Touti cards: values, points and ranking
By The Atlas Carta teamUpdated on ✓ Rules checked in the app
Play Touti online
The 40-card Spanish deck
The deck has four suits of ten cards. Each suit runs from Ace to 7, then jumps straight to the three court cards, numbered 10, 11 and 12. There are no 8s or 9s (48-card Spanish decks include them, but they are removed for Touti).
The four suits
| Suit | English name | Rough French-deck equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Oros | Coins | Diamonds |
| Copas | Cups | Hearts |
| Espadas | Swords | Spades |
| Bastos | Clubs (batons) | Clubs |
Ace of coins
Ace of cups
Ace of swords
Ace of clubs
The court cards: Sota, Cabal, Rey
The three court cards carry a number in the corner: Sota = 10, Cabal = 11, Rey = 12. They are often compared to the Jack, Queen and King of a French deck, but the Cabal is a knight (a rider on horseback), not a queen. In Spanish it is called *caballo*.
Sota of swords
Cabal of swords
Rey of swords
Card point values
Only five cards per suit score points. The others (2, 4, 5, 6, 7) are worth 0, but they are still useful for following suit, for playing higher, and for trumping when they are trumps.
| Card | Points | Total in the deck |
|---|---|---|
| Ace | 11 | 44 |
| 3 | 10 | 40 |
| Rey (12) | 4 | 16 |
| Cabal (11) | 3 | 12 |
| Sota (10) | 2 | 8 |
| 7, 6, 5, 4, 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 30 per suit | 120 |
The Aces and Threes alone make up 84 of the 120 points. Knowing where they are means knowing where the hand's points are.
Ranking order
To see who wins a trick, look at rank, from strongest to weakest:
- Ace of cups
3 of cups
Rey of cups
Cabal of cups
Sota of cups
7 of cups
6 of cups
5 of cups
4 of cups
2 of cups
This order only applies within a suit. A trump card, even a 2, always beats a card of another suit; and a card that is neither the suit led nor a trump never wins the trick.
Why the 3 is so strong
This is a Touti speciality: in many trick-taking games the card just below the Ace is the 10, but here the 3 ranks just below the Ace, above all three court cards. It is worth 10 points and beats the Rey, the Cabal and the Sota. Two practical consequences:
- As long as a suit's Ace hasn't been played, your 3 isn't safe: dropping a 3 under an opponent's Ace hands them 21 points.
- Once the Ace is gone, the 3 becomes the master card of its suit: often the right moment to play it.
Remember that in Touti you must play higher when following suit (beat the highest card of the suit led if you can). A singleton 3 in a suit the opponents lead may force you to give it up. The strategy tips come back to this.
120 + last trick + Ghna = 230
The cards are worth 120 points per hand. On top of that come 10 points for the last trick and, for the declaring team, the Ghna: Rey + Cabal of the same suit, +40 in trumps and +20 in other suits. The theoretical maximum for a hand is therefore 120 + 10 + 40 + 20 + 20 + 20 = 230, which is why the highest bid is 230.
The Ghna caps by bid are explained on the Ghna in Touti, and the full count on how to score Touti.
Playing with a real deck
Any Spanish deck will do. If yours has 48 cards, take out the 8s and 9s (and any jokers) to keep the 40 Touti cards. To keep score by hand, use our online score sheet.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards are there in a Touti deck?
40 Spanish cards: four suits of ten cards (Ace, 2 to 7, Sota, Cabal, Rey).
Why are there no 8s or 9s?
The 40-card Spanish deck doesn't have them. If your deck has 48 cards, simply remove the 8s and 9s.
How much is the Cabal worth in Touti?
3 points. It ranks below the Rey (4 points) and above the Sota (2 points).
Is the 3 higher than the Rey?
Yes. The ranking is Ace, 3, Rey, Cabal, Sota, then 7, 6, 5, 4, 2. So the 3 beats the Rey, the Cabal and the Sota.
How many points are there in the deck?
120 card points (30 per suit). With the last trick (+10) and every possible Ghna, a hand can reach 230 points.
Read also
Other games on Atlas
- RondaCapturing card game with a 40-card Spanish deck, for 2 players or 4 in teams of 2; the first side to 33 points wins.
- RummyRummy game with two 52-card decks and jokers: you lay down runs (Suivi, e.g. 7♥ 8♥ 9♥) and sets (Tria, e.g. 9♠ 9♥ 9♦). Simple, Rummy 51 and Rummy 71 modes, 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2.
- BeloteTrick-taking game with trumps and declarations, for 4 players in 2 teams of 2. Moroccan variant with 32 Spanish cards to 1,000 points, or French variant with 32 French-suited cards to 1,000 points.
Play Touti online
On iOS and Android, play all four games online and invite your friends to a private table.