Truco — free online Card game
Argentine truco one-on-one: envido, truco, retruco and vale cuatro — bet, bluff and call the rival's bluff.
Truco is free to play in your browser: the Argentine card game of bluff with the 40-card Spanish deck, one against the computer. Each player gets three cards and the hand goes to whoever wins two of the three tricks — but the ranking is all truco: the ace of swords beats everything, then the ace of clubs, the 7 of swords, the 7 of coins, the threes and the twos. The points come from the bets. Sing envido, real envido or falta envido on your two best cards of one suit before the first trick, and raise the hand with truco, retruco and vale cuatro whenever you like — your rival can accept (quiero), decline (no quiero) or raise again. Tricks can tie (parda), and the mano breaks ties. Play to 15 or 30 points, with the score kept in matchsticks, against three computer levels; the hard one reads your bets and bluffs back. No download, no sign-up.
Quick start
- Press Start and choose to play to 15 or 30 points.
- On your turn tap a card to play it — or first press ENVIDO or TRUCO to bet.
- When the rival bets, answer with ACCEPT (quiero), DECLINE (no quiero) or raise.
- Win two of the three tricks to take the hand and its points.
How to play Truco
- Truco uses the 40-card Spanish deck. Each player gets three cards; the players take turns being mano, who plays first.
- A hand is up to three tricks. The higher card wins each trick in truco order; equal cards tie (parda). Win two tricks to win the hand. If the first trick is tied, the second decides; if the second is tied, the winner of the first takes it; if everything ties, the mano wins.
- A hand is worth 1 point. Calling truco raises it to 2, retruco to 3 and vale cuatro to 4. Only the player who accepted the last raise may raise again. Declining gives the caller the value before the raise.
- Envido is a separate bet on your two best cards of the same suit: 20 plus their values (court cards count 0); with no pair of a suit, your best single card. It may only be sung in the first trick before you play your card.
- Envido is worth 2, real envido 3, and falta envido what the leading player still needs to win the game. Bets add up (envido + real envido = 5). Declined, the caller gets the points already accepted, or 1. Ties go to the mano.
- If truco is called before the envido has been sung, the answering player can still sing it first: "el envido está primero".
- You may fold (go to the deck) at any time: the rival scores the current value of the hand. The first to 15 or 30 wins.
Card order (strongest first)
- Ace of swords (el ancho de espadas)1
- The strongest card.
- Ace of clubs (el ancho de bastos)2
- 7 of swords3
- 7 of coins4
- All threes, then all twos5–6
- Ace of cups and ace of coins (the false aces)7
- Kings, knights, jacks8–10
- 7 of cups and clubs, then sixes, fives and fours11–14
- The fours are the weakest cards.
Controls
- Tap a card to play it
- ENVIDO, REAL ENVIDO, FALTA ENVIDO sing or raise the envido
- TRUCO calls truco, or raises to retruco and vale cuatro when allowed
- ACCEPT and DECLINE answer the rival's bet; FOLD gives up the hand
- Enter or Space lets the computer decide this step for you
Tips
- Your envido is shown under the score — sing it with 27 or more, especially as mano.
- A truco call with a weak hand is a bluff; accepting is often right when the stake is small.
- Keep your best card for the second trick if you won the first: a tie then wins for you.
- Watch the score: near the end, a falta envido can decide the game in one shout.
Frequently asked questions
Is there flor?
No. This version is played without flor (three cards of one suit), as many Argentines play one-on-one.
Is this the Brazilian truco?
No. This is Argentine (and Uruguayan-style) truco with the Spanish deck; Brazilian truco paulista uses a different card order and stakes.
Does the computer cheat?
No. It only knows its own cards, the cards played and any envido points that were shown.
Is Truco free?
Yes, completely free in your browser, with no download and no account.