Truc, pronounced in France and in Spain, is a 15th-century bluff and counter-bluff trick-taking card game which has been likened to poker for two. It is played in Occitania, Sarthe, Poitou and the Basque Country, and is still very popular in the Valencia region. More elaborate versions are widely played in Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, Paraguay and Brazil under such names as Truco, Truque and Truquiflor.
History
The game of Truc probably originates from the end of the Middle Ages in Spain, regarding the etymology of the word, which means "trick", later migrating to France. The Diccionario de Pompeu Fabra states that Truc is a game of cards usually played by four players, each receivingthree cards and scoring points for winning two of the three tricks, and whose bluffing objective is to trick the opponent into conceding the number of points summed by the point value of two cards of the same suit under a vie, and in some variants of Truquiflor, by having Flor or a winning Flor whose point value is higher than another. Francesc de Borja i Moll, in his Diccionari Català, offers a similar definition, recalling the hierarchy of the cards as: 3 2 A K Q J 9 8 7 6, and a brief entry on the Matarrata variant, a similar game in which the 7 ranks higher than 7, A and A. Truc is closely related to the old English game of put, which was first described by Cotton in The Compleat Gamester.
Game
Two players use a 32-card pack ranking 7 8 A K Q J 10 9 in each suit. A game is won when one player reaches 12 points, which may require several rounds. A rubber is the best of three games. Players deal in turn with the first dealer being chosen by any agreed upon means. Each round, players are dealt 3 cards one at a time. The non-dealer may propose a redeal if the dealer agrees. The hands are put aside and each receives 3 new cards. Only one redeal may be made, and only if both players agree. To win a round, a player must win two of the three tricks, or the first trick if both players win one and the third is tied by making the opponent fold to a raise.
Play
The non-dealer leads the first trick and the winner of each trick leads the next. As Truc is a no-trump game, any card may be played by either player and tricks are taken by the highest card led regardless of suit. If both cards played are of equal ranks, the trick is then considered "spoilt", belonging to none of the players, and the same leader leads the next. A round finishes when one player concedes or when three tricks have been completed. Whoever took two tricks, or whoever took the first if each took one, scores 1 point or whatever the value of the round may have been increased to. If all three tricks were spoilt, neither player scores points.
Score
By default, the winner of a round scores one point. However, before playing a trick, either player may offer to increase the value of a round by asking: "Two more?". The first such increase raises the value of the round from 1 point to 2, and subsequent increases add 2 more each, raising the value of the round from 2 to 4 to 6, and so on. If the other says: "Yes", play continues, if not he throws his hand in, play ceases and the challenger scores whatever the round was worth before he offered to raise. It is possible for both players to raise in the same trick. It is also legal to concede at any time, whether the other player has offered to increase or not. Mon reste An even more drastic raise may be made if either player on his turn declares: "My remainder", thus jump-raising the value of the round to whatever he needs to make 12. The opponent may either concede, in which case the increase does not take effect and the player that offered it scores the number of points the round was set at, or may himself announce "My remainder", in which case the player that wins the round wins the game.
Partnership Truc
Four players sit crosswise in partnerships. The turn to deal and play is counter-clockwise. The dealer acts as governor for his partnership and eldest hand as governor for his. Only eldest may propose an exchange, and only dealer may accept or refuse it. Eldest leads to the first trick, and each subsequent trick is led by the winner of the last, or by the previous leader if the trick is spoilt. Similarly, only the governor may accept or concede when an increase is proposed. Throughout play, governor's partner may indicate what card or cards he holds by means of conventional code or gestural signals, and the governor for his part may tell his partner what to play. Players may not reverse these roles. The holding of a Seven is indicated by a grin, an Eight by a wink, an Ace by a shrug. Naturally, the signaller will attempt to signal when his governor is looking and his opponents are not. An instruction may take the form: "Play the Seven", "Play low", "Leave it to me", and so on. Signals must be truthfully made, and instructions obeyed. A trick is spoilt if the highest card played by one side is matched in rank by the highest card played by one of the other. In case of a tie-winning trick played by two partners, whichever of them led to it first, leads two the next, and if neither of them two led, the trick is then spoilt just as if one of the tied cards were played by the other side.
