How to play French Belote

Belote is a trick-taking card game for four players in two partnerships, played with 32 cards, in which the bidding decides the trumps and which side has to make the contract.

Belote with a computer partner against two computer players, under French rules to 501 points.

About French Belote

French Belote differs from the Bulgarian game in how trumps are chosen and how points are kept: a turned card replaces the auction, there is no No trumps, All trumps or doubling, and every point is kept rather than divided by ten. Whoever takes is given the turned card, so count it as part of your hand when you decide. A turned jack is the highest trump and worth taking with one or two more of its suit, while in the second round the turned card comes to you as a plain card. Takers who end up inside hand the defenders 162 and every counted declaration, so pass on a hand that needs luck.

French Belote deals five cards to each player, three and then two, and turns the next card face up. It keeps every point, with no dividing or rounding, and is played to 501.

In the first round, starting to the dealer's right, each player may take the turned card's suit as trumps or pass. If all four pass, a second round lets each player name any other suit. The first player to take ends the bidding and is given the turned card and two more, and the others get three each. If everyone passes twice, the cards are thrown in and the next player deals.

There is no No trumps, no All trumps and no doubling.

When you cannot follow suit and your partner is not winning the trick, you must play a trump if you have one, and a higher trump than any in the trick if you can. If you cannot beat it, you must still play a lower trump. If your partner is winning, you may play any card.

A card counts in only one declaration, and a run of six, seven or eight cards is one quint worth 100. The side holding the best single declaration at the table counts all of its own. The best is the one worth more points; at equal points a four of a kind beats a sequence, fours of a kind rank jacks, nines, aces, tens, kings and queens, and between sequences the longer wins, then the higher top card, then the one in trumps. If the best two are still equal, no declaration counts.

Belote and rebelote, the king and queen of trumps in one hand, are worth 20 and are announced as you play the first of the two.

Each side scores its card points, its counted declarations and its belote, and a side that takes every trick adds 90, for 252 in the cards. If the takers finish with more than the defenders, each side scores its own total. If they finish with less, they are inside: they keep only their belote, and the defenders score 162, 90 more if they took every trick, the counted declarations of both sides and their own belote.

If the two sides are equal, the defenders score their total and the takers' points wait for whichever side wins the next hand. The game ends after a hand that leaves no points waiting, once a side has 501 or more and the scores are not equal, and the higher score wins.

After five cards each, 11 cards lie under the turned one. The taker's two and the three each for the others use up those 11 and the turned card, so every hand still ends at eight.

Belote often settles a close hand. With no declarations, the takers need 82 of the 162 card points to finish ahead, and 81 each leaves the takers' 81 waiting. Holding belote, 72 card points are enough, since 72 and 20 make 92 against the defenders' 90.

Because only the side with the best single declaration counts, one quarte, worth 50, wipes out two tierces held by the opponents, and four queens outrank a quint, though each is worth 100.

The goal of Belote

Belote is a trick-taking game for four players in two partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other. You play with a computer partner against two computer players. Each hand the bidding decides the trumps and which side has to make the contract, and the first side to reach the target score wins.

How to set up Belote

Belote is played with 32 cards, the seven to the ace of each suit, and every player ends up with eight. In the Bulgarian game, French Belote and Bela some are dealt before trumps are chosen and the rest after, while Coinche deals all eight first. The deal and the play go counter-clockwise, and the deal passes to the next player after every hand.

Belote rules

The player to the dealer's right bids first and leads the first trick, and whoever wins a trick leads the next.

In the trump suit the cards rank jack, nine, ace, ten, king, queen, eight, seven, and are worth 20, 14, 11, 10, 4 and 3, with nothing for the eight and seven. In the other suits they rank ace, ten, king, queen, jack, nine, eight, seven, and are worth 11, 10, 4, 3 and 2, with nothing for the rest. In a suit contract that makes 152 points in the cards, and the last trick adds 10 for 162.

You must follow the suit led if you can. When trumps are led, you must play a higher trump than any in the trick if you have one, even when your partner is winning. When you cannot follow suit, the rules you play decide when you must trump.

A sequence of three cards in one suit, in the order seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king, ace, is a tierce worth 20, four is a quarte worth 50, and five is a quint worth 100. In a suit contract four jacks are worth 200, four nines 150, and four aces, tens, kings or queens 100.

You announce your declarations as you play your first card, and a declaration you do not announce does not score. They are shown after the first trick and compared, and the side with the weaker declarations does not score them.

The king and queen of trumps in one hand are worth 20 points, whichever side has the better declarations. The pair is called belot in the Bulgarian game, belote in French Belote and Coinche, and bela in Bela.

The full Belote guide, with strategy tips and common questions