The Complete Guide to the Spanish Card Game

Posted on May 30, 2024 in Physics

This card game is played with a Spanish deck of 40 cards.

Number of Players

You can play with 2 players (1 vs. 1) or 4 players (2 vs. 2).

Objective

The first person or team to reach 24 points (or stones) wins. Sometimes, players agree to play to 12 points.

Dealing and the Vira

Each player receives three cards in each of the three rounds (first, second chase, and third). Additionally, a card called the vira is turned face up, which changes the value of two cards: the Jack of the trump suit becomes the “parrot,” and the Jack of the other suit of the same color becomes the “perico” for that hand.

Gameplay

The player to the left of the dealer starts the round. Players can challenge their opponent to bet points on their cards by saying “envido.” If the opponent accepts, they say “I want” to close the bet at 2 points, which are reviewed at the end of the hand. If they don’t want to bet, they say “I do not want,” giving one point to the opposing team. The challenging player can also say “I love and envido” to accept the 2-point bet and challenge for 2 more points, or “I want and [###] more stones,” where ### is the number of additional points they want to bet. The opponent can accept, reject and lose the previously agreed points, or accept and raise the bet further.

Calculating Envido

Envido is calculated based on two cards of the same suit or the parrot and another card of any suit.

• Add 20 points for a pair of cards of the same suit.
• Add the following points for the cards:
  • Parrot: 10 points
  • Perico: 9 points
  • 10, 11, 12: 0 points
  • 7: 7 points
  • 6: 6 points
  • 5: 5 points
  • 4: 4 points

Examples:

• Parrot (doesn’t matter if paired), 7 of clubs, 3 of Spades = 37 points (highest possible Envido)
• Perico (doesn’t matter if paired), 4 of cups, 6 of diamonds = 35 points
• 6 of cups, 3 of spades, 7 of cups = 33 points (highest Envido without parrot or perico)
• 10 of swords, 12 of swords, 1 of clubs = 20 points
• 7 of swords, 5 of golds, 12 of cups = 7 points

Flower

A special case is when a player has three cards of the same suit, called a “flower,” worth 3 points. If both players on a team have a flower, they both score. If opposing players have a flower, the highest one wins. A player can announce their flower by saying “flower,” “a law” to create doubt, or “a law envido” to generate an Envido bet. After announcing “a law” or “a law envido,” the player must say “flower” before playing any other cards and must precede any challenge or acceptance with “flower” to avoid losing the flower points.

Truco

Unlike Envido, truco can be challenged anytime during the game by saying “truco.” It’s worth 3 points if the opponent accepts (“I”) or 1 point if they refuse (“I do not want”). The bet can be raised by saying “I love and retruco” (or “retruco”), worth 6 points. Retruco can be further raised with “I want and nine” (or “worth nine”), worth 9 points. Finally, the opponent can raise with “I love and play better” (or “better game”), which is worth all the points.

Playing Cards and Winning the Trick

After all players play their first card, the player with the highest card plays their second card first, and so on. The player who wins the second round plays their third card first.

How to Win the Trick:

The most common way to win the trick is for a team or player to win two out of the three card rounds.

Special Cases:

• Draw (“brown”): If there’s a draw in the second or third round, the winner of the first round wins the trick.
• Draw in the First Round: The player to the right of the dealer places their two remaining cards face down, followed by the other players. The player with the highest card wins. If there’s another tie, the players involved in the tie reveal their second card. If there’s still a tie, the player to the right of the previous tie-breaker wins.

Straight to the Trick

The following table shows the card hierarchy for winning a trick:

• (*) If the vira is a perico, the 11 of the trump suit becomes higher than the 12. If the vira is a parrot, the 10 of the trump suit becomes higher than the 12.

Important Note: Reserved Flower

A special flower, called the “reserved flower,” occurs when a player has the parrot, perico, and any other card. This flower doesn’t lose its value if not announced immediately. It’s worth 3 points for the flower + 3 points for the truco + any Envido points earned. For example, if a player has a reserved flower, wins the truco with “retruco,” and wins an Envido with “three stones,” they score 3 (flower) + 6 (retruco) + 3 (envido) = 12 points.