Burraco is a beautiful game of South American origins that can be a bit difficult for a beginner, at least at the beginning. Once you learn the basic rules, however, math and fun quickly gain their space. So let’s see what you need to know to better enjoy a game of Burraco as soon as possible.
First of all let’s say that Burraco is played with two decks of French cards , including Jokers, for a total of 108 cards . It is usually played with four players in pairs, but it is also possible to play individually thanks to the variants.
Each player receives an initial fan of 11 cards in the Buraco. Two “wells” are then created, equally composed of 11 cards while the remaining cards constitute the “stock” from which to draw.
The goal of the game is to score many points by getting rid of sequences or combinations, possibly making at least one Burraco and playing one of the wells. Let’s go into detail with the rules and scores of Burraco …
Burraco: how to play?
So let’s see briefly how to play Burraco.
Each player’s turn consists of three moments, two mandatory and one optional in the middle .
- The first step is to draw a card from the face down pile placed in the center of the table or, alternatively, to collect all the face up cards that form the discard pile .
- The second is the opening of new games or the linking of one’s cards to the games already opened by the same player (or his partner).
- The third moment is to discard a card , thus closing your turn and passing the turn to the next player.
Let’s see in more detail how fishing works and the burraco regulation in general .
The so-called “discard pile” is the set of cards discarded by the players at the end of their turn. At the opening of the game it is made up of a single card face up by the dealer. The player whose turn it is, as we said, can decide to start either by drawing a card covered by the stock, or by taking the entire discard pile. Generally, the player who, by collecting the discard pile, leaves a single card of the pile on the table, is indicating it as a discard.
After drawing or collecting, the player can (if he has the opportunity and if he wants to) “drop” new combinations or sequences of cards; “Attach” cards to their combinations and sequences (in pairs they attach to the combinations and sequences they have in common).
A combination is a group of at least three cards of the same rank and any suit (for example 6 of hearts, diamonds and clubs). It should be noted that cards with the same suit can appear in a combination, also because, if not, it would be impossible to make a Burraco. By sequence we mean a group of at least three cards of the same suit, ordered by scale (for example 4 hearts, 5 hearts and 6 hearts).
Burraco Regulation
Sequences and combinations can be integrated, in the absence of a card, by the ” mad “, or by Jolly and Pinelle . The Jokers are the four well known Jokers of the French cards; for Pinella we mean instead all the 2 considered not in their natural function (however foreseen), but in the same way as the Jolly itself.
For each combination or sequence a maximum of one wild card is allowed . The wild card can be replaced by the card it replaces, but it cannot be removed from the sequence or combination. The crazy ones therefore never return to the players’ hands, but remain at the bottom or top of the sequence / combination where they continue to play their role. If in a straight there is a Pinella of the same suit, you can enter a Joker by transforming the Pinella into 2 of the same suit.
If, after having played his game, the player has no more cards in his hand, he can “ go to the well ”, that is, he can take the stack of eleven cards already placed on the side of the table. If the well is taken like this, without discarding any card, it is said that it is taken “live”, it is seen and played immediately.
Each player, at the end of his turn, must discard a card . If after discarding he has no cards in his hand, he must “go to the well”, that is, he can take the pile of eleven cards already prepared on the side of the table and on the next turn start playing the new cards he has in his hand. The well taken “with the discard” can be viewed and played only after the partner has completed his game with the discard.
The Burraco scores
One of the main purposes of Burraco is precisely to form a Burraco point, that is, to place at least 7 cards of the same suit or 7 cards of the same type in ascending or descending order . All this with or without the help of the Jolly or the Pinella. Burraco points can therefore be classified in different ways depending on whether or not the Jokers or Pinellas are used. Each Burraco is given a different value. Here they are to be precise:
- Royal Buraco = 300 points. It is made without the use of Jolly or Pinella and consists of a straight from King to Ace with the 2 card in its place.
- Super Burraco = 250 points. They are eight cards of the same type without the use of Jolly or Pinella.
- Clean or pure buraco = 200 points. They are seven cards of the same type or seven cards of the same suit in ascending or descending order without the use of Jolly or Pinella.
- Semi-clean buraco = 150 points. It is done with the use of the Jolly or the Pinella. We are talking about eight cards, of which seven in a row without the sequence of the straight being interrupted by the Jolly or Pinella.
- Dirty Burraco = 100 points. Simply seven cards with the use of Jolly or Pinella.
Then 30 points must be calculated for each Jolly, 20 for the Pinelle, 15 for the Aces. We go down to 10 points for all cards between King and 8; 5 points for those between 7 and 3. There are also 100 points up for grabs for the team that closes .
Instead, pay attention to the negative points: there is a penalty of 100 points if someone does not take the cockpit . All the cards left in hand must be counted in that case and the value must be subtracted from the team count.
The team with the highest score will eventually win the match which can end in various ways. You can set point ceilings to overcome (for example 1,500 points) or decide that each player must be the dealer at least once. This second option is very popular in tournaments. Clearly, to avoid being a dealer, the online version of burraco on Gioco Digitale is available, even as tournaments !