Why do doses (twos) count as ases (aces) in Mus?

In eight-rey (king) Mus (the Spanish card game), all four doses (twos) count as ases (aces) to balance the rule that turns treses (threes) into reyes (kings). That gives you eight kings for grande (the highest-hand contest) and eight aces for chica (the lowest-hand contest), keeping the two rounds balanced.

The lowest hand matters too

In chica, whoever has the lowest cards wins. The ace is the best card for this round. If there were only four, getting a good low hand would be almost impossible. With eight, hands such as ‘four aces’ turn up every now and then.

How much are they worth for juego?

One point, just like an ace, in juego (the points-total contest). That matters: the most common way to make 31 is with three cards worth 10 and an ace or a two. We’ve worked it out in the probability of getting 31.

A rule that makes sense

It might seem odd, but there’s logic behind it: eight-king Mus only works if both ends of the deck are strengthened at the same time. If there were only more kings, grande would dominate everything. Explore the other half of the rule in why threes count as kings.