Jannik Sinner he is not only a great tennis champion, but also a passionate player Buraco and his statements in this sense have brought a breath of fresh air to this beautiful, sometimes underestimated card game. The 22-year-old from South Tyrol said that the origin of his winning agreement with Lorenzo Sonego, in doubles, in the last magnificent one Davis Cup, there is a great friendship and the common infatuation for the Buraco.
“He almost always wins” admitted Sinner, who after having beaten twice Novak Djokovic on the field, however, he also revealed that he had prevailed over his friend Lorenzo for the first time in cards. In short, great satisfaction in 2023 for these two splendid boys and not just with the racket in their hands.
Now that Jannik and Lorenzo have helped us take Burraco beyond the confines of old age and vintage girls' clubs, we want to give them back by teaching them, if they don't already know it, a beautiful Burraco for two, a game that combines the lightheartedness of classic Burraco with the cunning of Machiavelli game. In the following lines we are addressing people who already know these games, so let's take some knowledge as acquired.
Traditional two-person buraco with the addition of 11+11 cards
The basic rules are the same as the Traditional buraco, with some interesting additions that we will see and which make the challenge even more Machiavellian. Let's start with the distribution: as usual the dealer shuffles the cards, the other player cuts the deck and forms the wells (11 cards for each piece), after which the dealer distributes the cards one at a time to his opponent and to himself (11 each). At this point things change, because the dealer distributes another 11 cards to each player, always one at a time, but in this case the cards are face up and form a strip next to the player.
This strip unravels from top to bottom, from the first card to the last. Once this action has been completed, the dealer reveals the top card on the discard pile to start the game. In total, at the beginning, 67 cards are put on the field as when the challenge is four-way. The game is partly the same as the classic one: the objective is to open sequences or combinations to get rid of all the cards in the fan and take the well, after which it is also necessary to get rid of the cards in the well to close the hand. We also know that the closure cannot take place if the player has not first made at least one dirty burraco. Here, in this Burraco for two, more complex than the basic one, it cannot be closed unless the 11 exposed cards have also been consumed. Faced cards cannot be used as discard.
How to use added cards
The 11 face-up cards available are a real mine of possibilities for every player. They also offer valuable information on the strategy to be implemented during the match and on the one our opponent will have to follow.
To consume them we must necessarily link them to our open games or to the combinations and scales we want to open. We can only use one card at a time from those coming from the strip and in order of distribution, from last to first. We cannot take cards from the strip and hold them in our hand. If we take them we necessarily have to open up games.
As? To open games with face-up cards we must have at least two cards in our hand suitable for forming a combination or sequence with the first card available. For example, if the first card is a 3 and I already have two in my hand, I can open a combination of 3. If in the fan I have a jack of hearts and a king of hearts and the first card in sight is a queen of hearts I can open a straight consisting of king, queen and jack of hearts.
What can't be done instead? If I have only one 3 in the fan and the first face-up cards at my disposal are two 3s, one card after the other, I cannot take them both, because I must already have two cards in my hand suitable for forming that combination. Following the same example: the two cards in the fan can also be a 3 + a joker or a pinella. So if I have a 3 and a joker in my hand, I can close the combination by adding the uncovered 3 to the 3 + joker in the fan, only at this point can I also add the next 3. Telling it is more complicated than doing it, but hopefully the sequence in which the exposed cards can be consumed is clear.
Small strategic suggestions
The 11 additional cards do not necessarily need to be consumed to take the well. They are available to the player who can do what he wants, whenever he wants, keeping in mind the way in which they can be tied and the fact that, to close, it is also necessary to consume this strip and no card from the strip can be used as discard.
From a strategic point of view, in general, it is preferable to be aggressive, aiming to get rid of the cards in the fan as soon as possible, to anticipate the opponent, take the well, make burraco and close before the rival has time to realize what he is doing. happening. As anyone who plays knows well, however, this is not always possible, nor easy, especially if we have to link 11 other cards to the cards in the fan.
This "problem" slows down our running and also our desire to run, but believe me it makes the journey much more exciting. First we need to study our 11 additional cards to decide which games to favor. If we have five queens in the strip, for example, it is preferable to opt for a combination of queens, when possible, because it will be easier to make burraco and above all to quickly exhaust our strip. The opponent's streak also tells us what we should not discard to favor him. If our rival is much ahead of us, but he is left with some difficult cards to tie, we will do everything to hinder him. Conversely, if you have taken the well quickly, but the burraco is far away, collect the pile of discards as soon as possible, do not open games and try to take your time until you are strong enough to guarantee the possibility of also consuming the cards from the additional strip.
Dear Sinner and Sonego, seeing is believing: try this Burraco e due and you will never give it up again.
