Rules of Belote, How to play the Card Game

To play Belote, you need :

• Being 4 players
• A classic card game of 32 cards.

The purpose of the Belote:

The belote is a contract game played by teams of two. The tricks won by the players of the same team are to be added together. At the end of the game, the number of points of the cards contained in the won tricks is counted. We then know if the winning team is in or has fulfilled its contract.

Order and value of the cards à la Belote :

Order and value of cards à la Belote :

Dealing Cards at the Belote:

First, a random player is designated to deal the cards of the first game. In classic belote, the cards are dealt twice.

In the first deal, the dealer deals 5 cards per player by dealing once by 2 and the other time by 3. The 21st card is then placed face down in the center of the deck.

Choose the trump à la Belote :

The card turned over is considered, in the first instance, as the trump colour. The first player after the dealer chooses whether or not to take the card. If the player does not take, it is up to the next player to give his opinion. If during the round one of the players decides to take the face down card, he puts it in his hand and the colour of the face down card becomes trump.

If no player wanted to take the card turned over, the player who spoke first can then choose to announce another suit or pass a second time. If he says nothing, it is up to the next player to say whether or not he chooses his trump suit. Once a player has chosen his colour, his team becomes the attacking team and the other becomes the defending team. The game can begin.

If no player takes in the first and second round, the cards are to be dealt again.

When a player decides to take, he receives 2 extra cards in addition to the face down card while the other players each receive 3 extra cards. The players therefore have 8 cards each.

Start a game of Belote:

The player to the left of the dealer starts the inning. Each player is obliged to follow the requested colour. If a player cannot provide a card of the requested suit, then he must cut to trump. In case he has no trump, he has to piss, i.e. play another card in another suit.

It is also possible not to play trump in case the partner is master of the trick when one does not have cards of the requested suit.

The winner of a trick picks it up and starts the next round. When two players cut, the second player must necessarily overcut, i.e. provide a stronger trump than the one already on the table. This is also the case for the other players following. In case the player does not have a stronger trump, he must still play a lower trump if he has one in his hand.

How do you count the points in Belote?

The game of Belote is a contract game where the team that has taken must collect more points than the other team to make its contract, that is to say a minimum of 82 points.

If the attacking team fulfils its contract by achieving at least 82 points, each team scores the points it has achieved.

Example: The attacking team scores 130 points. The defensive team makes 32 points.

In case it does not fulfill its contract, it is said to be in, and all the points in play (162 points) will go to the defending team.

The 10th of der: The team that gets the last trick of the game is awarded 10 extra points. To be added when counting the points.

Bonuses at Belote:

Belote and Rebolote :

When a player has both the king and the queen of trump, he can give a bonus of 20 points to his team by saying out loud during their respective throws: "belote" and "rebelote". The 20 points belong to the team, even if it has not made any tricks during the game.

These points are very important since they can put a team in or out. Indeed, if the defending team gets at least 72 points in its folds, adding the belote, it gives 92 points. The attacking team that has 90 points is still in and loses its contract.

Tie points :

If both teams score the same number of points (81), the attacking team scores nothing, and the defending team scores 81 points. The other 81 points will be given to the team that wins the next game.

Cover:

If the winning team wins all the tricks of the game, a bonus of 90 points is awarded. The team thus wins 252 points to 0.