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Rules of the game - Belote |
 
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Besides Windows
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Basic principle
After the dealing, each player holds 8 cards sorted by suit and rank. In Belote, the cards in each suit rank from highest to lowest in the following way:
A 10 K Q J 9 8 7
Note that the 10 ranks between the Ace and the King. Belote is a trick taking game: each of the four players plays one card in turn, and the one who played the highest of the 4 cards wins the trick. Then, he collects the cards played, and leads to the next trick. On a trick, there are several simple rules to follow:
 Aim of the game
Belote is a game played in teams of two. The tricks won by the players of the same team are put together. At the end of the deal, when the 8 tricks have been played, what matters is not the number of tricks won by each team, but the number of card points included in their tricks. Because each card has a value in points:
Note the great amount of points yielded by the Ace and 10. So, at the end of the deal, the players count the points won by each team. The aim of the game, to win a deal, is to get more points than the other team. The scored points accumulate from deal to deal. And the ultimate aim, to win a whole game, is to reach a certain number of points (for example, 1000 points).
The bidding
In standard Belote, cards are dealt in 2 rounds. On the first round, the players are given only 5 cards each, and the 21st card is laid on the table face up: it is called the turn-up card. Next, there are two simple and quick bidding rounds:
1st round
Each player may in turn choose to Pass or Play. If he plays, he picks up the turn-up card, and the suit of this card becomes the trump suit (see further on). As soon as a player decides to play, the bidding is over.
2nd round
If the 4 players have passed on the first round, each one may in turn choose to Pass or Play by naming one of the 3 other suits (never the suit of the turn-up card). While naming a suit, he picks up the turn-up card, and the suit named becomes the trump suit (see further on). As soon as a player decides to play, the bidding is over.
Once the bidding is over (the trump suit is then agreed), the rest of the cards are dealt. Each player is given 3 cards, except for the declarer (the one who plays) who gets only 2 cards since he took the turn-up card.
The trump suit
What is the trump suit? The trump suit is a suit stronger than the three others. This is why a player who decides to play always names a suit in which he has many cards, to give himself an advantage. The rules specific to the trump suit are the following ones:
When a player has no more cards in the suit led (and only in that case), he may play a card of the trump suit (which is called ruffing) and thus win the trick, whatever the rank of his ruffing card. For example, he can ruff an Ace with the 7 of trumps and win the trick.
You always have to ruff a trick which is temporarily won by the opponent. If the trick has already been ruffed, you have to overruff (ruff with a higher card).
You don't have to ruff a trick which is temporarily won by your partner. You may either ruff or discard.
As soon as a trick has been ruffed by a trump, the cards of the other suits can no longer win the trick. The player who wins the trick is then the one who played the highest trump.
When the suit led is the trump suit, you always have to rise (play a higher card than the highest one already played), if you can. This rule applies even when your partner is temporarily winning the trick. If you cannot rise, you play the trump card you want.
In the trump suit, the cards rank differently than in the three other suits. The Jack and the 9 become the two highest cards, and the ranks from highest to lowest in this suit are the following ones:
Example with Spades as trumps
In the trump suit, the card points are different from the three other suits. The Jack and the 9 become the cards that yield the most points, as shown below:
The Jack and 9 of trumps yield 34 points together.
MAKING the contract or FAILING
So, the declarer's team, who fixed the trump suit, often has the advantage of having many cards in this suit which is stronger than the three others. But it also has a contract to make. It must win more points than the other team. If it fails to do so, all the points in game will be scored by the other team.
In all, there are 162 card points in game, including the bonus given to the team who takes the last trick (see further on). So, half of the points are worth 81, and one more than half the total points is 82.
So, to make its contract, the declarer's team must win at least 82 points. For example, if it takes 120 points, it makes its contract and scores 120 points while the other team scores 42. On the other hand, if it takes less than 82 points, it fails to make the contract and all the 162 points are given to the other team.
Other little rules
Quint: run of 5 cards (or more) in the same suit (100 points).
Quart: run of 4 cards in the same suit (50 points).
Tierce: run of 3 cards in the same suit (20 points).
Note that only one team can score meld points, the one who declared the highest meld. Meld points can help a team to make its contract or defeat its opponents.
A few hints to make a good start
For the bidding
For the playing
In Bel Atout, you can play classic belote with melds (card combinations).
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