South American bluffing: raise the stakes before the cards decide.
The bluffing game of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, played loudly and often with singing. Two, four or six players. The cards barely matter compared with the betting.
40 Spanish-suited cards. Three cards each.
The ranking, and it is nothing like anything else Ace of swords, ace of clubs, seven of swords, seven of coins, then all the threes, all the twos, the other two aces, then twelves, elevens, tens, then sevens of cups and swords, sixes, fives and fours. Learn the top four and the rest follows.
Each deal is scored twice over, and they are bet on separately.
Envido — the value of two cards of the same suit. Add their face values and add 20, counting court cards as zero. Announce envido before the first trick is complete and the highest total scores.
Truco — the tricks themselves. Best of three, and the ranking above decides them.
This is the game. Either side may raise the stakes at any point:
On envido: envido, then real envido, then falta envido, which stakes everything needed to finish the match. On tricks: truco, then retruco, then vale cuatro.
A raise may be accepted (quiero), raised again, or declined (no quiero) — declining hands over the previous stake without playing on.
You may call truco holding nothing at all. In partnership games you may see your partner's cards signalled across the table, and the opposing pair is expected to be watching. Bluffing is not a tactic here — it is the game.
Matches are to 15 or 30 points.