Presi card game rules

Goal

Everyone plays for themselves. In each hand you have to get rid of your cards as soon as possible: the order in which you finish gives the places, from President to Culo.

The President of each hand scores 2 points and the Vice-president, 1. The first player to reach 11 points wins the game.

Players

Three to six people play, with no pairs. Play goes anticlockwise.

On Barajamos the room starts with three chairs and adds one each time someone joins, up to six. Against bots, you play with two bots.

The cards

The 48-card Spanish deck is used: ace to nine, plus the jack, knight and king of the four suits. There are no jokers.

Suits do not rank the cards: two kings are worth the same, whatever their suit. Only two cards have a role of their own: the three of coins, which opens the first hand, and the two of coins.

Order of the cards

From highest to lowest. The 2 is the highest card and the 3, the lowest. Cards of the same number are worth the same.

1. Two of coins, played on its own: wins any trick
2. The other twos
3. Aces
4. Kings
5. Knights
6. Jacks
7. Nines
8. Eights
9. Sevens
10. Sixes
11. Fives
12. Fours
13. Threes

The two of coins has its own step when it is played alone. With other twos, in a pair, three or four, it is just another two. In the exchange it counts as the best card in the deck.

The deal and who leads

The whole deck is dealt, one card at a time. With five players it does not come out even and three of them get one card more; each hand the deal starts one seat further on, so those extra cards do not always land with the same players.

In the first hand, whoever holds the three of coins leads. From the second on, the Culo of the previous hand leads, after the exchange.

The plays

Whoever leads the trick chooses how many cards are played: a single card, a pair, three or four, always of the same number. That size holds for the whole trick.

The others, in turn, answer with the same number of cards and a value equal to or higher than the one on the table. On a pair of sevens you can play another pair of sevens or a pair of eights, but not three cards or a single seven. The only exception is the two of coins played on its own.

The trick ends when the turn comes back to whoever made the last play without anyone beating it. That person leads the next one with whatever they like.

If a play leaves you with no cards, the trick closes at that moment and the next player who still has cards leads.

Passing and skipping

When it is your turn to answer, you can pass even if you have a play. Whoever passes is out until the next trick. Whoever leads cannot pass.

If you answer with the same value as the previous play, the next player is skipped once. For example, with four players: you lead a five, the next player plays another five and the third loses their turn, so it is the fourth player’s go.

A skipped player has not passed: if the trick goes on and the turn comes back to them, they can play.

The two of coins

The two of coins played on its own wins the trick at once, whatever has been played: a single card, a pair, three or four. It can be played when leading or when answering.

Whoever plays it leads the next trick. If it was their last card, the next player who still has cards leads.

With other twos it loses that power: in a pair, three or four of twos it is worth the same as any two.

The places

The order in which you run out of cards gives the places: the first is President and the second, Vice-president; the last is Culo and, with four players or more, the second to last is Vice-Culo. With five or six players, those in the middle are neutral. The hand ends when only one player has cards left: that player is the Culo.

The places score points at the end of the hand and decide the exchange in the next hand.

The exchange

From the second hand on, before playing, cards are swapped according to the places of the previous hand:

• The Culo gives their two best cards to the President, and the President gives them their two worst.
• With four players or more, the Vice-Culo gives their best card to the Vice-president, and the Vice-president gives them their worst card.
• Neutral players swap nothing. With three players there is no Vice-Culo and only the President and the Culo swap.

Best and worst follow the order of the cards, with the two of coins as the best of all. If you have several of the same number, you choose which one to give.

The swap happens at the same time. Everyone chooses from the cards they were dealt, without knowing what they will receive, and confirms. On confirming, the table checks they are the right cards; once everyone has confirmed, they are swapped. Then the Culo leads.

Scoring and the end of the game

At the end of each hand, the President scores 2 points and the Vice-president, 1. Nobody else scores. If nobody has reached 11, another hand is dealt, with its exchange.

The first to reach 11 points wins the game. If the President and the Vice-president both reach 11 in the same hand, the President wins.

If someone loses the connection

Your chair waits for you for a minute and, if you come back, you get your seat and your cards back. If you do not come back, the game is cancelled and everyone returns to the room.

How it is played on Barajamos

These choices are fixed at the Barajamos table:

• The 48-card Spanish deck, with no jokers.
• The 2 is the highest card and the 3, the lowest. Suits do not count.
• Whoever holds the three of coins leads the first hand; the Culo leads the others.
• You can pass even if you have a play, and whoever passes does not play again in that trick.
• Matching the value of the previous play skips the next player.
• Played on its own, the two of coins wins any trick; with other twos it is just another two.
• The President gives back their two worst cards, not the ones they choose.
• The exchange happens at the same time and the table checks everyone hands over the right cards.
• The President scores 2 points and the Vice-president, 1; the game is to 11.

Variants at other tables

Presi changes a lot from one table to another. This is what varies most:

• The deck: some play with the 40-card deck, without eights or nines.
• The order: at some tables the 3 is the second highest card, below the 2.
• Jokers: some tables add jokers above the twos or use them to complete any play, and at others the twos are wild.
• The revolution: at some tables, four of a kind reverses the order of the cards, and sometimes the direction of play too.
• Matching: at other tables you always have to beat the play, so there is no skipping.
• The two: at some tables no card wins any trick on its own.
• Passing: at other tables, passing does not leave you out and you can play when the turn comes back to you.
• The exchange: sometimes the Culo gives only their best card and the President gives back whichever card they like.
• Who leads: at some tables the President leads each hand, not the Culo.

You will find more information on Wikipedia and on Pagat. On Barajamos it is played with the rules on this page.

Glossary

Hand

What is played with each deal, until only one player has cards left.

Trick

Each round of plays, from when someone leads until the turn comes back to whoever made the last play.

Lead

To make the first play of a trick, which sets how many cards are played.

Pair, three and four

Two, three or four cards of the same number played together.

Pass

Not playing when it is your turn to answer. It leaves you out until the next trick.

Skip

Losing your turn because the previous player matched the value of the play.

President

The first to run out of cards. Scores 2 points and receives the Culo’s two best cards.

Vice-president

The second. Scores 1 point and, with four players or more, receives the Vice-Culo’s best card.

Neutral

A middle place with five or six players. Scores no points and swaps no cards.

Vice-Culo

The second to last, with four players or more. Gives their best card to the Vice-president.

Culo

The last, still holding cards when everyone else has finished. Gives their two best cards to the President and leads the next hand.