Belote

What is Belote?

Belote is France's favourite card game, the one played in cafés, at village tournaments and round the family table after Sunday lunch. Four players in two teams, partners sitting opposite, share a pack of 32 cards from seven to ace. The heart of the game is the trump suit: one card is turned up after the first five cards are dealt, and someone has to decide whether to take it and play the deal with those trumps, knowing their team must then score more than the other.

Here you play the classic belote with the turned card, as French clubs and the rules on pagat.com describe it. Your partner, sitting across, and your two opponents are played by the computer, on three levels. The first team to 501 wins the match, and every day brings a Daily Belote with the same deals for everyone.

How to play Belote

The dealer gives each player three cards, then two, and turns the next card face up. Deal, bidding and play go anticlockwise, starting with the player on the dealer's right.

• First round. In turn, each player may take the turned card's suit as trumps or pass.
• Second round. If all four pass, each player in turn may name any other suit as trumps, or pass again. If nobody takes, the cards are gathered and the next player deals.
• The rest of the deal. The taker receives the turned card and two more; everyone else gets three. Everyone now holds eight cards, and the player on the dealer's right leads.
• Following. You must follow the suit led. When trumps are led you must play a higher trump if you can, even over your partner.
• Trumping. If you cannot follow a plain suit you must trump, and go over any trump already played if you can, or play a lower trump if you cannot. The one exception: when your partner is holding the trick, you may play anything.
• Card values. In trumps the jack is worth 20, the nine 14, the ace 11, the ten 10, the king 4 and the queen 3, in that order. In the other suits the ace is worth 11, the ten 10, the king 4, the queen 3 and the jack 2. The last trick, the dix de der, adds 10: 162 points in every deal.
• Belote and rebelote. Holding the king and queen of trumps earns 20 points, called as you play them: belote for the first, rebelote for the second.
• The contract. The taking team must score more than the defenders, belote included. If it does not, it is dedans: the defenders score all 162. Taking every trick is a capot, worth 252.

Each team adds its points to its total, and the first to reach 501 wins the match. Your score for the leaderboard is your team's points plus 500 when you win.

Tips and strategy

1. Count your hand before you take. The jack and nine of trumps, the ace of trumps, belote and side aces are what win a deal. Two trumps and nothing else is rarely enough.
2. Draw the trumps when you have the jack. As the taker, lead your master trumps early so the defenders cannot ruff your aces.
3. Play trumps for your partner. When your partner has taken, lead a trump as soon as you get the lead: you help them clear the defenders' trumps.
4. Load your partner's tricks. When your partner is sure to win a trick, throw your tens and aces on it. When the other side wins, give them as little as you can.
5. Defend with your aces first. Cash the aces the takers cannot ruff, and lead short suits if you hold trumps of your own, so you can ruff later.

Frequently asked questions

Is Belote free?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account.

Which rules does this Belote follow?

The classic French belote with the turned card: two rounds of bidding, the taker getting the turned card, the strict rules for trumping and over-trumping, belote and rebelote, the dix de der and capot. A match runs to 501. The announcements of sequences and fours, and the contre and surcontre doubles, are left out to keep the game quick on a phone.

What does dedans mean?

It is what the French say when the taking team fails its contract: it is "inside", and the defenders score all 162 points of the deal. A tie is not enough for the takers here: they must score more than their opponents, belote counted.

Does belote-rebelote count when a team goes dedans?

Yes. The 20 points of belote and rebelote always stay with the team that held the king and queen of trumps, whatever happens to the contract.

How do the levels differ?

The level sets how well your two opponents play; your partner always plays its best game. On Easy the opponents take on their trumps alone and often play whatever comes to hand. On Medium they count their hands and play by the rules club players know. On Hard they also try their cards out in imagined deals of the cards they have not seen. The computer never looks at your cards or anyone else's.

What is the Daily Belote?

Every day everyone plays the same deals on Medium, so scores compare directly on the leaderboard.