Bourré (Booray)

What is Bourré?

Bourré is a card game where the goal is to win as many tricks as possible and take home the pot.

How many people can play?

2 to 8 players can join in, although 7 is considered the optimal number.

What kind of deck is used?

A standard 52-card deck is used to play Bourré.

What is the ranking of the cards?

The cards are ranked from highest to lowest: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

What type of game is Bourré?

Bourré is a combination of a trick-taking and gambling game.

Who can play Bourré?

Bourré is a game for adults.

Introduction to Bourré

Bourré is a cool card game that people in Louisiana, USA love to play. This game actually comes from France. It’s really similar to a game they play in part of France, but that version uses three cards. Both games probably started from a Spanish game called “Burro,” which means donkey. In English, we usually spell the game as Booray because that’s how it sounds in French.

TIME TO BET AND DEAL

Before we start playing, everyone has to put some money in the pot. This is called an “ante” or a forced bet. Sometimes, if a player won the last hand, they don’t have to pay the ante.

Anyone can shuffle the cards, but the dealer gets to shuffle them last. The player on the right of the dealer gets to cut the deck.

So here’s how it goes. The dealer gives each of us five cards, one at a time, face-down. Except for the dealer, they get their fifth card face-up. That card determines the trump suit for the game. The dealer starts by giving cards to the person on their left, and we keep going clockwise until everyone has a full hand.

After a hand is done, the deal moves to the player on the left.

What’s your move?

We can look at our cards, but we have to keep them a secret from everyone else.

Starting from the player to the left of the dealer and going around in a circle, each person has to decide if they want to “pass” or “play.” If you choose to play, you also have to say how many cards you want to get rid of.

If you decide to pass, just stack your cards in front of you and sit out the hand. Sorry, but you can’t win any money or add to the pot.

If you want to play, just discard the number of cards you want while saying that number. Then, the dealer will give you the same number of replacement cards from the deck. You can choose to discard all five cards or not discard any at all and stand.

In big games, the dealer might not have enough replacement cards left in the deck. In that case, the dealer collects all the discarded cards, shuffles them, and uses them to deal.

If the trump card that is flipped over is an Ace, the dealer has to play. But don’t worry, the dealer always has an advantage with an Ace.

If everyone except one player decides to pass, that one player automatically wins all five tricks and gets the pot. This rule applies to the dealer as well.

Don’t say whether you want to play or pass, or how many cards you want to discard, until you are allowed to. If you do, you will be penalized and lose your turn to deal.

THE PLAY

The game starts with the first active player on the left of the dealer. After that, each trick is led by the winner of the previous one.

A card is turned face-up on the table, which is the lead. Active players must play a card that matches the lead. When each player has played a card, the trick is finished. The winner of the trick is the player who played the highest card, or the one who played a trump card in the same suit.

1. If possible, players must play a card of the same suit as the lead.
2. If you don’t have a card of the same suit, play a trump card if you have one. This is usually the highest-ranking card from the trump suit.
3. If you’re playing a card game where everyone takes turns, you should try to play a card that has a higher rank than the one that was just played.
4. If you can’t do that, and there are any special cards in the game, you should try to play one of those special cards.

Note: This is not something you have to do, but it’s a good strategy to keep in mind.

However, if you have a card that is the same suit as the one that was led, you have to play a card from that suit. In this case, you can’t play one of the special cards.

If you can’t follow suit and you don’t have a special card, you can play any card you want. But be aware that you won’t be able to win that round.

Now, let’s talk about “cinches.” A cinch is when a player knows that they will win three rounds, no matter what cards they play.

• If you have a cinch and it’s your turn to start the round, you have to play your highest special card.
• If another player has already started the round and you have a cinch, you still need to play your highest special card if you have one.

If you have a chinch (which means you’re the last to play a trick), try to win the trick by following the guidelines outlined above.

A hand can start as a cinch or become one. For instance, if you have high cards in the trump suit, you’ve started with a cinch. Alternatively, if you’ve already won a trick and have at least two guaranteed tricks, that’s also considered a cinch.

When you have a cinch and you’re required to play your highest trump, you can play the adjacent trump instead. This means that if you have an Ace-King, it’s acceptable to play the King.

In terms of the payout, the player who wins the most tricks will take the entire pot. You need to win more tricks than each of the other players — usually, winning three tricks will suffice.

If most tricks end in a tie, nobody wins the pot. For example, let’s say there are three players and they each win two tricks, while the third player wins only one trick. In this case, the pot is not split among the players. Instead, it carries over to the next round and the antes for that round are added to it. And here’s the best part: players who tied for the most tricks don’t have to pay an ante in the next round!

But what happens if a player doesn’t win any tricks? Well, that player has gone “bourré.” And they must pay into the pot an amount equal to the pot itself. That payment then gets rolled over to the next round. But hey, here’s a silver lining: the player doesn’t have to pay an ante in the next round!

Now, remember that the pot can grow pretty quickly, so it’s important to set a limit. If the pot goes beyond that limit, players who go bourré are only required to pay up to the limit. So, no need to worry about breaking the bank!

If you don’t follow the rules in a card game, like playing the right card when you can, it’s called reneging. If you don’t fix your mistake before the next player goes, you have to pay into the pot an amount equal to the limit, or your whole stack if it’s smaller. You can admit your mistake and fix it, but you have to give up the pot and skip your next turn to deal.

Different Ways to Play

• In some versions of the game, players have to bet double the initial amount if they don’t pass. They have to add it to the pot before continuing. No matter what, though, everyone always has to put the initial amount in at the start of each round.
• Instead of taking turns to declare pass or play, we can do it all at once. If you want to play, put a chip in your closed hand, and if you don’t, leave it empty. When the dealer says “reveal,” everyone opens their hands to show their choice.
• In Bourré, we can play with four cards instead of five.