Vincent Brévart

Vincent Brévart

Troubleshooting - Rules Français

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Rules Troubleshooting

(rules of the game and strategy)
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Rule preferences Button to open the rule preferences (shortcut Ctrl+R).

Problems relating to the 4 games

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Problems with Bel Atout

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Problems with SimiliBridge

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Problems relating to the 4 games

Are there several variations of the same game?

Classic Tournament Modern Contract Minibridge Bridge majeur Règles 1 Règles 2 Règles 3 Règles 4
Bel Atout SimiliBridge Élysée, Far Whist
  • In Bel Atout, there are 4 buttons to change the type of Belote: (from left to right) Classic Belote, Tournament Belote, Modern Belote (TA), Contract Belote (80).

  • In SimiliBridge, there are 2 buttons to change the type of bridge: (from left to right) Minibridge (MB), Full Bridge.

  • In Élysée and Far Whist, there are 4 types of rules (buttons 1 to 4) which allow you to play quite different variations.

  • The type of belote, bridge, president and whist is chosen by clicking one of these buttons, or by the Preferences menu.

  • To change the type of game (with a number of points to reach or a fixed number of deals), open the Preferences menu, or open the rule preferences on the Scoring or End of game page.

  • The rule preferences window can easily be opened by right-clicking (clicking with the right mouse button) on one of the buttons to change the variation of a game. Other ways to open these preferences are described in the next question.
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I can't change a rule preference

  • To change a game rule or strategy option, you must first open the rule preferences window. This is done either through the Preferences / Rule Preferences menu, or through the Ctrl+R shortcut. You can also click on the button at the top right of the game window:

    Rule preferences

    Quick access button to the rule preferences.
    If this button is not displayed, see the previous question.

  • Once the rule preferences window has opened, select on the left panel the pages that interest you, and change the options of your choice. Finally validate all your modifications with the OK button. The Help button explains each of the options.

  • To quickly get a description of the options available on a page, you can also use the question mark displayed   ?      X     at the top right of the rule preferences pages. Click once on this question mark   ?   and move the mouse cursor to an option. Click a second time on the chosen option, and the help page for the option will open.

    Be careful

  • The rule preferences cannot be changed during a game (the options appear grayed out). To change a rule preference, first complete your game, and then make the change.

  • If you are unable to save a single preference, read the interface troubleshooting page under the  The program does not save any of my preferences  question.
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Can I vary the level of machine players?

  • To change the playing level of machine players in Bel Atout, Élysée and Far Whist, open the rule preferences on the Strategy page (in Bel Atout, there are separate pages for the bidding and the card play).

  • To change the playing level of machine players in SimiliBridge (Minibridge mode), open the rule preferences, and check the options on the Bidding or Playing pages. Please note that to access these preferences, the Minibridge button must be pressed.

  • To change the playing level of machine players in SimiliBridge (full Bridge mode), open the rule preferences, and select your bidding conventions in the Bidding pages. The Signals and Advanced Techniques pages relate to the card play. Please note that to access these preferences, the full Bridge button must be pressed.
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Where is the startup window that sets the playing level? (Bel Atout, SimiliBridge)

  • When starting Bel Atout and SimiliBridge for the first time, a window offers several basic levels, with a preference setting corresponding to each level. To find this window, open the menu File / Choose the type of Belote (or Bridge, shortcut Ctrl+B).
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I find that there aren't enough good hands in North-South (Bel Atout, SimiliBridge)

Advantage Set the advantage for North-South button (shortcut Shift+A)
  • Click this button to set the advantage given to a team during the dealing. The deals are then selected according to the bidding sequence found by the playing engine. The value +7 is set by default for the first levels, to make the introduction to the game more enjoyable (see next question).

  • When the advantage value is not zero, you have access to a list of advantages which allow you to work on certain types of deals (high contracts, particular bids, etc.). For more information, click the Help button on the advantage page.
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I don't win as many games as before (Bel Atout, SimiliBridge)

  • For the two programs with the possibility of giving an advantage to a team (see the question above), the value +7 is set by default for the first levels, to make the introduction to the game more enjoyable. This setting may lead the user to believe that he is better than he really is. When installing the program on a new machine, he will choose one of the highest levels, and will be surprised at the sudden weakness of his performance. This will be caused both by the cancellation of any advantage during the dealing, and by the setting of a higher level with regard to the bidding and card play.

  • Winning a game in North-South when one had very strong hands does not mean that he played better than East-West. One may simply have been lucky with the cards dealt. And the settings of strategy options can also prevent opponents from correctly analyzing situations and making the right decisions.

  • The only way to properly evaluate one's level of play compared to machine players is to  enable the comparison . Each deal will then be compared by having the computer play South's hand. By also activating the statistics via the Preferences menu, the user will be able to see if, over a large number of games, he is on par with the playing engine, or if he still has to train to achieve this.

  • Once at the comparison the user is equal to the computer or if he surpasses it, he can seek to progress by resetting his statistics to 0, and by  increasing the level of play  in the rule preferences.
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The direction of play is not the one I'm used to (Bel Atout, Élysée)

  • To change the direction of play, open the general preferences on the Play page. Check or uncheck the Play anticlockwise box according to your habits.
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I find that my partner does not play well (Bel Atout, SimiliBridge)

  • Your partner seated North plays with the same playing engine as the machine players seated East and West. If you think he plays much worse than them, it is probably a matter of agreement between you and him. In any case, read the page  Studying a deal step by step  to find out how to check your impressions or send a deal to have it corrected.

  • If you think your partner played better in an earlier version, you're wrong. Machine players' decisions are stable because they are stored in hundreds of deal files that are tested with each release. If you come across previously undetected playing mistakes, it's simply that they had escaped your notice (situations are often more complex than you imagine).

  • It is also possible that you have installed the latest version on a new machine, and that the strategy settings (level of play, type of risk, etc.) are no longer what you were used to. So, open the rule preferences to check your strategy options.
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I suspect the opponents of cheating

  • The machine players do not see the hands of the other players, but they reconstitute the hidden hands from the bids or the cards played previously. Some of their deductions may seem difficult to understand. Read the  Studying a deal step by step  page to discover that in the end they don't do anything exceptional, and to know how to send a deal to have it explained to you if you still have doubts.
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Problems with Bel Atout

I want to play without (or with) melds

  • To play without melds (card combinations like Tierce, Quint, etc.), open the rule preferences on the Melding page. Uncheck the With melds (Classic - Modern) box.

  • Melds are only allowed when playing Classic or Modern belote. There are no melds in Tournament belote or Contract belote, apart from the Belote meld (King and Queen of trumps).

  • You can also disable the Belote meld in the same preferences page, by unchecking the With the Belote meld option.
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East and West declare sets of four 7's and four 8's

  • No, in Bel Atout, the sets of four 7's and four 8's are never declared, nor shown, nor counted, and the rules of the game are obviously valid for the 4 players. If you have false impressions of illicit or uncounted melds for a team,  save the deal  to check it when you've got a quiet moment, and if needed send it to have it explained to you. For more information, read the help pages accessible via the Help / The rules of the game / The melding menu.

  • Some players play with cancellation rules in case of four 7's or four 8's, but there is no option for this in Bel Atout. Having a weak hand (lots of cards without points) should not prevent other players (who inevitably have better cards) from having fun. However, you can cancel a deal by asking for it to be changed, provided that it has not yet been fully played. This is done using the button below, or the Play / Change the current deal menu (shortcut Ctrl+F8).

    Change a deal

    Button to change a deal you don't like.
    A confirmation will be requested.

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I would like cards to be cut without being shuffled

  • To have cards cut without being shuffled, open the general preferences on the Play page. Check the Cut cards without shuffling them box. For more information, read the help page associated with this option.
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I play with (or without) the obligation to undertrump the opponent

  • To change the rule requiring to undertrump the opponent, open the rule preferences on the Playing page. Check or uncheck the Always undertrump box according to your habits. For more information, click the Help button on the page.
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Why do I sometimes have to overtrump my partner?

  • First of all, remember that when the suit led is the trump suit, you always have to rise if you can (play a higher card than the highest one already played), whether the highest card of the trick was played by your partner or an opponent. There is no option for this rule because it is part of the basic rules of belote.

  • Regarding the ruffing situation, some players play with the rule stating that it is forbidden to play a trump card lower than the highest on the table, if you have a higher one. This rule can lead to having to overtrump a trick ruffed by partner, if for example you have only trumps to play. To disable this rule, open the rule preferences on the Playing page, and uncheck the Never undertrump partner option. For more information, click the Help button on the page.
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What is the belote variation with No Trumps and All Trumps?

Modern Belote Modern Belote button for playing NT and AT
  • Press this button to play modern belote, the only type of belote which in Bel Atout allows to play at No Trumps and All Trumps. Several rules of the game are specific to this belote. Open the rule preferences on the Bidding / Modern Belote page to see the details and modify them if necessary.
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What is the belote variation with 8 cards dealt at bidding?

Contract belote Contract Belote button to play contract Belote (shortcut Shift+F12)
  • At the top of the program window, press this button to play contract belote, the only type of belote which in Bel Atout is played with 1 single round of dealing, each player receiving 8 cards from the start. Contracts are then expressed in the form of a contract height (going up in 10s from 80 to 170, as well as 250 and 270) and a suit. Here are some examples:

    80, 110, 130, 250, 270

  • In Bel Atout, contract belote is always played with a trump suit (there is no No Trumps or All Trumps). Overbidding is allowed and there can be as many bidding rounds as necessary. Several rules of the game are specific to this belote. Open the rule preferences on the Bidding / Contract Belote page to see the details and modify them if necessary.

  • If you want to learn contract belote, or improve if you already know how to play, try the  prepared games . These will help you discover the bidding step by step, and when you are well acquainted with the  Regina system , you will really enjoy yourself!
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A player made a bid after a double, is this normal?

  • In modern belote, the double is generally non-blocking, and any bid is allowed after it. To change this rule, open the rule preferences on the Bidding / Modern Belote page and check the Blocking double box.

  • In contract belote, it's the opposite. The double is generally blocking, and only the redouble is allowed after it. To change this rule, open the rule preferences on the Bidding / Contract Belote page and uncheck the Blocking double box.
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A team should not win the game while being capot

  • In belotes with melds, it is possible that a team wins the game by its meld points, while being capot. To disallow this, open the rule preferences on the Scoring page. In the The game continues: area, check the If the winning team is capot box.

  • Another way is to indicate that a team loses its melds if it is capot. To play this way, open the rule preferences on the Melding page and check the Melds are lost by being capot box.
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The game should continue if there are frozen points

  • In classic belote with draw, it is possible for a team to win the game while there are still frozen points. To disallow this, open the rule preferences on the Scoring page. In the The game continues: area, check the If there are still frozen points box.

  • To enable the draw rule in classic belote, open the rule preferences on the Scoring / General rules page, and check the With draw (Classic) box.
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Why didn't I win my contract when I made the declared points?

  • At contract belote, many players consider contract heights to go up in 10s from 82 to 162. For convenience, they bid contracts in multiples of 10 (80, 90, 100, etc.), but they know that the number of points to win the contract is always calculated by adding +2 to the contract bid.

  • Other players prefer to indicate that the declared height is the one you must reach to win your contract. If you're playing this way, open the rule preferences on the Scoring / Contract Belote page, and uncheck the Always make 2 more points (82, 92, 102, 112, ... 252) box.
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At contract belote, can you double without waiting your turn?

  • No, in Bel Atout you cannot double outside your turn. Bel Atout is a program for training and studying the game. The study of deals step by step is not compatible with the principle of doubling at any time.
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At contract belote, my partner makes strange bids

90 opening bid

Tooltips of the bidding box

  • At contract belote in Bel Atout, machine players use a bidding system called the Regina system. Use the tooltips of the bidding box and those of the table to find out what a bid means and what questions it asks the partner.

  • Read the  Contract belote and the Regina system  page for more information about the system being used. In Bel Atout, you will also find the description of all the bids via the Help / Contract Belote / The Regina system menu. To check your knowledge and improve if necessary, also try the  prepared games .
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Problems with SimiliBridge

My partner passes over all my bids, I don't understand

Minibridge Minibridge Normal Bridge Normal Bridge
  • You may have switched to Minibridge without meaning to. To have the normal bridge bids, check that the button marked with a Spade is well pressed.

    Bidding slip

    The bidding slip of minibridge

  • In minibridge, if the player has no known bid at his disposal, he receives what has been called the bidding slip, which gives him information about his partner's hand. With this help, the player declares the final contract, and his partner must always pass.

  • If you made a mistake in the choice of bridge when starting the program, you can find the startup window via the File / Choose the type of Bridge menu, shortcut Ctrl+B). You can then correct your initial choice.
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I find that the deals proposed are too easy to bid

  • There are several dealing modes that you can select by opening the general preferences on the Play / Dealing page. On this page, modify the list that corresponds to the type of bridge you are using.

  • The Random dealing with system bids choice only proposes deals with a well-coded bidding sequence, in order to facilitate learning. If these deals seem too easy for you to bid, prefer the Full random dealing choice.
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Some bidding conventions and card techniques are missing

  • If in the rule preferences you have not found the conventions or techniques you are looking for, do not hesitate to contact me. I am constantly trying to make the program progress and your requests will be an important source of motivation for me. Please always send me a sample deal to illustrate your suggestions for improvement.
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I have some difficulty interpreting my partner's bids

2H response

Tooltip of the table

  • Use the tooltips of the table and the bidding box, which describe in detail the meaning of the different bids.

  • To quickly get a description of the conventions and techniques available, you can also use the question mark displayed   ?      X     at the top right of the rule preferences pages. Click once on this question mark   ?   and move the mouse cursor to an option. Click a second time on the chosen option, and the help page for the option will open.
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Installation troubleshooting