Tressette

Italian

40

4

Over the course of three centuries, Tressette has generated several fundamental innovations in the history of card games: the structured rules of this game have created an impressive number of variations and made it the father of entire families of other games. Desdiscard pilee its name, in the Tressette the cards of greater value are the Aces, followed by 3, 2 and figures: and the calculation of the score is peculiar.

The aim of Tressette is to win, during the hands, the cards and honors that give points to the pair and reach before the opponents the goal of 21 points. While it is not a gambling game, there is usually a stake, which is won by the winners.

The classic Tressette is played with a deck of 40 cards to Italian suits (Suns, Cups, Clubs and Spades) and in four people, divided into two pairs. As usual, at the game table, the members of the pair sit opposite each other.

The pairs are not pre-made, but they are formed in the first hand of play, randomly. According to the tradition, dealt cards one by one, the player with a 5 of Suns in hand pairs with the player holding a 4 of Suns; the latter is also the first hand player. The first dealer is the one sitting to the left of the first hand player.

The first dealer shuffles the cards, submits the deck to first player at their left proceeds to the distribution of the cards. This is done counter-clockwise. The dealer hands out five cards face down at a time, but they can also choose to deal three cards each first, then four more, and then the remaining three. One card at a time is also allowed. The dealer can also deal cards from below but in a clockwise direction.
At this point, each player collects their cards and the game begins.
If one or more players have a total hand value of less than 1 point, all cards are withdrawn, shuffled and dealt again by the same dealer. It is said, in this case, that the game goes upstream and the distribution begins again. It is advisable that the player without the necessary point to report the situation before the beginning of the first play.
If the first round of play is valid, the very first stage consists of the good game, a statement that each player must make whenever they come into possession of one of the following combinations of cards (called honors).
Combinations of four cards:
(each of these combinations is worth 4 points for the purpose of scoring):
• four Aces
• four 2
• four 3.
Combinations of three cards:
(each of these combinations is worth 3 points for the purpose of scoring):
• Three Aces
• three 2
• three 3
• 3, 2 and Ace of the same seed, or Neapolitan.
Aces, 2 and 3 are called pinches.

A Tressette game is played in multiple hands, up to 21 points.
The hand player (to the dealer’s right) plays, or lays down, a first card. The next player must play a card of the same suit, that is they must answer. It should be noted that to answer with the same suit of who opened is a precise obligation, regardless of the convenience or not that they would have by playing cards of different suit. After the first two, it is then up to the third hand player and, finally, the dealer.
The catch is made by the player who has placed the highest value card on the table. Only in case a player cannot answer with the suit proposed by the hand player, can they play a card of different suit. Such card, whatever its face value, is in the span of that hand a simple discard: it has, that is, no value to the effects of the catch. The player who makes the catch automatically becomes the hand player on the next turn, and the cards caught are stacked in front of the member of the pair who made the first catch.
The hand continues until the tenth round, when the hand is used-up. It should be remembered that the pair that makes the dietra (the last take) gains 1 point.

Each pair counts the Figures, the 2, and the 3 won during the game, assigning to each of these cards the value of 1⁄3 point; for each Ace, it adds successively the value of 1 whole point; finally, it adds up the values of any initial accesses and, if it has closed the last bar, of the dietra point.
The rule is that any fractions of score are eliminated from the result, rounding down the total.
The total of points to be won in a game is therefore always, because of this rounding, equal to 10 points plus 1 of dietra. It follows that when one pair makes 5, the other one must have 6 and so on. When, during the last hand of a game, one of the two parties is certain that it has already passed the final goal of 21 points, can call out, throwing cards on the table and proceed directly to the calculation of the score, thus preventing any comeback to the opponents in a situation of balance of scores. But, when calling out, you must be very careful: if the couple who call does not have a sufficient score to pass the final goal, the opponents are awarded 11 points, while the responsible couple is not awarded any points and the accumulated score is not taken into account.