We all like to play by the rules and no one likes being cheated out of a win, but what if cheating is in the rules? In that case cheating is completely legal. Today, we wanted to try and find out what the best deceitful card game where liars might win is. Our advice is to not take the things you learn in this game into other “fairer” settings – you might lose a few friends!
Table of Contents
- Cheat: a British Deceitful Card Game
- Poker: An American Deceitful Card Game
- Truco: An Argentinian Deceitful Card Game
- Conclusion
Cheat: a British Deceitful Card Game
Well, Cheat is an example of “is what it says on the tin”. You win the game by cheating. This is the number one definition of a deceitful card game! Also known in some places as Bluff or Liar, we can see a steady trend emerging. Cheat is an oral card game passed through family and friends. As such there are a number of different rules and variants which we will discuss later. For now, we will discuss the most balanced version on the game.
The aim of Cheat is to get rid of all the cards in one’s hand. All cards are played facedown. To begin a player must place a card and call its number, for example, “four” – suits are irrelevant in this game. The next player must play equal to, one rank greater, or one rank lesser, to that four i.e. a three, four, or five. However, a player may choose to play another card, for example, Jack, facedown and call out “three” – thus being deceitful. In addition, a player may play a multiple of any given card and so might call “two threes”.
If an opposing player suspects the last card played was false, he may call out “cheat”. If the previous player did cheat he must pick up all the cards on the table. On the other hand, if a player calls cheat and a valid card was played, the player who called must pick up all the cards. This makes it risky to call out a player unless you are certain they have cheated.
We will discuss some variations below:
- You must always play greater than the previous card. We are not the biggest fan of this one as it forces you to cheat rather than playing tactically.
- You may pass your turn if you do not want to cheat. This one is take it or leave it, but objectively, you should not play with this variant. The point in the card game is to be deceitful, when players use this variant, sometimes they can play an entire game without cheating.
Poker: An American Deceitful Card Game
Cheating in Poker in the traditional sense is completely banned and frowned upon. If you cheat in a casino and caught, you will be permanently barred. Deceitfulness, however, is respected, applauded, and completely in the rules. The deceitful nature of this card game is actioned through bluffing.
In its most technical sense, a bluff is a bet or raise made when you do not believe you have the best hand. The purpose of bluffing is to try and deceive your opponent into folding the better hand. There are two kinds of bluff: a pure bluff, and a semi-bluff. A pure bluff is when you bet with a hand that has no chance of improving, maybe you missed the flop (opening 3 cards) entirely and are forced to bluff to try and regain your initial investment. A semi-bluff is calling with a weaker hand that still has a chance of improving. Maybe you need one more club for a flush, or a seven for a straight. In this case, even though you have a technically weaker hand, you are gambling on the chance for it to improve.
Bluffs have the effect of polarizing betting, only a large bet will stop your opponent from calling your bluff. Polarizing means that there are two possible scenarios: first, you do in fact have the best possible hand and so calling the bet would be fruitless; or second, you are bluffing. While a powerful tool, bluffing too often will leave you exposed and observant opponents will take advantage.
In this case, what are the best circumstances to bluff?
- Ideally you will be in a heads up (one versus one) scenario. You have less people to bluff in this case and less potentially winning hands in play.
- A scare card appears. If on the river a heart is played to make the total number on the table three, you could represent a flush of hearts.
- Playing an opponent in a weak position. If your opponent has already lost a lot of money or chips in a tournament environment, they will be less willing to call your bluff. They risk either losing more money or getting knocked out of the tournament all together.
Truco: An Argentinian Deceitful Card Game
Truco is a game played mostly in South America using a Spanish deck. This means there is a total of 40 cards, not the French-European traditional of 52. The game, of course, can be played with the 52 card deck. To do this you must remove any Jokers, tens, nines, and eights.
Truco is traditionally played by four people in teams of two. Winner are the first team to reach 30 points. There are a few ways to earn points in Truco.
Envido: Calling “Envido” if you have two cards of the same suit. For two points. Or “Royal Envido” for three points. Your opponents may then counter this with an Envido call of their own raising the bet by two points. The same can be done for a Royal Envido, raising it by three. Opponents would raise if they believe they have a higher ranked two cards than their opponents.
Flor which is much rarer, is when you have three of a kind in the suit and you gain points for winning this bidding.
As the name suggests winning the Truco, the trick which are played in rounds of best of three. This will also give you points.
The rules of Truco are lengthy with many conditions, it’s a tactical game full of strategy which we will not go into detail here. The deceptiveness of this game comes in a few ways. You can play fast and distract your opponents through jokes and conversation. You can raise the stakes through bluffing, like Poker. Finally, Tricking your opponents by saying “Envido” and “Truco” in sentences to force a counter bet.
Conclusion
In the majority of card games, cheating is wrong. It is despised and in tournament settings can have some serious repercussions. However, some games like Poker have deceptive practices like bluffing. Others, like Cheat, are a deceptive card game outright. The most important thing is that everyone at the table agrees what they are getting into. Whether they are playing with honourable men and women or if they are at a table of liars!
