Lesson 2 · The Duck's Course
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.
Best of three
Each hand has up to three rounds: everyone plays one card, the strongest takes the round, and whoever takes two takes the hand. Whoever opens the first round is the mão, the lead. The last to play in it is the pé — the dealer, the one who dealt the cards — and that is the best seat at the table, because he picks his card after seeing the other three. From the second round on, whoever won the previous one leads; if it tied, the same player who led it leads again. And the tie has a rule of its own, the one that separates the players who know from the rest. Tie the first round: the hand goes to whoever takes the second. Took the first and tied the second: the hand is yours. Took the first, lost the second and tied the third: the hand is yours as well — on any tie after a round has been won, the hand goes to whoever took the first round that wasn't tied. Tie all three, and the hand is void: nobody scores. On the table below two kings tied the first round, so now the second one is worth the whole hand.
Two of a kind
K of clubs against K of diamonds, plus a queen and a jack on the table. Who takes the round?
Tie first, win after
The first round was a tie. In the second, your pair took the round. What happens now?
The third round tied
The most common tie at the table, and the one that confuses beginners most: your pair took the first round, they took the second, and the third one tied. Whose hand is it?
Take the hand
The vira is the K of spades: the manilhas are the aces. You hold the 3 of hearts, the A of clubs and a queen. Two of your three cards are the highest at the table: take two rounds. Watch out for the tie: if a 3 comes up against your 3, the next card decides, and a queen decides nothing.