Object of the game
The object of desmoche is to play, in either runs or sets, exactly ten cards on the table. The game is played by 2, 3 or 4 players with a standard deck of 52 playing cards.Dealing
Any player may start out as theGameplay
After players are dealt nine cards each, but before play begins, each player chooses one card from their hand and passes it face down to the player on their right. The "Cambio" (also known as "exchange", "pass" or "trade") can be a crucial factor in deciding one's hand. If any of the "automatic win" specifications (available below) have been met either before or after the Cambio, the player with the winning hand must declare they have won and place their cards face up on the table for the other players to confirm the automatic win. Otherwise, normal play begins. The player to the right of the dealer begins play by drawing a card from the deck, being careful not to place that card into the cards already in their hand. If the player can make use of the card to create aMelds
Melds in desmoche must contain a minimum of three cards. They can be runs of the same suit (i.e. ) containing three to ten cards, or sets of three or four cards of identical rank (i.e. ). After a player has played a meld on the table, it can be added to by cards in that player's hand or by any cards that are discarded by a player that will continue the meld. The highest run allowed is J Q K, a meld of Q K A is not allowed. A 2 3 is the smallest run allowed, but is often considered the highest valued run (see Bonuses below). Sometimes players enforce strict rules for laying down melds, in which a player is disqualified if their cards are not arranged in the correct order. Runs must be placed in ascending order, like and not . Sets must be played with suit color alternating, i.e. not . A player performs a desmoche, which the game is named for, by taking a card from any of their face up melds to use in another meld, but only as long as all melds that remain on the table are still valid melds (i.e: can be used to desmoche an to create a new meld of because is still a valid meld).Automatic wins
All automatic wins MUST be declared before the first card is drawn for game play, otherwise the win is forfeited and the game continues as normal. All automatic wins are valid if the terms are met either before or after the "Cambio". Ace is always considered the highest card for deciding upon multiple automatic wins. * "Peladilla": A player's hand contains no matching sets of 2 cards or higher, and no matching runs of 2 cards or higher of the same suit, i.e. . If 2 or more players have Peladilla, the player with the highest ranking card in their hand wins (i.e: beats because is the highest card of the two hands.) * "Cuatro Cuerpos": A player's hand contains four cards of identical ranks (i.e: ). If 2 or more players have Cuatro Cuerpos at the same time, the player with the highest ranking set of four identical rank cards wins. * "Color": A player's hand contains only cards of the same color. (This rule is not always agreed upon, check with the players before game play if they accept Color as an instant win, sometimes Color is only accepted if all cards are the same color and same suit.) If the players are "playing everything" as stated in the bonuses section below, all losing players must pay a bonus to the winner because they are all "Arriba del Palo". In the Honduran variation Conquién there is not automatic wins.Rules variations
When a card is discarded and more than one person can make use of the card, the person closest in the counter-clockwise rotation to the player who discarded the card gets first priority. This means that, if the person on the far left of the circle wants to use the card, and, the person in the first order of the rotation wants to use it as well, the player in the first rotation gets to have that card. Often players signify in order when a card does not "serve" them by knocking on the table. If a card placed on the discard pile can be added to any meld currently on the table it can be forced onto the meld and the player will have to "pay" for the card by discarding from their hand. If the player discarding the card is the same person with the meld, the card can be forced back to them, but if another player wants the card, they can take it (this is sometimes debated). If the card can be added to another player's meld, and the card is not taken by a player who is earlier in the rotation, then the card is automatically added to the meld and the player is forced to "pay" for that card. For example, if a player has on the table and the card being discarded is , the card is automatically placed on that sequence if no player earlier in the rotation claims it, and the player has to pay for that card. However, this rule is not always followed.Betting
ThePassing
When a player realizes they cannot win and can confirm there are no cards left in the deck that can be placed on their melds already face up on the table, they are allowed to pass their turn for the remainder of the hand, at which time they can place their melds face down to prevent the other players from seeing them. (i.e: If a player's face up cards include: and , no more cards can be added to their melds because they already have their own .)Bonuses
If the players decide "to play everything" or "jugar todo" there are possible bonuses involved with winning, the bonus is equal to the amount of the bet at the start of the hand. * "Mico": If the winner has a run of A 2 3, each losing player must pay a bonus. (Multiple bonuses of this type are allowed.) * "Arriba del Palo": If a player has not played any of their cards face up on the table before another player wins, they are considered "up the tree" and they must pay a bonus to the winner. * "Color": If a player wins with all cards of the same suit (i.e: or / / ), each losing player pays a bonus. These bonuses are allowed to be stacked. For example, if a player wins with they are due a bonus for "Color" and for "Mico" from each player, and if any players are "Arriba del Palo" they must pay the winner for that as well. In the Conquién game there is not bonuses.Side games
Players can also bet on side games with separate pots of money. These games must be started before the cards are dealt. Players of the main game are not required to join the side games. The following is a list of the side game names followed by their requirement to win. * "oro" (or "rombo"): Highest diamond(♦) card. * "corazon": Highest heart(♥) card. * "flor": Highest club(♣) card. * "corazon negro": Highest spade(♠) card. * "par rojo": Highest red pair. * "par negro": Highest black pair. * "dos par rojo": Highest set of two red pairs. * "dos par negro": Highest set of two black pairs. * "tres cuerpos": Highest three-of-a-kind (i.e: ). * "escalera": Highest run of three or more cards of the same suit (i.e: ). To win a side game, the winning card(s) must be received on the deal and not on the "Cambio". If a player has a possible winner in their hand, they must announce that they have it before the "Cambio" and they must show it when the cards are played or discarded, or at the end of the game if it is still in their hand after someone else has won. For these side games, Ace is considered the highest card, and 2 is considered the lowest card. For "escalera" A 2 3 is often considered a higher run than J Q K, but this is sometimes debated. In Honduras the only side game that is used to be played, is "oro".Disqualification
If a player is disqualified, their cards are removed from game play and they must wait until the next hand to continue playing. Reasons for disqualification include: * The dealer has dealt an incorrect number of cards to any player. (Any extra cards dealt must be returned to the deck, the dealer's cards are put aside and are not played.) * Any player is caught physically moving cards in the discard pile to check for cards that have already passed. * A player places a card into the cards in their hand, either from the deck or the discard pile. * A player plays melds on the table in an incorrect order (as described in the melds section above). Enforcement of these rules depends on the players. It is not uncommon for these offenses to be immediately forgiven, with play continuing as normal without any disqualification.See also
*References
{{Reflist Rummy Central American card games