How to play Burraco
Burraco is Italy's favourite rummy - a Canasta cousin played with two decks plus four jokers, where sequences matter more than sets, a face-down pozzetto gives you a whole second hand, and melds of seven or more cards (the burrachi that name the game) pay big bonuses. This is the classic two-player duel against the computer.
Just want the rules? Read the complete Burraco rulebook.
- The deal - 11 cards each, two 11-card pozzetti set aside, one card starts the discard pile and the rest is the stock.
- The draw - one card from the stock, or the ENTIRE discard pile. No meld obligation, no partial takes.
- Melds - sequences of 3+ suited cards or sets of 3+ equal ranks, each with at most one wild (joker or 2). A 2 in its own suit's slot counts natural.
- The pozzetto - empty your hand and your 11-card pozzetto takes its place. Meld out mid-turn and you keep playing; shed the last card as a discard and it waits for your next turn.
- Closing - pozzetto taken, at least one burraco on the table, and a final non-wild discard. Worth 100, and the opponent's hand counts against them.
- Scoring - melded cards count for you, cards in hand against you. Burraco bonuses: clean 200, semi-clean 150, dirty 100. First past 2,000 wins.
Strategy tips that win at Burraco
- Sequences beat sets. A run can grow to 14 cards and go clean; a set stalls at 9 and rarely earns the 200. When a card could start either, start the run.
- The pile is a prize, not a risk. With no meld duty, a fat pile is almost always worth taking if two or three of its cards feed your melds - the extra cards become discard fuel and pozzetto speed.
- Race for the pozzetto. Eleven fresh cards is the biggest swing in the game, and the -100 for never taking it is real. Meld aggressively early, even in threes, to get there first.
- Keep melds clean while it's cheap. A wild dumped into a 6-card clean run buys a dirty burraco worth 100 - but waiting one turn for the natural card doubles it to 200. Spend wilds where no natural can come.
- Mind your discards near a hungry pile. Every discard grows what your opponent may scoop whole. When the pile is rich, feed it only cards that fit nothing they have shown.
- Time your close. Closing when the opponent's hand is full - especially right after they take a big pile or their pozzetto - converts their whole hand into your margin.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pozzetto in Burraco?
A face-down pile of eleven cards set aside at the deal - one per player in the two-player game. The first time you get rid of every card in your hand, you pick up your pozzetto and play on with it as a fresh hand. You cannot close the hand until your pozzetto has been taken, and finishing without it costs a 100-point penalty.
What is the difference between a clean and a dirty burraco?
A burraco is any meld of seven or more cards. If every card is natural it is clean (pulito) and worth a 200-point bonus. If it leans on a wild card - a joker or a 2 out of its own place - it is dirty (sporco) and worth 100. A semi-clean burraco (semipulito), with seven consecutive natural cards plus a wild, scores 150.
Can you take just the top card of the discard pile in Burraco?
No - the discard pile is all or nothing. On your turn you either draw one card from the stock or pick up the entire discard pile, however large it has grown. Unlike Canasta there is no requirement to meld anything when you take it; the only restriction is that a single picked-up card cannot be discarded straight back.
How do wild cards work in Burraco?
Jokers and 2s are wild, and every meld may contain at most ONE wild card. A 2 sitting in its own suit's sequence between the ace and the 3 counts as natural, not wild - so A-2-3 of hearts is a clean start. When the real card a wild stands for arrives, the wild shifts along the sequence and can later stand for a card at either end.
How do you close a hand in Burraco?
Three requirements: your pozzetto must have been taken, you need at least one burraco (a meld of 7+ cards), and you must end by discarding one final card - which cannot be a wild. Melding every card with nothing to discard is not a legal close. Closing earns a 100-point bonus.
How many points do you need to win at Burraco?
The game ends when a player passes 2,000 points, and the higher total wins. Each hand you score your melded cards plus burraco bonuses, minus the value of cards still in your hand - jokers count 30, 2s 20, aces 15, K through 8 ten, and 7 through 3 five points.
More free card games
Prefer the Brazilian branch with its ace-to-ace canastra real? Play Buraco. Love the two-deck meld race? Deal into partnership Canasta. For Italy's other national card games, play Scopa and Briscola.