objective

The goal of the game is to be the first to reach the agreed number of points (usually 30 or 40) to win.
The score is generally divided into “malas” and “buenas” (15 and 15, or 20 and 20).
In a 30-point match, the first 15 are the malas and the following 15 are the buenas.

Each player receives 3 cards. The player who plays the highest card wins the trick.
The best of three tricks wins the round and the corresponding points according to the cantos, toques, and gritos.

Types of calls

• Cantos: Flor, Contraflor al Resto, Contraflor.
• Toques: Envido, Real Envido, Falta Envido.
• Gritos: Truco, Retruco, Vale 4.

Card values

From lowest to highest value:

Common cards: 4, 5, 6, 7
Black cards (Face cards): 10, 11, 12 Brave cards (High cards): 1, 2, 3, 7 of coins, 7 of swords, 1 of clubs, 1 of swords

Card values for Flor or Envido

Cards are worth their face number, except 10, 11, and 12, which are worth 0.

In a 1 vs 1 match, the player who is lead plays first, and before playing a card they can:

Calls:

Flor: FLOR is called before playing the first card. It is called when a player holds three cards of the same suit.

Scoring and variants

• A Flor is worth 3 points.
• If the opponent also has a Flor, the higher value one wins, determined at the end of the round with cards in full view.
• It can be answered with Contra Flor al Resto or Con Flor Envido.
  • Contra Flor al Resto: the winner wins the match.
  • Con Flor Envido: the winner gets the Flor and Envido points (5 total).

It is possible to raise the challenge: for example, if a player says "Con Flor Envido", the other can respond "Contra Flor al Resto".
If the challenges are declined, the challenger wins the 3 points for their Flor.
If a player does not wish to challenge, they can simply say “la mía es flor” ("mine is flor").

The score of a Flor is calculated by summing the card values and adding 20 points.
Black cards (10, 11, 12) are worth 0 for this calculation.

In the Online game, the system automatically detects if the player has Flor and calls it at the appropriate moment.

Toques or Envidos

Players call Envido (2 points), Real Envido (3 points), or Falta Envido (the points needed by the opponent to win).
It must be called before playing the first card. If any player has a Flor, Envido cannot be played.

The rival can accept or decline. If declined, the challenger gets 1 point.
They can also raise (call a higher Envido).
Points accumulate:

• Envido–Envido: 4 points (2 if declined).
• Envido–Real Envido: 5 points (2 if declined).

Envido Calculation

• If a player holds two cards of the same suit, sum their values and add 20.
  • Example: 6 and 7 of the same suit = 33 points.
• If a player holds three cards of different suits, the value of the highest card is used.
• Black cards (10, 11, 12) are worth 0.

Shouts

During their turn, a player can say Truco:

• Truco: 2 points (if the rival says "i don't want", 1 point is earned).
• Retruco: 3 points (if the rival says "i don't want", 2 points are earned).
• Vale 4: 4 points (if the rival says "i don't want", 3 points are earned).

Gritos must alternate between teams: whoever calls Truco cannot call Retruco; their rival must do so, and so on.

The objective of each round is to gain as many points as possible through Flor, Envido, and Truco/Retruco/Vale 4.
Each player plays a card, and the highest value card wins the trick.
The player or team that wins 2 out of the 3 tricks wins the staked points.
If nobody calls Truco, the round is worth 1 point.

Tiebreakers

• If there is a tie in the first trick, the second trick defines the round.
• If there is a tie in the second or third trick, the team that won the first trick wins.
• If there is a tie in all tricks, the lead player wins.

Team play

When played with 4 or 6 players, the game is played in teams:

• In 4 players: 2 vs 2.
• In 6 players: 3 vs 3.

The rules remain the same.

When playing with 6, while in "malas", rounds alternate between 3 vs 3 and 1 vs 1, where each player faces the opponent directly opposite them.