Tute

Full rules

1. Overview
2. The cards
3. Setup
4. Playing the tricks
5. Singing 20 and 40
6. Scoring
7. Winning the match
8. Tips for beginners
9. Variants

Overview

Tute is one of Spain's most popular card games. This is the classic four-player version: two teams try to win tricks containing valuable cards – above all Aces and 3s. A team that wins a trick may also sing – show a King and Queen of the same suit from hand – for 20 or 40 extra points. After all the cards are played, the team with more points wins the game.

• Players: exactly 4, in two teams of two. Partners sit opposite each other.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck, and paper and pen to count games.

The cards

Take out all 8s, 9s and 10s and the jokers. You play with 40 cards: A, 3, K, Q, J, 7, 6, 5, 4, 2 in each suit.

Note that the 3 ranks right below the Ace. From highest to lowest:

The cards are worth 120 points; 10 more go to the winner of the last trick, making 130, plus any points for singing.

Setup

Deal and play go anticlockwise (to the right).

1. Dealer: pick the first dealer at random; after each game the turn to deal passes to the right.
2. Deal: the dealer shuffles, and the player to the dealer's left cuts. The dealer deals all the cards one at a time, face down, starting with the player to the right – everyone gets 10 cards.
3. Trump: the dealer's last card (the last card of the pack) is turned face up for everyone to see. Its suit is trumps for this game: any trump beats any card of another suit. The card belongs to the dealer's hand.

Playing the tricks

A trick is one round in which each player plays one card, face up; the best card wins all four. The player to the dealer's right leads (plays the first card) to the first trick; the winner of each trick leads to the next.

Tute has strict rules – you must always try to win the trick, even from your partner:

1. Follow suit (play a card of the suit led) if you can – and if no one has trumped, you must play one that beats the best card in the trick, if you have one.
2. If the trick has already been trumped, you still follow suit, but may play any card of that suit.
3. If a trump is led, you must play a trump that beats the highest trump so far if you can; otherwise any trump.
4. If you can't follow suit, you must trump. If someone has already trumped, you must overtrump (play a higher trump) if you can.
5. If you have no card of the suit led and no trump that could win, you may play any card.

Who wins: the highest trump, or if no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led.

Example: Clubs are trumps. Anna leads K♥. Ben holds A♥ and 5♥ – he must play the A♥, because it beats the King. Carla has no hearts, so she must trump: she plays 2♣. Dan has no hearts either; he holds 7♣ and 3♣ and must beat the 2♣, so he plays one of them.

Singing 20 and 40

A player who holds the King and Queen of the same suit can sing them: show both cards and score extra points for the team.

• 40 (las cuarenta) for King and Queen of trumps.
• 20 (las veinte) for King and Queen of any other suit.

You may sing only right after winning a trick, before leading to the next one, and only one pair at a time. If you have another pair, you must win another trick first. If you want to sing both a 40 and a 20, the 40 comes first. The sung cards go back into your hand and are played normally later.

Tute: holding all four Kings or all four Queens is a tute. At some tables, a player who shows a tute right after winning a trick wins the game at once; others count it as two games won. Agree on this before you start.

Scoring

When all 10 tricks are played, each team adds up:

• the card points in its tricks,
• 10 for the last trick (diez de últimas),
• its 20s and 40s.

The team with more points wins the game. On a tie, the team that won the last trick wins.

Example: Hearts are trumps. Anna and Carla take 68 card points and sang a 20; Ben and Dan take 52 card points, the last trick (10) and sang the 40: 102. Ben and Dan win the game, 102 to 88.

Winning the match

Agree on a series – say 6 or 8 games. The team that wins more games wins the match; if they are level, play one more game (and, traditionally, the losers buy the drinks).

Tips for beginners

• Don't lead a 3 while its Ace is out. Everyone must beat your card if they can, so whoever holds that Ace will take your 10 points.
• Win tricks to sing. A King–Queen pair is useless until your team wins a trick – but only the trick winner can sing, so try to win with the right player.
• Watch the 3s. The 3 is worth 10 and only the Ace beats it.
• Save a trump for the end. The last trick is worth 10.
• Count trumps. There are 10 trumps; knowing how many are left tells you when your Aces are safe.

Variants

• Two games for 101: at some tables, a team with 101 or more points wins two games.
• Partner sings: some allow the partner of the trick winner to sing, too – one pair each.
• Revoke: failing to follow the rules (not following suit, not beating or not trumping when you could) is a renuncio; the offending team loses the game.
• Tute for two (Tute corriente): 6 cards each, the next card turned up for trump, the rest as a draw pile. While the draw pile lasts you may play any card; after each trick both players draw. Once it is empty, you must follow suit and beat or trump. You need 101 points to win.
• Guiñote (Aragón): Jack and Queen swap rank and value, and you sing with King and Jack.