How to play Briscola well

The rules take ten minutes. Then comes the interesting part: knowing when to take, when to let go and what to remember. These are the habits that win games.

Where the points are

Start by looking at the deck the right way. Of the 120 points, 84 sit in just eight cards: the four aces and the four threes. The twelve court cards share the other 36. The remaining twenty cards are worth nothing at all.

So a game is nearly always decided by where the aces and threes end up. Winning lots of small tricks does little; losing an ace at the wrong moment costs a great deal. Weigh every play the same way: how many points are on the table, and how many am I putting at risk?

When to take a trick and when to let it go

When you are replying to a card, first ask what the trick is worth.

• If you can win it in the same suit, you usually should. With two players you are the last to play when you reply, so the trick is safe and you have not spent a trump.
• If your opponent leads a blank card and you cannot win in suit, let it go. Answer with another blank. A trick worth nothing is not worth a trump.
• If there are ten points or more on the table, think about trumping. Taking an ace or a three with a small trump is almost always a good deal.
• If the trick is lost, give away as little as you can. Your lowest blank card, not a court card.

Letting a trick go is not weakness. The winner has to lead next, and the player on lead is often the one in trouble.

Leading: the value of blank cards

When it is your turn to lead, the most comfortable card is a blank one in a suit that is not trumps. It costs nothing, it makes your opponent show something, and it offers them no points.

If you have no blanks, lead whatever costs least: a jack or a knight. Leading an ace or a three is nearly always a gamble, because any trump will take it and carry off eleven or ten points.

There is one important exception, the master card. Once the ace of a suit has gone, the three of that suit is the highest card left. Nobody can beat it in suit. The only danger is a trump, and that danger shrinks as the trumps come out.

When to play a trump

There are ten trumps, and they decide the game. Treat them as treasure.

• Trump when there is something to take: an ace or a three, or a big court card with other points.
• Trump with the lowest card that does the job. The two or four of trumps takes the ace of another suit just as surely as the ace of trumps does.
• Do not trump blank cards. Every trump spent on a pointless trick is one you will miss when there is an ace or a three to take.
• Keep an eye on the ace and three of trumps. The three of trumps can only be beaten by the ace of trumps. Until that ace has appeared, your three is not safe.

In the last tricks the sums change. Once you know your opponent has no trumps left, your aces and threes in other suits are safe again.

Aces and threes: when to play them

An ace or a three is a pile of points waiting for a safe place to land. You have three ways to cash one in.

1. The strozzo: your opponent leads a suit and you answer with the ace or three of that same suit, winning the trick. It is the cleanest way.
2. Leading a master card when there are few trumps left out there.
3. Keeping it for the endgame, when you know exactly what your opponent holds.

The danger is waiting too long. A player who clings to a three all game often ends up throwing it onto a lost trick because there is nothing else left to play. If you are still holding an ace or a three while your opponent has plenty of trumps, it is usually better to place it early, even at some risk.

Counting cards

There is no counter of played cards in the game: the memory is yours, just as at a real table. Counting is the skill that most separates a good player from an average one. You do not need to remember everything. Start with three things.

• Trumps played. There are ten. If you have seen seven, counting those played, those in your hand and the face-up card, there are at most three left out there.
• Aces and threes played. Eight cards in all. Each time one appears, ask whether the three of that suit has become the master card.
• Rough points taken. If you know you are close to 61, even a four-point trick can settle it. If your opponent is close, a trick that would carry them over has to be stopped at any cost.

There is also information many players ignore: how your opponent has replied. If they let one of your aces go past without trumping it, they probably had no trumps at that moment.

The face-up card and the last draw

The card turned up under the stock is a trump everyone can see, and you always know who will draw it: the last player to draw, which is whoever plays last in the following trick.

With two players this becomes a real calculation. When two cards are left, the face-down one and the face-up one, the winner of the trick draws the hidden card and the loser takes the face-up trump. If that card is the ace or three of trumps, losing the trick may be worth more than winning it. If it is the two of trumps, the unknown card is the better bet.

The endgame once the stock is empty

With two players, something valuable happens when the stock runs out: if you have counted well, you know exactly which three cards your opponent holds. They are the ones missing once you take away your own and everything already played.

The last three tricks become an open-hand puzzle. Take your time over it: who has to lead, which card wins, where the aces and threes will land. Games are often decided right here, because this is where the last aces and threes land.

Even if you have not tracked everything, at least try to know how many trumps your opponent has left. In the endgame, nothing matters more.

Playing in pairs

With four players in two partnerships, your position in the trick matters more than anything.

• If your partner is winning and you play after them, load the trick. Dropping an ace or a three onto a trick your partner is taking is the safest way to bank points, above all when you are the last to play.
• If you play before your partner, a blank card is often best, leaving them room to win in suit or to trump.
• Do not trump a trick your partner is already winning. That trump is wasted.
• Remember the face-up card. The last player to draw always sits on the side that did not win the trick. If the face-up card is a strong trump, letting your opponents take that trick sends it to your side.

There are no signals between partners in the game, so read your partner’s play instead. A partner who leads an ace or a three, for instance, usually knows that suit is safe.

Playing with three

With three players everyone is on their own and the highest score wins. A few things change.

• Playing last is a huge advantage. You see two cards before you decide. When you lead, be even more careful with your aces and threes.
• Watch who is ahead. If one opponent is pulling away, it can be better to let a trick go to the other one rather than to the leader.
• The deck is not complete. The two of cups is missing, so if cups are trumps there are only nine. And with two opponents, once the stock is empty you know which cards are left but not always who holds them: count, but do not trust it blindly.

How to get better

The best way to improve is to play a lot and, after every loss, ask where the aces and threes went. Against the computer you can start on Easy and move up a level once you win regularly. No level sees your cards, but the higher ones rarely slip, and they will push you to count and remember.