Lesson 3 · The Duck's Course
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.
What truco is
Every hand starts out worth 1 point. On your turn to play, BEFORE you put the card down, you can call truco: the hand goes up to 3. The other side answers in one of three ways. They accept, and the hand is worth 3. They fold, and the hand ends right there: you take the previous value, 1 point, with no more cards played. They raise, handing the bet back one step up (in Simplificado, 6; in Paulista, 6, 9 and 12), and now you're the one answering. Two rules that catch beginners out: whoever called and got accepted doesn't call again in this hand, only the other side can raise; and on your turn you call before you play, never after.
They folded on your truco
You called truco with the hand worth 1 and the other side folded. How many points does your pair score?
Calling again
You called truco, they accepted, and the hand is worth 3. In the next round, can you call six?
Call before the first card
The vira is the 2 of diamonds: the manilhas are the 3s, and you hold the 3 of clubs and the 3 of hearts, the two highest cards in the game, plus an ace. A hand like that isn't played for 1 point. You lead the hand: call truco NOW, in the first round, before you put the first card down. Waiting for the second round isn't just late — it tells the table you were sitting on something.
The hand where calling is a mistake
Now the other way around, which the course hadn't shown you yet. The vira is the K of spades: the manilhas are the aces, and you hold a queen, a jack and a king. Nothing. The truco button will be sitting there, available, for the whole hand. The lesson of this step is not to touch it: play your three cards and finish the hand in silence. Afterwards all four hands are shown.