How to Play Belote

What is Belote?

Belote is the most popular card game in France: a trick-taking game for four players in two teams, partners sitting opposite each other, played with a 32-card deck. One team takes a suit as trumps and then has to score more points than the other team. Points come from the cards you win in tricks, from announcements of sequences and four of a kind, and from holding the king and queen of trumps: belote and rebelote.

What makes Belote different from games like Whist or Spades is that the cards themselves are worth points, and that the trump suit has its own order: the jack and the nine of trumps jump above the ace. Counting those points, knowing when you must trump and keeping your partner's tricks safe is the whole game.

This page explains classic Belote (belote classique), the version played in French cafés and family kitchens. It is also the version you play at bs.fyi, so everything here works exactly the same at the table.

With an auction: Coinche rules (Belote coinchée)

Belote rules at a glance

Players

4, in two teams of two; partners sit opposite

Deck

32 cards: 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A in each suit

Trump order

J (20), 9 (14), A (11), 10 (10), K (4), Q (3), 8, 7 (0)

Plain suits

A (11), 10 (10), K (4), Q (3), J (2), 9, 8, 7 (0)

Deal

5 cards each (3 then 2), then the next card is turned face up

Taking

Round 1: take the turned card's suit or pass. Round 2: name another suit or pass. The taker picks up the turned card; everyone ends with 8 cards.

Play

Follow suit. Out of the suit, trump unless your partner is winning. Always overtrump if you can.

Points

162 per deal (152 in the cards + 10 for the last trick), plus announcements and belote-rebelote

Contract

The taking team must score more than the defenders, or the defenders score everything (dedans)

Winning

First team to 1000 points (a short game is to 501)

How to play Belote, step by step

1. 1

   Sit in teams

   The four players form two teams of two, and partners sit opposite each other, so the play alternates between the teams. Everything is counted by team.

2. 2

   Deal five cards and turn one up

   The dealer gives each player three cards and then two, starting with the player on their left, and turns the next card of the deck face up in the middle of the table. The deal moves one seat to the left every hand.

3. 3

   First round of taking

   Starting left of the dealer, each player either takes the turned card, making its suit trumps, or passes. As soon as someone takes, the taking is over.

4. 4

   Second round

   If all four players pass, there is a second round in the same order: each player may name any other suit as trumps, or pass. If everyone passes again, the cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals a new hand.

5. 5

   Finish the deal

   The taker picks up the turned card and is dealt two more cards; everyone else is dealt three. Each player now has eight cards.

6. 6

   Play eight tricks

   The player left of the dealer leads. Everyone must follow suit, must trump when they can't follow (unless their partner is winning the trick), and must play a higher trump than the ones already played whenever they can. The highest trump wins the trick, otherwise the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.

7. 7

   Announce and say belote

   In the first trick, before playing your first card, you announce any sequence or four of a kind you hold. If you hold the king and queen of trumps, say "belote" when you play the first and "rebelote" when you play the second.

8. 8

   Count the points

   Each team adds up the cards it won, plus 10 for the last trick, plus its announcements and belote. If the taking team has more than the defenders, both teams score their points; if not, the takers are dedans and the defenders score 162 and every announcement.

Card order and card points

In the three plain suits the cards rank in the order you'd expect except for the ten, which sits just under the ace: A, 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7. In the trump suit the jack becomes the highest card and the nine the second highest: J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, 7.

Every card has a point value, and it changes for the jack and the nine of trumps. Together the 32 cards are worth 152 points; the team that takes the last trick gets 10 more, called the dix de der, which makes 162 points in every deal.

Jack

20 in trumps, 2 otherwise

Nine

14 in trumps, 0 otherwise

Ace

11

Ten

10

King

4

Queen

3

Eight, seven

0

Last trick

+10 (dix de der)

Taking trumps

Taking means promising that your team will score more points than the other team in this deal. In the first round you can only take the suit of the turned-up card. A strong reason to take is holding the jack of that suit, or the nine with a couple of other trumps, and an ace or two on the side, because the turned card will join your hand.

In the second round you choose the trump suit yourself, from any suit except the one turned up. The taker still picks up the turned card, even though it is not a trump. If nobody wants to take in either round, nobody scores and the next player deals.

Following suit, trumping and overtrumping

Belote has stricter rules of play than most trick-taking games. If you have a card of the suit led, you must play one. If you don't, you must play a trump, unless your partner is currently winning the trick; then you may throw away any card you like.

Whenever trumps are led, and whenever you trump a trick that someone has already trumped, you must play a higher trump if you have one. This applies even when the trump you have to beat is your partner's. If you can't go higher, you still have to play a trump if you hold one: this is called pisser or sous-couper (undertrumping). Only when you have neither the suit led nor any trump may you play anything.

Announcements

During the first trick, each player may announce the combinations in their hand, before playing their first card. A sequence is three or more cards in a row in the same suit, in the order A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7 (here the ten sits between the jack and the nine). A carré is four cards of the same rank.

Everyone hears what kind of announcement you made straight away; the cards are shown at the end of the first trick. Only the team with the best announcement scores, and it then scores all of its announcements. Higher value wins; at equal value a carré beats a sequence, then the sequence with the higher top card wins, and a sequence in trumps beats one in another suit. If the two best announcements are still exactly equal, neither team scores its announcements.

Tierce

3 cards in sequence: 20 points

Cinquante

4 cards in sequence: 50 points

Cent

5 or more cards in sequence: 100 points

Four jacks

200 points

Four nines

150 points

Four aces, tens, kings or queens

100 points

Four eights or sevens

Nothing

Belote and rebelote

The player who holds both the king and the queen of trumps scores 20 points for their team. They say "belote" when they play the first of the two cards and "rebelote" when they play the second. Unlike the other announcements, belote always counts for the team that held it, even when that team loses the deal.

Scoring a deal

At the end of the deal each team adds up the points of the cards it won, the 10 points for the last trick, its announcements (if it had the best one) and belote. The taking team must have more than the defenders.

If it does, the contract is made and each team scores its own total. If it doesn't, the takers are dedans (also called chute, or going down): they score nothing but their belote, and the defenders score all 162 points plus every announcement made by either team. A team that wins all eight tricks makes a capot, worth 250 points instead of 162. If the two teams finish level, it's a litige: the defenders score their points, and the takers' points are put aside for whichever team wins the next deal.

Made

Takers 92 + tierce 20 = 112, defenders 70: they score 112 and 70

Dedans

Takers 70, defenders 92 + tierce 20: defenders score 162 + 20 = 182, takers 0

Capot

One team takes all 8 tricks: 250 points plus announcements

Litige

81 against 81: defenders score 81, the takers' 81 wait for the next deal's winner

Winning the game

Scores add up from deal to deal, and the first team to reach 1000 points wins the game, called a partie. If both teams pass 1000 in the same deal, the higher total wins. Many players prefer a shorter game to 501, and you can choose it on bs.fyi before you start.

House rules on bs.fyi

Belote strategy tips

• •Take with the jack. The jack of trumps can't be beaten and is worth 20. With the jack and one or two more trumps, plus an ace on the side, taking is usually right.
• •Draw trumps when you take. Lead your top trumps early so the defenders can't use theirs to cut your aces later.
• •Put points on your partner's tricks. When your partner is sure to win a trick, play your tens and aces on it. When the trick is still in doubt, play your smallest card.
• •Keep your master cards. An ace, or a ten once the ace has gone, wins the next trick in its suit. Play it when it can't be trumped, not when you have nothing else to do.
• •Count the trumps. There are eight. Once you know how many have fallen, you know when your plain-suit winners are safe.
• •Watch for the dix de der. The last trick is worth 10 extra points, often enough to make or break a close contract. Keep a winner for the end if you can.

Frequently asked questions