Tresette – the world’s best and most confusing card game (part 2)

Now that we’ve mastered the 40-card Italian Deck, we can start to learn the basics of Tresette.

While the game can be played with only two players, we’ll stick to the four-player version to keep things simple. The pairs sitting opposite one another play together as a team. The cards are dealt out counter-clockwise (so unnatural!!!), ten to each player. The person to the right of the dealer leads with any card of his choice.  The play continues counter-clockwise, and the other players must follow suit.  If they are void (no cards in that suit), they may play any card of their choosing.  The player with the highest card in the led suit takes the trick and leads the next trick with a card of his choice.

The play continues until all cards are finished, concluding a round.  The teams combine the tricks they’ve taken and count their points. There are 11 points in each round, the first team to 41 points wins the game.  Not too bad, right?

Now for the complicated part:

Card Rankings: the 3 is the highest card, followed by the 2, then ace, king, horse man and page boy.  Then 7, 6, 5 in that order and finally, the utterly worthless card, the 4.

Points: while the 3 is the highest card, it is not the most valuable.

• The aces are valued at one point each (4 total).
• All 2s, 3s, kings, horse men, and page boys are worth 1/3 of a point each (6 and 2/3 total). And just when you thought 3rd Grade mathematics wasn’t useful!
• All other cards have no point value.
• An additional point is awarded to the team who collects the last trick of the round.
• Total points possible each round is therefore 11 and 2/3. However, teams may only score a whole number (ex. a team with 6 and 2/3 points has scored only 6).

Bonus Points: when the cards are dealt, if a player has the 3, 2, and ace of a single suit (called “Napoli”), or if he has three 3s, three 2s, or 3 aces, he may call “Buon Gioco” (good game) which awards his team an extra three points at the end of the round.  Upon declaration of “Buon Gioco.” the opposing team may ask the player what his buon gioco is. If asked, the player MUST declare the cards that make up his buon gioco before the start of the 4th trick (ex. “three aces – all but the ace of coins” or “Napoli in cups”). If he fails to declare his buon gioco before the 4th trick, his team is not awarded the bonus points. If the opposing team fails to ask, he does not need to reveal his buon gioco.

Communication Rules: Tresette is known as il gioco dei muti (the game of mutes) because it’s considered cheating to communicate with your partner.  No special signals or motions are allowed. There is one exception: the player who leads the trick may make one statement about the suit that he plays.

Examples:

• “Volo” – I fly. Means that it is your last card in that suit.
• “Ho l’asso” – I have the ace.
• “Ho altre 3 lisci” – I have another 3 low cards (in this suit). Could be used with any number.
• “E’ buono” – it’s good. Means that the led card is the highest remaining in that suit.

Instead of revealing what you have, you may instead choose to command something of your partner.

Examples:

• “Voglio il tre” – I want the 3. If your partner has the 3 of that suit, he should play it. Basically, it implies that you have the 2 & the Ace; with the 3 out of play, your 2 and ace are the highest cards in that suit.
• Similarly, “Voglio il due” – I want the 2 – implies that you have the 3 and the ace.
• “Gioca il meglio che hai” – Play the highest you’ve got. Your partner will play their best card and if they take the trick, they should return with the same suit.

While it’s an opportunity to tell your partner what you do and don’t have in your hand, you need to be careful not to reveal too much information because your opponents are listening too. There are situations in which it’s best not to say anything and just see how the cards play out.

And that’s Tresette!

The beauty of the game isn’t in the rules, it’s in the strategy. A good memory is crucial – you must pay attention to how many and which cards of each suit have been played.

Since the aces are the most valuable, the strategy revolves around playing the aces when you know your team will take the trick. If you know your partner is void in a suit, lead with the highest remaining card (saying “e’ buono”) and it will give him an opportunity to dump an ace of a different suit and score a point for your team. Likewise, if you have the two & ace of a suit, and the opponent leads and says “ho il 3”, then you can safely play your ace knowing that it’ll take the trick.

But don’t forget all the other cards that’ll earn points as well.  If you’re void, don’t throw away a page boy unless you know your partner will take the trick. That card is still worth 1/3 a point, and all those little thirds add up!!

Now let’s go back to that evening that Eugenio “offered to teach me how to play a classic Italian card game”…imagine trying to learn the new deck of cards as well as the rules in the same evening. All in a foreign language. I had no idea what I had signed up for and to be honest, there were moments where I had to hold back tears out of sheer frustration. But Eugenio, patient and loving as always, has since played hundreds of games (the two-player version), always walking me through the strategy and explaining my errors or incorrect assumptions.  I won’t say I’m a master, that would be his brother, Jonny. But I will say the realization that I had grown confident in my ability as a Tresette player was a moment I will never forget. A moment of utter triumph in my conquest to immerse myself in a foreign culture and language.

Onward!