Belote with Spanish cards: values, order and equivalents
By The Atlas Carta teamUpdated on ✓ Rules checked in the app
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The Spanish deck in 1 minute
The Spanish deck has four suits (“palos”): oros (coins), copas (cups), espadas (swords) and bastos (clubs, drawn as wooden cudgels). Cards are numbered 1 to 12; the court cards are the 10, Sota (a page on foot), the 11, Caballo (a knight on horseback) and the 12, Rey (the king). A full pack has 40 or 48 cards depending on the edition.
Ace of coins
Ace of cups
Ace of swords
Ace of clubs
The 32 cards used in Belote
Belote uses 32 cards: in each suit, the 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12. Remove the 2s and 3s (and, from a 48-card pack, the 8s and 9s). That leaves eight cards per suit, just like the 32-card French-suited pack (7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace).
- Ace of cups
4 of cups
5 of cups
6 of cups
7 of cups
Sota of cups
Cabal of cups
Rey of cups
The complete equivalence table
Here is the card-for-card match. It preserves both the ranking and the points, in trumps and in plain suits: a game played with either column gives exactly the same result.
| Spanish card | Name | French-suited equivalent | Trump points | Non-trump points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Sota | Jack | 20 | 2 |
| 6 | — | 9 | 14 | 0 |
| 1 | Ace | Ace | 11 | 11 |
| 7 | — | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 12 | Rey | King | 4 | 4 |
| 11 | Caballo | Queen | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | — | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | — | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Spanish suit | Translation | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Oros | Coins | gold coin |
| Copas | Cups | goblet |
| Espadas | Swords | sword |
| Bastos | Clubs (batons) | cudgel |
Card ranking, in trumps and plain suits
- In trumps: 10 (Sota) > 6 > 1 (Ace) > 7 > 12 (Rey) > 11 (Caballo) > 5 > 4 — in French-suited terms, Jack > 9 > Ace > 10 > King > Queen > 8 > 7.
- In plain suits: 1 (Ace) > 7 > 12 (Rey) > 11 (Caballo) > 10 (Sota) > 6 > 5 > 4 — that is, Ace > 10 > King > Queen > Jack > 9 > 8 > 7.
Sota of coins
6 of coins- Ace of coins
7 of coins
Rey of coins
Cabal of coins
5 of coins
4 of coins
- Ace of coins
- 7 of coins
- Rey of coins
- Cabal of coins
- Sota of coins
- 6 of coins
- 5 of coins
- 4 of coins
Declarations with Spanish cards
The sequence order for Suivis is 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 1 — the exact equivalent of 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. The 7 and 10 are consecutive since there are no 8s or 9s in the pack.
| Declaration (Spanish deck) | Equivalent (French-suited deck) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Four 10s (Sota) | Four Jacks | 200 |
| Four 6s | Four 9s | 150 |
| Four 1s, 7s, 11s or 12s | Four Aces, 10s, Queens or Kings | 100 |
| Suivi 10-11-12 | Tierce Jack-Queen-King | 20 |
| Suivi 7-10-11-12 | Fifty 10-Jack-Queen-King | 50 |
| Belote-Rebelote: 11 + 12 of trumps | Queen + King of trumps | 20 |
All the declaration and comparison rules are in our declarations guide.
Why play with the Spanish deck?
- Very readable suits: a coin, a cup, a sword, a club, each with its own colour. On a phone screen you spot each card’s suit at a glance.
- One pack for four games: in the app, Belote uses the same cards as Touti, Ronda and Rummy, so you only have one deck to learn.
- A familiar pack: the Spanish deck is used for many card games (tute, brisca, escoba…). If you play them, Belote will quickly feel familiar.
The same cards have different values in Touti: see Touti cards.
If you know Belot, Bela or Klaverjas
Belote belongs to a large family of trick-taking games where the Jack and the 9 of trumps are the top cards: Klaverjas, Belot, Bela, Baloot… Some games of this family are traditionally played with the Spanish deck, such as Bolot. Their rules (card order, bidding, declarations) vary: this page describes only Belote as played on Atlas Carta. If you know one of these games, the trump order will feel familiar — just map the Jack to the 10 (Sota) and the 9 to the 6. Their differences are explained on our Belote variants page.
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Frequently asked questions
Which Spanish card is the Jack in Belote?
The 10, called Sota. In trumps it is the strongest card in the game (20 points), exactly like the Jack of trumps.
Which Spanish card replaces the 9?
The 6. In trumps it is worth 14 points and ranks right below the 10 (Sota), like the 9 of trumps below the Jack.
Why are there no 2s or 3s?
Because Belote is played with 32 cards, 8 per suit. You keep the 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and the three court cards (10, 11, 12), which match the 32 cards of the French-suited pack.
Can I play Belote with a 40-card Spanish deck?
Yes: just remove the four 2s and four 3s. With a 48-card pack, also remove the 8s and 9s (and any jokers).
Are the points the same as with French-suited cards?
Yes, card for card: 62 points in trumps, 30 per plain suit, 152 in total, and 162 with the last-trick bonus.
Is the 11 the Queen or the Knight?
In the Spanish deck the 11 is the Caballo (knight). In Belote it plays the role of the Queen: together with the 12 (Rey) of trumps it makes Belote-Rebelote.
Read also
Other games on Atlas
- ToutiTrick-taking and bidding card game (bids from 70 to 230) for 4 players in 2 teams, played with a 40-card Spanish deck; the first team to 600 points wins.
- 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.
Play Belote online
On iOS and Android, play all four games online and invite your friends to a private table.