Lesson 4 · The Duck's Course
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.
Where the points land
Every hand that ends gives points to ONE pair only: the one that took the hand. The other scores nothing, not even for winning a round along the way. And how much is the hand worth? It starts at 1. Truco accepted, 3. Six, 6 — and in Paulista there are also nine and twelve. Those points go to the score, which sits at the top of the screen and reads US and THEM. The game ends when a pair reaches the target: 6 points in Pato Simplificado, which is where you're learning, and 12 in Paulista and Mineiro. And now the part almost everyone takes a while to see: the same three cards call for different decisions depending on the score. Folding hands over 1 point — cheap at 0-0 in a game to 6, and the whole game at 5-5. Before answering any bet, look at the score.
Who scores in a hand
The hand was worth 3 and your pair took it. How many points does the other pair score in that hand?
5-5 in a game to 6
Pato Simplificado, game to 6. The score is 5-5, they call truco and your hand is bad. What does the score change?
Folding is cheap: 0-0
Game to 6, score 0-0. The vira is the 2 of spades: the manilhas are the 3s. You hold an ace, a king and a queen — a mediocre hand, no manilha and no 3. Play a card and watch what the Duck does. If he calls truco, decide. Once you answer, all four hands are shown.
The same hand, 5-5
The same cards, the same Duck, the same truco. Only the score has changed: 5-5 in a game to 6. Play a card and answer again. The hands are shown afterwards.