Burraco glossary

Pinella, pozzetto, matta, tallone: Burraco has a vocabulary all its own. Here are the terms you'll hear at the table, with the Italian word, the English meaning and a short explanation, in alphabetical order. For the full rules see the Burraco rules page.

Burraco

A meld of at least 7 cards. It can be clean, semi-clean or dirty, and earns a bonus at the end of the round. You need at least one to close.

Burraco pulito (clean burraco)

A burraco with no wild cards. Worth a 200-point bonus.

Burraco semipulito (semi-clean burraco)

A burraco with 7 natural cards in sequence and a wild card at the end of the run. Worth 150 points.

Burraco sporco (dirty burraco)

A burraco with the wild card in the middle. Worth 100 points.

Calare (to meld)

To lay a new meld on the table, a run or a set, of at least 3 cards.

Chiusura (closing)

The end of the round: after taking the pozzetto, and with at least one burraco on the team, you meld everything and run out of cards with a final discard, which can't be a wild card. Worth 100 points.

Combinazione (set)

Also called tris: at least 3 cards of the same rank, for example three Ks. 2s don't form sets with each other.

Jolly (joker)

One of the 4 special cards in the deck. It is a wild card: it replaces any card. Worth 30 points.

Legare (to add)

To add cards to a meld your team has already laid down, to lengthen it.

Mano (hand)

The cards in your hand. At the end of the round their value is subtracted from your score.

Matta (wild card)

A joker or pinella used in place of another card. Each meld can have only one, and you can't meld groups made only of wild cards.

Monte degli scarti (discard pile)

The pile of discarded cards. At the start of your turn, instead of drawing, you can pick up all of it.

Naturale (natural)

A card used as what it is, not as a wild card. A pinella of the same suit placed where the 2 belongs in a run also counts as natural.

Pinella

The 2. It is a wild card like the joker and is worth 20 points.

Pozzetto

A packet of 11 cards set aside for each team. You take it when you run out of cards in your hand. The team that doesn't take it loses 100 points.

Pozzetto al volo (pozzetto on the fly)

A pozzetto taken by melding all your cards: you carry on playing straight away with the new cards.

Scala (run)

At least 3 cards of the same suit in sequence, for example the 7, 8 and 9 of hearts. The ace goes before the 2 or after the K, but runs don't wrap around.

Scartare (to discard)

To put a card on the discard pile: your turn ends with the discard.

Smazzata (round)

One round of play, from dealing the cards to closing. A game is made up of several rounds.

Tallone (stock)

The deck you draw from. When only 2 cards are left, the round ends without a close.

Traguardo (target)

The score you need to reach to win: 505 points (quick), 1005 (classic) or 2005 (long).

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