The Duck's Course

Nine short lessons, from zero to bluffing. Every one of them is 2 against 2, with one Duck as your partner and two as opponents: the first six in Pato Simplificado, a game to 6; the last three in Paulista, a game to 12.

Another day teaching a duck to play truco. Have a seat: we start with the order of the cards and end up bluffing.

1. Lesson 1: The cards of truco — The ladder, from the queen up to the 3, and the vira that turns four plain cards into the manilhas of the hand.
2. Lesson 2: Rounds and ties — A hand has up to three rounds. Take two and you take the hand, and every kind of tie has its own rule.
3. Lesson 3: Calling truco — The bet the game is named after: when to call it, what happens next, and the hand in which calling is the mistake.
4. Lesson 4: The score and the target — Where the points go: the game runs to 6 in Simplificado and to 12 in Paulista — and the same hand calls for opposite answers depending on the score.
5. Lesson 5: Fold, accept, raise — The three answers to a truco, and three decisions with the hands on show to learn how to choose between them.
6. Lesson 6: Basic bluffing — Calling truco with nothing, at the moment the table believes you: right after taking the first round.
7. Lesson 7: Reading your opponent — The Duck's reactions give his hand away: the Tame one doesn't lie, the Sly one mixes it up, the Old one lies almost always — and no bubble is ever proof.
8. Lesson 8: Signals and your partner — In 2 against 2 the hand belongs to the pair: what your partner says is information, and either of you can answer the bet.
9. Lesson 9: Hand of 11 — One point from victory the pair sees each other's cards and decides before playing: worth 3, or hand over 1.