rummy · Italy / South America (Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina)
Bukharo (Buraco / Burraco)
Also known as Burraco · Buraco · Bukharo · Buraco Italiano · Italian Rummy
Bukharo, better known as Burraco (or Buraco), is a fast, addictive two-deck rummy game born in 1940s South America and perfected in Italy, where it is one of the most popular card games of all. You and a partner race to build melds and suit sequences, score huge bonuses for completing seven-card "burracos," claim a hidden pot called the morto, and rush to close the hand before your opponents. Play Bukharo online free against smart bots or friends, learn the rules below, and master the partnership strategy that makes this game a worldwide favorite.
2–4 players · free · no download · no signup
How to play Bukharo (Buraco / Burraco)
- Sit opposite your partner; two teams of two, each dealt 11 cards. Two face-down pots (mortos) of 11 cards each are set aside.
- On your turn, draw one card from the stock OR scoop up the whole discard pile.
- Lay down melds: sets (same rank) or suit sequences of 3+ cards, using at most one wild (joker or two) per meld.
- Grow a meld to 7+ cards to make a burraco; keep it all-natural for a clean 200-point burraco, or use a wild for a dirty 100.
- Discard one card to end your turn (clockwise play continues).
- When you empty your hand, grab your team's morto and keep playing with those 11 new cards.
- Once your team has its morto and at least one burraco, go out by melding down and discarding your last card to end the hand.
Bukharo (Buraco / Burraco) rules
Objective
Bukharo (Burraco) is a partnership rummy game for 4 players in two fixed teams (partners sit opposite); a 2-player head-to-head version is also popular. The goal of each hand is to build melds (sets and sequences), complete at least one burraco (a meld of seven or more cards), pick up your team's pot of cards called the morto, and then 'go out' by emptying your hand. Card values you meld score for you; cards left in hand score against you. The first team to pass 2000 points over multiple hands wins the match.
The deck and the deal
Bukharo uses 108 cards: two standard 52-card decks shuffled together plus 4 jokers. Wild cards are the four jokers and the eight twos (deuces). Each player is dealt 11 cards. Before dealing, two face-down stacks of 11 cards each, the pozzetti or mortos (the 'pots'), are set aside on the table. The rest of the cards form the face-down stock (draw pile), with one card turned face up to start the discard pile.
Melds: sets and sequences
A meld is laid on the table for your team and may be a SET (three or more cards of the same rank, e.g. three Kings) or a SEQUENCE (three or more consecutive cards of the same suit, e.g. 5-6-7 of hearts). An Ace is high or low: it sits above the King or below the two, so A-2-3 and Q-K-A are both legal, but a sequence cannot wrap around (K-A-2 is not allowed) and a single sequence cannot use two Aces. A meld may contain at most ONE wild card (a joker or a two used out of position). A meld of only natural cards is 'clean' (pulito); a meld containing a wild card is 'dirty' (sporco). A two of the correct suit used in its natural place (e.g. the 2 in A-2-3) does not count as wild, so a sequence can sometimes hold both a natural two and a separate wild card.
How to play a turn
On your turn you first DRAW: either take the single top card of the stock, or take the ENTIRE discard pile (a powerful move that loads your hand). You may then MELD as much as you like, starting new melds or adding cards to your team's existing melds. Finally you DISCARD one card face up to end your turn. Partners share melds, so cards you add help the whole team. Play passes clockwise. When the stock is nearly exhausted (a player draws the third-to-last card), play ends at the end of that turn.
The burraco and the morto (pot)
A burraco is a meld grown to seven or more cards. A CLEAN burraco (all natural cards, no wild) is worth a 200-point bonus; a DIRTY burraco (built with a wild card) is worth 100 points. Completing burracos is the heart of the game. The MORTO (pozzetto) is each team's 11-card pot: the first player on a team to empty their hand immediately picks up their team's morto as a fresh hand and keeps playing. Your team MUST take its morto before it is allowed to finish the hand.
Going out and scoring
To 'close' (go out), your team must have taken its morto AND completed at least one burraco. You then meld all but one card and DISCARD your final card (it cannot be a wild card); you may not go out by melding every card with no discard. Scoring per hand: add the point values of all cards your team melded, then subtract the values of cards left in any hand. Card values: joker = 30, two = 20, Ace = 15, K/Q/J/10/9/8 = 10, and 7/6/5/4/3 = 5. Bonuses: clean burraco +200, dirty burraco +100, going out +100. Penalty: a team that never took its morto loses 100 points. There is no minimum value required for a team's first meld.
Winning, variants and regional names
Hands are played until one team's running total passes 2000 points; that team wins the match (in Bukharo's South American 'Buraco' form, some play to 3000). The game is known as Burraco in Italy, Buraco in Brazil, and Buraco/Burako in Uruguay and Argentina, where the name means 'hole.' Common variants include: Brazilian Buraco (sets of equal rank are central, often a higher 3000 target, and 'vulnerable' teams above the halfway score owe a 75-point minimum first meld); 2-player and 3-deck/6-player versions; ace-high-only or ace-low-only sequence rules; and timed games instead of a point target.
Strategy tips
- Prioritize clean (pulito) melds: a clean burraco is worth 200 points versus 100 for a dirty one, so save your wild cards for sequences you truly can't complete naturally.
- Hoard wild cards (jokers and twos) carefully, but remember a meld can hold only one wild, so a second wild is dead weight in that pile.
- Watch the discard pile, taking the whole pile can flood your hand with meldable cards and points, but it also commits you to using them before you can go out.
- Don't rush to empty your hand and grab the morto too early if your partner isn't set up; coordinate so the team holds at least one burraco before closing.
- Track which cards opponents pick up, and avoid discarding cards that extend their visible melds, especially anything that could turn their sequence into a 200-point clean burraco.
Variants
Italian Burraco (race to 2000 points, sequences emphasized) · Brazilian Buraco / Canastra (sets central, often play to 3000, 75-point vulnerable minimum) · 2-player head-to-head Burraco · 3-deck / 6-player partnership Burraco · Buraco Aberto (open) and Buraco Fechado (closed) Brazilian forms · Timed games instead of a fixed point target · Ace-high-only or ace-low-only sequence rules
Bukharo (Buraco / Burraco) — frequently asked questions
How do you win at Bukharo (Burraco)?
Win individual hands by building melds and burracos, taking your team's morto, and going out; win the match when your team's running score passes 2000 points (some Buraco variants play to 3000). High-value clean burracos (200 points each) and the 100-point bonus for closing usually decide the game.
What is a burraco?
A burraco is a meld of seven or more cards (a set or a sequence). A clean burraco made entirely of natural cards scores a 200-point bonus, while a dirty burraco that uses a wild card (a joker or a two) scores 100. Your team must complete at least one burraco before it is allowed to go out.
What is the morto (pot) in Bukharo?
The morto, also called the pozzetto, is an 11-card pot set aside for each team at the start of the hand. The first player on a team to empty their hand immediately picks up that team's morto as a brand-new 11-card hand and keeps playing. Failing to take your morto costs your team 100 points.
What are the wild cards and how many can a meld have?
The wild cards in Bukharo are the four jokers and the eight twos (deuces). Any single meld may contain at most one wild card. A two of the matching suit placed in its natural position in a sequence counts as natural, not wild, so a sequence can occasionally hold both a natural two and a separate wild.
What are the card point values in Burraco?
Joker = 30, two = 20, Ace = 15, King/Queen/Jack/10/9/8 = 10 each, and 7/6/5/4/3 = 5 each. Bonuses: clean burraco +200, dirty burraco +100, going out +100, and a 100-point penalty for a team that never takes its morto.
How is Bukharo different from regular Canasta?
Both are two-deck melding games, but Bukharo (Burraco) emphasizes suit SEQUENCES rather than only same-rank sets, gives each team a hidden 11-card morto pot, and requires a seven-card burraco before going out. Italian Burraco races to 2000 points, while the South American Buraco form often targets 3000.
Can you play Bukharo online for free?
Yes. You can play Bukharo (Burraco) online free in your browser against smart bots or with friends in real-time multiplayer, with no real-money stakes, on this social card-games portal.