Belote strategy: 15 tips to win more often

A good benchmark: take if you have at least three trumps including the 10 or the 6 (counting the turn-up you will pick up in the first round). Together, the 10 and 6 of trumps are worth 34 points and almost always win their trick.

Why it works: with three trumps including a master, you can draw the opponents’ trumps and keep control.

An Ace in another suit is often a sure trick worth 11 points, plus whatever the others throw on it. Two Aces next to decent trumps turn a borderline take into a solid one.

Why it works: the defenders can only win them by trumping, and they won’t always be void in that suit.

In the second round, you choose the trump suit. Prefer the suit where you have the most cards and the highest trump cards (10, 6, 1). Three cards with the 10 beat two cards with the Ace.

If you take, the turn-up joins your hand. In the first round it is necessarily a trump. A 10 or 6 turned up changes everything: it can make an average hand playable. A 4 or 5 turned up only adds one card to the suit.

Think about the opponents too: if one passes on a 10 turn-up, they probably have little in that suit.

If the opponents are far from 1,000, an occasional failure is no disaster. If they are close, a failure can hand them the game: be more demanding before taking. And remember your total must be strictly higher: 81-81 is a tie, not a success.

When you took with solid trumps, lead trumps as soon as possible. Since everyone must follow and go higher in trumps, you strip the opponents of their trumps; your Aces and master cards in other suits can no longer be trumped.

There are 8 trumps per hand, worth 62 points. Count those played and above all track the 10 and the 6. Once they are out, your trump Ace is master; once the opponents have no trumps left, your master cards in other suits are unbeatable.

The last trick is worth 10 extra points. Keeping a master trump (or the last trump in play) for the eighth trick secures that bonus — often the difference between a made contract and a tie.

When your partner is master of the trick (and nobody can take it any more) and you can’t follow suit, you are free: use it to discard a card worth points (an Ace or a 7 in a suit where you won’t win a trick). Those points go to your team.

Trumping a pointless trick with a big trump often means losing that same trump later, on a trick that mattered. When you must trump, use the smallest trump that wins. And when your partner is already master, nothing forces you to trump: keep your trumps.

A lead says a lot. A taking partner who leads trumps wants to disarm the defence: help by playing your big trumps at the right time. A partner who leads an Ace is showing a master suit; if they then lead a small card of that suit, they often hope you will trump or take the lead.

If your partner has trumped and is winning, trumping is free for you: you may play a lower trump or discard. Overtrumping them gains nothing and costs you a precious trump. Careful: the rule changes when trumps are led — then you must go higher, even above your partner.

A forgotten declaration is lost: remember to declare it on your first play. And count your declarations before taking: a 4-card Suivi (50 points) greatly lowers the trick points you need. A strong declaration lets you take a little “lighter”.

With the 11 and 12 of trumps you have 20 guaranteed points, even if you fail, as long as you say “Belote” then “Rebelote”. In a close decision those 20 points can tip the balance; they also count in the total that decides whether the contract is made.

On defence every point counts double: the taker must score more than you, so every trick you win brings them closer to failing — and a failure earns you 162 plus declarations. Keep your big trumps to overtrump the taker, don’t open suits where your partner seems strong, and aim for the last trick.

When trumps are led and you play last, you must go higher, but nothing forces you to use your biggest card. If the 6 of trumps has not fallen yet, win with the Ace and keep the 10: it is the only card that will beat the 6 later.

When you are forced to undertrump, give the trump worth the least (the 4 or the 5). If the opponent has just trumped with the 10, your 6 becomes the highest trump still in play: this is not the time to sacrifice it.

A player who does not follow a trump lead has none left. Note it: their trumping is no longer a threat, and a trick your partner wins ahead of them becomes safe. That is the time to load it with points. And when you are free to discard, prefer your shortest suit: once it is empty, you will be able to trump it.