Tutorial
What is a trick in a card game?
What does 'trick' mean in card games?
A trick is the set of cards played in a round, with each player contributing one card. Once everyone has played, the cards are compared under the game's rules to determine who wins the trick.
Simply put: a trick is a "partial hand" within a game. The player who wins it usually collects the cards played and, in many games, earns points or the right to start the next round.
How is a trick formed?
The basic mechanism is very simple:
- One player plays a card.
- The other players play a card in turn.
- When everyone has played, the cards are compared.
- One of them is the winner, and its owner takes the trick.
In many games, there is an obligation to follow suit (play a card of the same suit as the first card played) if one has it. Additionally, some games use a trump suit that can beat other suits even if the card is of apparently lower value.
Practical example of a trick
Imagine a game of Tute with four players. The first player plays a 5 de Oros (coins) (5 of Gold/Coins, a suit in the Spanish deck). The others respond with:
- Caballo de Oros (Knight of Gold/Coins)
- 3 de Oros (3 of Gold/Coins)
- As de Bastos (Ace of Clubs/Batons, a suit in the Spanish deck)
If there is no trump in play, the winning card will be the Caballo de Oros (Knight of Gold/Coins), as it belongs to the leading suit and has a higher value than the other Oros cards played.
However, if the trump suit were Bastos (Clubs/Batons), the As de Bastos (clubs) (Ace of Clubs/Batons) would win the trick even if it does not belong to the leading suit.
Why are tricks so important?
Tricks are the foundation of numerous traditional games. In fact, there is an entire family known as trick-taking games, where the main objective is to win as many of them as possible or to capture specific valuable cards.
Strategy often revolves around issues such as:
- Deciding which card to play at any given moment.
- Trying to guess what cards opponents still hold.
- Taking advantage of the trump suit.
- Forcing other players to use their best cards.
That's why, although the concept of a trick seems simple, mastering it often marks the difference between a beginner and an experienced player.
Famous trick-taking games
Many of the world's most popular card games use this system. Some examples include:
- Tute
- Brisca
- Bridge
- Whist
- Spades
- Euchre
- Botifarra
In all of them, each round generates a trick, and the game progresses by accumulating the tricks won by each player or pair.
Where does the word "baza" come from?
The word baza comes from the Italian bazza, related to the idea of gain or advantage. Over time, it came to be used in card games to refer to the set of cards collected by whoever wins a round.
This also gives rise to the popular expression "tener una baza" (literally "to have a trick"), used outside of games to indicate that someone has an advantage or a favourable resource.
In summary
A trick is the set of cards played by all participants during a round. At the end, one of the players wins it according to the game's rules and takes the cards. This concept is fundamental in well-known games such as Tute, Brisca, or Bridge, and constitutes one of the oldest and most widespread mechanics in card games.