Belote card game rules

General rules of belote

1. Belote is played with 4 players. The players sitting opposite each other form a team.
2. You play belote with a 32-card piquet deck, meaning cards from 7 to Ace.
3. Each card has a point value and a relative ranking, which will be explained in detail later.
4. The goal of the game is to score more points with your partner than the opposing team.
5. As in most card games, the player to the left of the dealer plays the first card.

Dealing in belote

1. The deck is not shuffled before dealing. Instead, it is cut once.
2. Each player receives 8 cards.
3. The dealing sequence is 3-2-3. The first 5 cards are dealt before the bidding round, and the remaining 3 are dealt after bidding.

Bidding round

The bidding round begins after dealing.

• After the cards are dealt, the top card of the remaining deck is turned over and placed face up on top of the deck.
• The player to the left of the dealer may choose this card’s suit as trump (this is called “taking”). If the first player passes, the next player has the same choice. If no player accepts the face up card as trump, then players may choose any suit as trump, starting again with the player to the left of the dealer. If no one selects a trump suit, the cards are redealt.
• The bidding round ends as soon as a trump suit is chosen.
• The player who chooses the trump suit receives the face up card. After that, each player receives three additional cards, except for the player who took the face up card, who only gets two extra cards. The player to the left of the dealer receives the first additional cards, and dealing continues clockwise.

Points cards in belote

During the game, points are earned by winning tricks. The order below also determines the ranking of cards. Trump cards have a different ranking than non-trump cards. The Jack of trumps is the highest card in the game, followed by the 9 of trumps.

Trump card points

• Jack: 20 points
• 9: 14 points
• Ace: 11 points
• 10: 10 points
• King: 4 points
• Queen: 3 points
• 8 and 7: 0 points

Non-trump card points

• Ace: 11 points
• 10: 10 points
• King: 4 points
• Queen: 3 points
• Jack: 2 points
• 9, 8, and 7: 0 points

Extra points

Besides winning tricks, you can earn extra points by having specific combinations of cards in your hand. These combinations are called declarations. There are three types of declarations:

1. Carré (four of a kind)

• Four jacks: 200 points
• Four nines: 150 points
• Four aces, kings, queens, or tens: 100 points
• No points for four nines, eights, or sevens

2. Sequences (runs of consecutive cards in the same suit)

• Three consecutive cards: 20 points
• Four consecutive cards: 50 points
• Five, six, seven, or eight consecutive cards: 100 points

3. Belote and Rebelote

If you hold the King and Queen of the trump suit, you earn 20 points.

Only the team with the highest declaration scores points. A carré always beats a sequence. If both teams have a sequence as their highest declaration, the longest sequence wins. If they are of equal length, the sequence with the highest card wins. If those are also equal, a sequence in trump suit beats a non-trump sequence. If both teams have an identical sequence outside the trump suit, the order of play determines the winner—the player sitting to the left of the dealer takes precedence.

For Belote and Rebelote, you always score 20 points.

• You declare when you play your first card in the first trick.
• After the first trick is completed, the player with the highest declaration is determined.
• Only the team with the highest declaration scores points.
• To declare Belote and Rebelote, say “Belote” when playing the first card and “Rebelote” when playing the second.

Game play

Below is the gameplay after the bidding round. Some points are repeated from the general rules.

• After the bidding round, the player to the left of the dealer plays the first card.
• You must follow suit if you have a card in the same suit.
• Belote has a trump obligation:
  • If a trump is played, you must play a higher trump if possible.
  • If you cannot follow suit, you must play a trump card (even if it’s lower) if the opponents are currently winning the trick.
• The trick is won by the highest trump card. If no trump cards are played, the trick is won by the highest card in the leading suit.
• The player who wins the trick leads the next one.
• The last trick is worth 10 points.

Scoring in belote

You score points as a team by winning tricks. There are 162 total points, including 10 points for the last trick. Any declaration points are added to this.

• If the team that took face up card scores at least as many points as the opposing team, each team receives their own points.
• If the team that took the face up card scores fewer points, the other team receives 162 points plus the declaration points of both teams.
• If a team wins all tricks, they earn a 90-point bonus for a total of 252 points plus declarations. The losing team does not receive points for declarations (except for Belote and Rebelote).
• A team wins the game when a target score is reached, usually 1001 points.

Variations

Belote has several variations. Some players play counterclockwise instead of clockwise. In some variations, declarations do not count toward the final score. Instead, the bidding team wins if they earn at least 81 trick points.

Similarities between klaverjassen and belote

Belote and the Dutch card game klaverjassen share many similarities. Both use piquet decks, have the same card values and points, and are played in teams. Some believe that travelers brought klaverjassen to France, where it evolved into belote.

However, there are some differences. The dealing and bidding systems differ slightly. Both games allow extra points, but in belote, they are called declarations, while in klaverjassen, they are called roem.

• Declarations (belote) come from cards in your hand.
• Roem (klaverjassen) comes from cards played on the table.

Belote is also related to vida (a popular card game in Greece) and vela (played in the Balkans).