Briscola Strategy: Lisci, Trumps and Counting Cards

With only three cards in your hand, Briscola can look like a game of pure luck. It isn't. Two players who get the same cards can finish thirty points apart, and the difference is almost always the same few habits. Here they are, from the first trick to the last. Every one of them is something the Hint button in our free Briscola game will point out while you play.

Think in Points, Not Tricks

A trick with a 4 and a 5 in it is worth nothing. A trick with an ace and a three is worth 21. Winning ten empty tricks gets you nowhere; winning three loaded ones can win the hand. Before every card you play, ask one question: how many points are on the table, and how many am I putting there?

Leading: Give Nothing Away

The leader is at a disadvantage in Briscola, because the other player sees your card before choosing theirs. Whatever you lead, they can beat it if it's worth beating and throw a worthless card if it isn't. So when you lead, the safest card is one that costs you nothing if you lose it.

• Lead a liscio. A 2, 4, 5, 6 or 7 of a plain suit is the classic lead. If your opponent wants it, they have to spend something to take it, and they win zero points for their trouble.
• Don't lead your aces and threes. A plain-suit ace led early is an open invitation: your opponent trumps it with their smallest trump and banks 11 points.
• If you only hold point cards, lead the cheapest: a jack (2 points) is better than a king (4). A small trump can also be a good lead when every other card is valuable.

Answering: Take What's Worth Taking

When you play second, you know exactly what you are up against. Use it.

• Take loaded tricks. If your opponent leads an ace or a three of a plain suit and you hold any trump, take it. That is what trumps are for.
• Beat in suit when you can. If they lead the king of clubs and you hold the ace of clubs, play it: 15 points without spending a trump.
• Don't waste trumps on zero-point tricks. When they lead a liscio, answer with a liscio of your own. Trumping a 4 of spades wins you nothing and leaves you one trump short when an ace comes along.
• When you can't win, give the least. If you can't or shouldn't take the trick, throw your lowest liscio, never a king or queen you don't have to.

A small trump on a king or queen? Usually yes. The 2 or 4 of trump is worth little later, and 4 points now is real money. Using the ace or three of trump the same way is a different matter: those two cards should be saved for aces and threes.

Protect Your Aces and Threes

A plain-suit ace or three in your hand is a liability as well as an asset. It can only win if your opponent leads that suit, or if you lead it when they have no trump left. Meanwhile, it can be lost in two ways: led into a trump, or thrown away when you have nothing else.

• Hold a three of a plain suit? Watch for that suit's ace. Once the ace has been played, your three is the best card of its suit.
• Hold the ace? You can wait for your opponent to lead a king or queen of that suit, then capture it.
• Holding several big cards and no trumps is the classic bad hand. Try to keep at least one liscio to lead, so you are never forced to lead an ace.

Count the Trumps

There are ten trumps, and one of them sits face up under the stock for most of the hand. Count them as they fall. Two numbers matter:

• How many trumps are still out. Once every trump you can't see has been played, your plain-suit aces become safe to lead, and your opponent's become sitting ducks.
• Whether the ace and three of trump are gone. They are the only cards that can beat your high trumps. Once they've been played, your king of trump is the boss.

Our Hard computer does exactly this: it remembers which aces and threes are still out and how many trumps are left, and it never sees your cards.

The Face-Up Trump Card

Everyone sees the face-up card from the start, and it will be the very last card drawn, by the player who loses the 17th trick. If it is a strong card, such as the ace or three of trump, think ahead: losing that trick on purpose with a liscio may be worth more than winning it. If it is the 2 of trump, let your opponent have it.

The Last Six Cards

When the stock runs out, you hold three cards and your opponent holds three. If you have been counting, you know what theirs are: every card that hasn't been played or isn't in your hand. Now it's a puzzle with all the cards face up.

• Add up the points still in play and see what you need to pass 60.
• Play your trumps to capture their aces and threes, in the order that leaves them no escape.
• If they hold the top trump, make them use it on a trick with few points.

The Hard computer plays this part perfectly: once the stock is empty it tries every possible order of play and picks the best line. Tap Why? after its card to see what it worked out.

A Short Checklist

1. Leading? Play a liscio.
2. Points on the table? Take them, cheaply if you can.
3. No points on the table? Keep your trumps.
4. Can't win? Give away as little as possible.
5. Keep count: aces, threes, and trumps.

Need a refresher on the basics? See the full Briscola rules, or browse the house rules and variations.