Belote rules: how to play, step by step

1. 4 players, 2 teams: partners sit opposite each other.
2. 32 cards: a Spanish deck in Moroccan Belote or a French-suited deck in French Belote.
3. Everyone gets 5 cards, then one card is turned face up in the middle.
4. Each player says “Take” or “Pass”; in the second round you may take by naming another suit.
5. The taker gets the face-up card + 2 cards, the others 3 cards: everyone holds 8.
6. Play 8 tricks: follow suit, otherwise trump, and always go higher in trumps when you can.
7. During trick 1, declare your sequences (Suivis) and fours (Carrés); the 11 and 12 of trumps make Belote-Rebelote (20 points).
8. A hand is worth 162 trick points; the taking team must score more than the other. Play to 1,000 points in either variant.

Belote is played by four people in two teams of two. Your partner sits opposite you, so turns alternate between your team and your opponents. The app offers only this format (no 2- or 3-player Belote).

Moroccan Belote uses 32 Spanish cards: the 1 (Ace), 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 (Sota), 11 (Caballo) and 12 (Rey) of each suit. French Belote uses 32 French-suited cards: 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace in each suit. Card strength and points correspond: the Spanish 10 plays the role of the Jack, the 6 of the 9, the 11 of the Queen and the 12 of the King. See our Belote cards page.

This is the first rule to learn: cards rank differently in trumps and in the other suits. Two cards completely change role when their suit becomes trumps: the 10 and the 6.

The first dealer is chosen at random; after that, the deal passes to the right each hand. Play goes counter-clockwise.

Each player receives 5 cards (a packet of 3, then a packet of 2). One card is then turned face up in the middle: the “turn-up”. The remaining cards are used to complete the hands once the trump suit is chosen.

Bidding starts with the player to the dealer’s right and goes around the table.

There are 8 tricks of 4 cards. The player to the dealer’s right leads the first trick; after that, whoever wins a trick leads the next.

During the first trick, as you play your first card, you can declare combinations from your hand. A forgotten declaration is lost.

A Suivi is at least 3 consecutive cards of the same suit, in the order 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 1 (7 and 10 are consecutive: there are no 8s or 9s). A card can only be used in one declaration. At the start of the second trick, each team’s best declaration is compared: the winning team shows and scores all its declarations; the other team’s stay hidden and score nothing. Ties and revealed cards are explained in our declarations guide.

If you hold the 11 and 12 of trumps, say “Belote” when you play the first of them and “Rebelote” when you play the second, in either order. Your team scores 20 points, always kept, even if the contract fails. They are not part of the declaration comparison.

• Tricks: 152 card points + 10 for the last trick = 162.
• Capot: the team that wins all 8 tricks counts 252 (the other 0).
• Contract made: the taking team’s total (tricks + declarations + Belote) is strictly higher than the defenders’. Each team then scores its own total.
• Contract failed (“inside”): the defenders score 162 (252 if they made capot) + all validated declarations + their Belote; the taking team keeps only its Belote.
• Tie (exactly equal): the defenders score their points at once; the taking team’s points (except Belote) go into reserve and will go to the team that wins the next hand that is not a tie.

Without declarations, the taking team therefore needs at least 82 of the 162 points (81-81 is a tie). Worked examples and a calculator: how to count points in Belote.

A game is played to 1,000 points in Moroccan Belote or 1,000 points in French Belote. The current hand is always finished before looking at the scores. If only one team has reached its variant’s target, it wins. If both pass the target on the same hand, the higher total wins; if they are exactly equal, a deciding hand is played.

• Forgetting to declare during the first trick: the declaration is lost, even four 10s.
• Always trumping when your partner is already winning: it isn’t compulsory and often wastes a trump.
• Forgetting to go higher when trumps are led — the app won’t let you, but at a real table it is a fault.
• Saying “Rebelote” without “Belote”: 0 points.
• Underestimating the last trick: 10 points, often the gap between a made contract and a tie.
• Taking with a single big trump: without the 10 or 6 well supported, failing costs your team 162 points.