Lesson 3 of 4
Calling Truco
5 min

How to Call Truco, Retruco and Vale Cuatro

Every round starts at 1 point. Calling Truco bets that you will win the round and raises the stake. On Playboard the calls are buttons: Raise calls Truco, Re-raise calls Retruco, Final raise calls Vale Cuatro, Accept says Quiero and Decline says No Quiero.

Step 1 of 6

Three raises
A round starts at 1 point. Truco raises it to 2, Retruco to 3 and Vale Cuatro to 4, the most a round can be worth. Each raise has to be answered before play goes on.

Here you called Truco, your opponent answered with Retruco, you raised to Vale Cuatro, and they accepted. The table shows the stake: whoever wins this round scores 4 points.
Call Truco
You are Mano and hold the 1 of espadas and the 1 of bastos, the two best cards in the deck. That is a hand to raise with. You can call Truco on any of your turns, before you play your card.
Your move
Press Raise to call Truco, then lead a card once your opponent accepts.
Who raises next
You called Truco, and your opponent said Quiero. The round is worth 2 points, and the next raise, Retruco, is still open. Who may call Retruco now?
Question
Answer a call
Your opponent is Mano and called Truco before leading. A call waits for an answer. Quiero (Accept) plays the round for 2 points. No Quiero (Decline) gives up the round, and the caller scores the 1 point it was worth. You can also raise instead: Retruco accepts the Truco and makes the round worth 3 if your opponent accepts in turn. You hold the 1 of espadas, the 1 of bastos and the 7 of oros.
Your move
Accept the Truco, or raise it.
What a decline is worth
You called Truco, and your opponent answered with Retruco. Now the call is yours to answer. If you decline the Retruco, how many points does your opponent score?
Question
Turn a call down
Your opponent called Truco. You hold two 4s and a 5: your 4s beat nothing, and your 5 beats only a 4. Accepting would put 2 points on tricks you are very likely to lose. Declining costs you 1 point, and so does going to the deck with Fold.
Your move
Turn down the Truco.

What you learned

Truco raises a round to 2 points, Retruco to 3 and Vale Cuatro to 4.
A call is answered with Quiero, No Quiero or a raise, and a raise accepts the call under it.
Only the player who accepted a call may raise it next.
A declined call pays the caller what the round was worth before that raise.
With a weak hand, giving up 1 point beats losing 2.