The rules of belote
The rules of belote
The players
To play belote, you need four players with a deck of 32 cards.
The four players are divided into two teams, north/south versus east/west.
The Value of Cards
The value of cards varies depending on whether it is a trump suit or not.
A trump suit is always stronger than a non-trump suit. For example: an 8 of trump (value: 0 points) is stronger than a non-trump ace (value: 11 points).
The deal
For the first game, the dealer is drawn at random, he distributes five cards per player (3 then 2).
Once the cards are dealt, he turns over a card that he places in the middle of the table. The cards are never mixed between deals except after 4 deals without taking, the program automatically shuffles them.
The taking
The player to the right of the dealer is the first to speak, he can pass or take the card in the center of the table.- If he takes the card, the color of the card will be the trump and he will receive two other cards. Three cards will be distributed to the other players
- If he passes, it is up to the other players to speak
If no player has taken, a new round begins in which each player can decide the color of the trump suit. If no one speaks at the end of the second round, the cards are redistributed by the player who spoke first.
The announcements
Once the trump suit has been chosen, it is during the first round that each player can declare their announcements. During the second round, the strongest announcements will be revealed to all players in order to be validated.
A card can only count for one announcement except for Belote, here we go again.
The Square
The value of a square depends on its height:
Classic
- Jacks: 200 Points
- Nine: 150 Points
- Ace: 100 Points
- Ten: 100 Points
- Kings: 100 Points
- Queens: 100 Points
No Trumps
- Ace: 200 Points
- Ten: 150 Points
- Kings: 100 Points
- Queens: 100 Points
- Jacks: 100 Points
- Nine: 100 Points
Squares of 7 and 8 are worth nothing. A square of 100 points is stronger than a cent.
- The Cent is worth 100 points
- The Fifty is worth 50 points
- The Tierce is worth 20 points
The Card Game
After the bidding round, the taker and his partner will try to fulfill the contract, to make more than 81 points. The player to the right of the dealer plays the card of his choice; the color of this card determines the requested color.The others play in turn by providing the requested color.
If he does not have a card in the requested color, two cases arise:
- his partner is master (strongest card on the table), then he can play any card (discard) or he can also cut.
- his partner is not master or has not yet played: he is required to cut if he has a trump, otherwise he discards by playing any card.
When a player plays a trump, the others are required to put a stronger trump than the one already present on the table. If this proves impossible, he must choose a weaker trump. When an opponent cuts, it is mandatory to overcome. If the player is unable to overcome his opponent, he must then play a weaker trump.
The start of the next trick is made by the player who has just won the last trick. When all the cards have been played, the points are calculated.
Calculating the points
Each team adds up the value of the cards won.A bonus of ten points is added to the team that wins the last trick.
The players who have declared the highest announcements add them to the value of the cards won as well as the team that announced "belote", "rebelote".
If the team that took the card in the center of the table achieves:
- more than 81 points then each of the two teams scores the points corresponding to the sum of the value of the cards.
- 81 points, there is a dispute (81 points everywhere). The defense scores its points and the takers' points are put back into play to be offered to the winners of the next deal.
- less than 81 points, then it scores no points unless it had the "belote", "rebelote". The defenders score 160 points plus their announcements or that of the opposing team.