Burraco tips and tricks: strategies for winning

Burraco is a game in which the player's skill and ability are far more important than the element of luck. In Burraco, strategy is the supreme ruler during every move, and a good strategy can only be activated by a player capable of observing situations and foreseeing all possible moves, both their own and the opponent's, in order to be able to close the game.

An important factor to highlight is the uniqueness of every Burraco game: no two games will ever be the same. For this reason the use of a strategy cannot be decided in advance, but it is always necessary to study the specific situation that arises during the first few moves, and only at that point decide which strategy to use.

Clearly in pair games no strategy will work unless it is strictly followed by both players in the pair. Over time various game strategies have been devised.

Burraco “winning” strategies

Among the many present in the players' world are: the Counter-game, the n+1 Rule, the Card Exchange, Opponent Compression and the Useful Discard.

The Counter-game is perhaps the simplest yet most effective of all. It consists of laying down as many combinations and sequences as possible that are identical or as similar as possible to those of your opponent.

The principle is to prevent your opponents from extending their runs. There are two types of counter-game: the active one consists of opening a sequence similar to that of your opponent, trying to use the cards they need; the passive one consists of opening the game with the same cards as the opponent.

The n+1 Rule is a closing strategy. It is used in an emergency situation when your playing partner is left with only one card in hand. The strategy consists of laying down all sequences or combinations using wild cards, so that when your partner finds one of those substituted cards in the stock pile they can make a Burraco and, if the number of cards in their hand allows, close the game.

The Card Exchange is used when both players in the pair have few cards in hand, ready to close, but without having formed a Burraco. The strategy consists of always picking up the opponent's discard and throwing away the last card you had in hand. This forces the opponent to always play with just one card.

Opponent Compression is used by experienced players: it has no simple execution and is complicated to maintain throughout the course of the game. To carry out this strategy one or both players in the pair must always pick up from the pozzetto, thereby forcing the opponent to use the stock pile.

The Useful Discard strategy is a closing strategy. Discarding a useful card can slow down the opponents' game: as they try to draw from the stock pile to make a Burraco, they will see cards pile up on the discard pile. When the number of discards is sufficient, then you can throw down the useful card they were looking for: they will make a Burraco, but will not be able to close because they will have picked up a considerable number of cards.