PEDRO SANCHO: The Tricky Card Game

Hey there! Have you ever heard of Pedro Sancho? It’s a really cool card game that you can play with 4 to 7 players. If there are 4 of us, we can either play individually or form two teams with 2 players each. Our teammates will sit right across from us, so we can keep an eye on them!

The main goal of this game is to reach 100 points. And how do we do that, you may wonder? Well, it’s quite simple! We need to place bids on how many tricks we think we can win in each round. And of course, we’ll also need to win some special point cards along the way.

By the way, did you know that some people call Pedro Sancho by another name? Yep, it’s also known as Nine-Five. Pretty cool, huh?

Setting Up the Game

Now, let me explain how we set up the game. The first dealer is chosen randomly, and then we’ll take turns dealing after each round. The dealer will shuffle the deck and give each player a hand of 6 cards. They’ll do this by dealing 3 cards at a time. And then, my friend, the bidding round can begin!

Oh, there are some versions of Pedro Sancho where the entire deck is dealt out as evenly as possible right from the start. After the bids are made and trumps are called, we’ll have to discard down to 6 cards. Just something to keep in mind!

Card Rankings and Values

When it comes to card rankings in Pedro Sancho, the trump suit can change with each round. As for the ranking of cards within the trump suit, the Ace is considered the highest, followed by the King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 being the lowest. The other suits, on the other hand, follow the same ranking system as the trump suit, with the Ace being the highest and the 2 being the lowest.

Now, in terms of scoring, Pedro Sancho assigns certain cards with specific values. However, only cards from the trump suit hold any value. The Ace of trumps is worth 1 point, as well as the Jack and the Ten. Additionally, the Five of trumps carries a value of 5 points, while the Nine is worth 9 points and the Two is worth 1 point.

Bidding

When we start bidding in a card game, it’s usually me, the player sitting to the left of the dealer, who gets things going. I have a choice – I can either make a bid or pass. If I decide to bid, my bid needs to be higher than the previous bid. There’s no minimum bid, but there is a maximum of 18. This bidding process is all about trying to earn the right to choose the trump suit.

Now, let’s talk about the dealer. The dealer always has the power to call and become the winner of the bid.

Once the bidding is done and we have a winner, that person gets to call the trump suit.

When the Game Begins

Once the bidding is settled, the real gameplay begins. The goal for each team is to win as many tricks as possible, especially the ones that have point cards. If my team won the bid, we have an extra task – we need to win at least the number of points we bid in order to earn our point cards.

In this game, I’ll start if I win the bidding round. Then, we’ll take turns clockwise. For the first trick, I have to play a trump card, but for the rest of the tricks, any suit is allowed. You have to follow suit if you can, but if not, you can play any card. If I play a non-trump card, you can either follow suit or play a trump. And if you can’t do either, feel free to play any card you like.

Remember, the highest trump card always wins the trick. If no trumps were played, the trick is won by the highest card of the suit that was led. The winner of the trick leads the next one.

SCORING

After all the tricks have been played, it’s time to score. Even if the other team didn’t complete their bid, the players who didn’t win the bid will still score points based on the cards they acquired.

If my team successfully completes our bid, we get to score all the points we won during the tricks. But if we fail to complete our bid, we’ll lose points equal to the ones we won in tricks.

When it comes to the scoring of point cards, there’s a specific order that determines the winner. It goes like this: Ace, 2, jack, 10, 5, 9.

THE END

We keep track of our cumulative scores over multiple rounds, and the first team to reach 100 points wins the game.

If both teams reach 100 points in the same round, the team that reaches it first, following the scoring order mentioned earlier, will be declared the winner.

I’m Amber (They/Them), an Austin writer and gaming enthusiast. I consider myself a gaming pro who also has a soft spot for dogs, plants, and D&D.