Most canasta players believe that just because burraco is a game variation of canasta they will be able to quickly learn the rules and also be successful in this game. Unfortunately this is not actually so and a proper understanding of burraco rules is necessary at all times. We are in front of a partnership game that can be played by 2 or 4 players with the use 2 regular card decks and jokers.

There is one extra hand being dealt for the teams called pots. Only one player can pick up the pot hand and he is forced to do so after finishing his cards. This is the main difference in rules if we compare burraco rules with canasta rules but the difference has a huge impact on game play.

Similarly to canasta we have both jokers and 2s being wild cards and you can use them in order to replace any card while forming a meld. There are also places where you will not find jokers but most games will include these cards.

Burraco rules state that the game is played in turns. The start of one turn is marked by picking up a card from the stock or from the discard pile. The end of the turn will be marked by a card being discarded in the discard pile. Special burraco rules apply when a player will finish his cards by melding. When this happens the player needs to pick up the above mentioned pot hand.

This can be done in 2 ways. The first one is to meld all of the cards, discard one and then pick up the pot hand. The second one, known as “in Flight” happens when you meld absolutely all cards, you pick up the pot hand and then you discard a card to mark the end of your turn.

Burraco rules show you that the main objective of the game is to meld all cards and form valid melds as fast as possible. The truth is that the real objective is to score as much as possible in each hand that is played and this is what you will need to focus on. We recommend that you play online to practice and always focus on understanding all about rules and burraco glossary before you start learning strategy.