Burraco Card Game Rules

Burraco is a card game that is common in Italy. It is also spelled as "Buracco", or "Buraco". To play, you will need someone to take score so that points can be added or subtracted at the end of each round and a couple decks of cards with the jokers included. Although there are numerous variations of the rules, there are basic guidelines that create the same general gameplay.

Setting up The Game

Burraco is usually played with two teams of two, for a total of four players, and uses two decks of cards. The dealer begins by taking half of the pile of cards and dealing eleven cards to each player, while the player to the right of the dealer takes the remaining cards and deals two piles of eleven cards to the side of the playing area. The cards placed to the side of the playing area are known as "pots". Once both have finished dealing, the two halves of the pile are combined and placed face down in the center of the playing area. The dealer takes the top card of the pile and flips it face up beside the face-down pile. The face up card is the start of the discard pile.

Playing The Game

The first player to play can either choose to draw a card from the face down pile, or pick up the entire discard pile. The object of the game is to create sets of cards (three or more of a kind), or runs of the same suit. To begin a set or run, at least three cards must be used, but once the set or run is down, cards that fit in may be placed down in any number. The player signals the end of his turn by placing a card face up in the discard pile. Once any player discards a card, that player can't make any more moves until the player's turn comes around again. All players have a choice to either pick up the entire discard pile, or draw a single card from the face down pile in the center. Twos and jokers are wildcards.

Winning The Game

Once a player empties his hand, he then is able to pick up one of the "pots" along the side of the playing area. If a player emptied his hand by discarding, then he must wait until his next turn to begin playing the cards in the pot. If a player emptied his hand without discarding, he can continue playing the cards from the pot. For a round to end, one person must "close", which means to play all the cards in both her hand and the pot. Before a player can do this, though, someone on her team must have completed a "canasta", which is a set or run of at least seven cards. Alternatively, if only two cards remain in the deck, the round ends, and no additional points are given for closing. At the end of each round, points are added or subtracted from the team's total as follows:

Positive points:

"Dirty" canasta (a canasta with a wild card): 100 points
"Pure" canasta (a canasta without a wild card): 200 points
Closing the game: 100 points
All cards placed on the playing area

Negative points:
Failing to take the pot: 100 points deducted
Cards left in your hand

Values of each card:
Joker: 30 points
Ace: 15 points
Two: 20 points
Three to Seven: 5 points
Eight to King: 10 points

The game is won by the first team to reach 2005 points.

References

• Burraco.com: Rules of Game
• Pagat.com: Burraco