Belote▶Play

The deck has 32 cards, 7 to ace in four suits. In a plain suit the order from high to low is A, 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7, and the points are A 11, 10 10, K 4, Q 3, J 2. In trumps the jack and nine jump to the top — J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, 7 — worth J 20, 9 14, A 11, 10 10, K 4 and Q 3. That makes 152 points in the deck, and the last trick adds 10 for 162.

Each player gets 6 cards and the next card is turned face up. In the first round, starting with the player who did not deal, you may take the turned card's suit as trumps or pass. If both pass, a second round lets you name any other suit or pass again. If both pass twice the cards are redealt, and after two redeals in a row the dealer may not pass in round two. The taker picks up the turned card and 2 more, the other player 3, so both hold 9 cards and 14 stay in the stock.

The non-dealer leads the first trick, and the winner of each trick leads the next. For the first 7 tricks, while the stock lasts, you may play any card; after each trick the winner draws the top card and the loser the next. For the last 9 tricks you must follow suit (in a plain suit you only have to follow, not beat), beat a trump lead with a higher trump if you can, and trump when you are out of the led suit; only with neither may you play anything.

If you hold the king and queen of trumps, playing the first announces belote and playing the second scores rebelote, 20 points. The taker must finish with more points than the rival, belote included. If not, the contract goes inside: the rival scores all 162 plus their own belote and the taker keeps only theirs. On an exact tie both keep their own points, and winning all 16 tricks (capot) is worth 252 instead of 162.

A match is two deals, so each of you deals once and speaks first in the bidding once; the higher two-deal total wins. Your score is the number of matches won in a row × 10,000 plus the sum of your winning margins (up to 9,999), so equal streaks are split by how convincingly they were won. The rival starts at level 1 and rises one level per win up to level 4. A loss or a draw ends the streak.

Tips & strategy

Judge a bid on seven cards, not six: whoever takes always picks up the turned card, even when trumps are named in the second round. The trump jack is the one card that can never lose a trick and the nine is next, so the jack with two more trumps, or the nine with three, is usually a sound contract. Side aces count almost as much as small trumps, because their 11 points are hard for the defender to win back, and a king and queen of the suit you name are a hidden 20 that tips close calls toward taking.

While the stock lasts nobody has to follow suit, so an ace or ten you lead can be ruffed by any small trump. Lead low plain cards early, win the rival's tens and aces with a cheap trump or a higher card of the same suit, and save the jack and nine of trumps for the last 9 tricks, when they can no longer be dodged. Winning a trick also lets you draw first, but the top card of the stock is a mystery, so a pointless trick is rarely worth a valuable card.

Once the stock is empty, every card you cannot see is in the rival's hand, so you can play the end with your eyes open. Count trumps — there are 8 — and remember that a trump lead must be beaten when possible: leading a middle trump can force out a big one, and once the rival has no trumps left your plain tens and aces are safe. The last trick is worth 10, so try to keep a sure winner for the end.

As the defender you win the deal as soon as the taker is held to half or less: the taker needs strictly more points than you, so 81 against 81 is only a tie and every ten or ace you rescue moves the line. As the taker, remember that going inside hands the rival all 162 points; with a weak hand in round two, passing is often the cheaper choice. Since only whole two-deal matches extend the streak, a big lead after the first deal lets you play the second one safely.