Official Belote Rules

Last Updated on April 9, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

Belote is a 32-card, trick-taking, ace–ten game played primarily in France. It is one of the most popular card games in those countries, and the national card game of France, both casually and in gambling It appeared around 1900 in France, and is a close relative of both Klaberjass or Klaverjassen. Closely related games are played throughout the world. Definitive rules of the game were first published in French in 1921.

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How to Play Belote

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Deck

Belote is typically played with a 32-card deck, using either French or German-style cards depending on the region. The French-style deck includes the ranks A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7 in each suit (♠ ♥ ♦ ♣), while the German-style equivalents are more common in parts of Germany and the former Yugoslavia.

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Basic Structure and Player Count

• Most commonly played with four players in two partnerships (North–South vs. East–West)
• Can be adapted for 2, 3, or 5 players
• Gameplay proceeds counterclockwise

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Dealing

1. The dealer’s right-hand player cuts the deck (except for the very first deal).
2. The first dealer is the player to the right of the last round’s winner.
3. Each player gets 3 cards, then 2 more, dealt counterclockwise.
4. Remaining cards stay face down and are dealt later depending on bidding results.

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Bidding Phase

Players bid for the contract in terms of:

• One of the four suits (♠ ♥ ♦ ♣)
• No Trump
• All Trump

They can also:

• Pass
• Double (if opposing team bid)
• Re-double (if their bid was doubled)

The auction ends when:

• Everyone passes
• A bid is made and followed by three passes
• An “All Trump” bid is re-doubled

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Gameplay

• There are 8 tricks per round.
• The first trick starts with the player to the dealer’s right.
• Players must follow suit or play trump if they can’t follow (with exceptions).
• A trump must beat any previously played trump unless the leading player’s partner is winning the trick.

Card rankings vary:

Trump Suit: J > 9 > A > 10 > K > Q > 8 > 7
Non-Trump Suit: A > 10 > K > Q > J > 9 > 8 > 7

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Declarations

• Announced during the first trick.
• Examples:
  • Tierce (3 in sequence): 20 points
  • Quarte (4 in sequence): 50 points
  • Quinte (5 in sequence): 100 points
  • Carré (4 of a kind): J = 200, 9s = 150, A/K/Q/10 = 100
• A Belote is a trump King + Queen combo, worth 20 points, and must be declared when played.

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Scoring

• Each card has a point value depending on whether it’s a trump.
• Last trick earns 10 bonus points.
• If a team fails to fulfill their contract, they score nothing, and opponents score all.
• Points are divided by 10 (with rounding rules) and added to the match score.
• Valat (taking all tricks) earns a bonus, doubled if “No Trump” was played.

Winning

First team to reach 151 match points wins, but a valat round must complete before ending the game.

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Variants

French Belote Differences:

• Scoring focuses on who accepted the up-card and whether they outscore the opposing team.
• Bidding begins with one card turned face up.
• If accepted, its suit becomes trump.
• Players receive final cards after trump is declared.