How to Play Bukharo (Buraco/Burraco): Rules, Melds, Canastas, the Pot and Going Out
Bukharo, better known around the world as Buraco or Burraco, is a partnership rummy game built around long melds, wild cards, and the race to build a canasta. It comes from Argentina and Uruguay, with a hugely popular Italian cousin, and it rewards both planning and patience. This guide walks you through the deck, the deal, melding, the famous "pot" hand, and exactly what you need to go out and win. You can play Bukharo free online at lovecardgames.com in your browser, with multiplayer against friends or smart bots, and no signup.
Bukharo (Buraco/Burraco) is a member of the rummy family, closely related to Canasta. The twist that makes it special is the pot, a spare hand each team picks up after emptying its cards, and the requirement to build a canasta (a meld of seven or more cards) before you can finish. It is a partnership game, played two against two, where teammates share their melds on the table.
The objective
Each team works together to lay down melds on the table and, above all, to complete at least one canasta of seven or more cards. The hand ends when one player on a qualifying team plays out their last card. You then score the value of your melded cards plus bonuses, and subtract the value of any cards left in hand. The first team to reach the target score, commonly 2000 points across several deals, wins the match.
Deck and the deal
Bukharo uses two standard 52-card decks plus four jokers, for 108 cards in total. The four players sit in two partnerships, with partners across the table from each other.
- Each player is dealt 11 cards.
- Two face-down piles of 11 cards each are set aside. These are the pots (called pozzetti or mortos), one for each team.
- The remaining cards form the face-down stock, and the top card is turned face up to start the discard pile.
Card values
Knowing the values matters because melded cards score for you and cards left in hand score against you:
- Joker: 30 points.
- Two: 20 points.
- Ace: 15 points.
- K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8: 10 points each.
- 7, 6, 5, 4, 3: 5 points each.
Wild cards
Jokers and twos are wild and can stand in for any card. A meld may contain at most one wild card. A two can also be played as its own natural rank in a sequence; when used that way it counts as a normal card rather than a wild.
Playing a turn
On your turn you do three things in order:
- Draw: take the top card of the face-down stock, or pick up the entire discard pile into your hand.
- Meld: lay down new melds or add cards to melds your team already has on the table. This step is optional.
- Discard: place one card face up on top of the discard pile to end your turn.
Taking the whole discard pile is a powerful, high-risk move: it can flood your hand with useful cards but also leaves you with a lot to organise and protect.
Melds: sequences and groups
A meld is three or more cards laid on the table, of two kinds:
- Sequences (runs): three or more consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 5-6-7 of hearts. The ace can be high or low (A-2-3 or Q-K-A), so a sequence can even run with an ace at each end.
- Groups (sets): three or more cards of the same rank, such as three queens.
Sequences are generally preferred because they are the easiest route to a clean canasta. Melds belong to the team, so either partner can extend them.
Canastas: clean vs dirty
A canasta is a meld of seven or more cards, and it is the heart of Bukharo. There are two types:
- Clean (pure) canasta: seven or more cards with no wild card. Worth a 200-point bonus.
- Dirty (mixed) canasta: seven or more cards that include a wild card. Worth a 100-point bonus.
You can keep adding cards to a canasta after it reaches seven. A clean canasta is far more valuable, both for its bonus and because it is what lets your team finish the hand.
The pot
The pot is the extra 11-card pile waiting for each team. As soon as a player melds or discards their last card and empties their hand, that player immediately picks up their team's pot of 11 cards and continues playing with this fresh hand. Each team has exactly one pot, taken by whichever partner empties their hand first. Taking the pot is a milestone, because no team can go out until it has done so.
Going out
To go out (end the hand), a player on your team plays away every card, finishing by discarding the last one. But you cannot do this freely. Your team must meet all of these conditions:
- Your team has already taken its pot.
- Your team has melded at least one clean canasta.
- You can empty your hand, ending with a discard (the final card discarded cannot be a wild card).
Going out earns your team a 100-point bonus and ends the deal for everyone.
Scoring a hand
When the hand ends, each team totals its score:
- Plus the point value of every card in your melds.
- Plus bonuses: 200 per clean canasta, 100 per dirty canasta, and 100 for going out.
- Minus the value of any cards still left in players' hands.
- Minus 100 if your team never took its pot.
Deals continue, redealing each time, until a team passes the agreed target (commonly 2000), and the higher score wins the match.
Quick strategy tips
- Aim for at least one clean canasta early; without it you simply cannot finish.
- Hold wild cards for dirty canastas or to rescue a stuck sequence, not for tiny three-card melds.
- Be careful about discarding cards that let an opponent scoop the discard pile.
- Coordinate with your partner; shared melds mean you can each feed the same canasta.
More card games to try
If you enjoy Bukharo, explore other rummy-family games. Canasta is its direct ancestor, while Chinchon and Gin Rummy are quicker melding duels. Indian Rummy, Conquian and Tonk are other great draw-and-discard games worth a look.
Play now
Ready to build your first canasta? Play Bukharo free online at lovecardgames.com. It runs right in your browser with no download and no signup, so you can team up in multiplayer or practice against smart bots in seconds.