Traditional card games
Belote
- players
- 4
- minutes
- 30-60
- years
- 8+
In the box
1 32-card deck · Something to write the scores down
Official rules (PDF, federation's site)
Box details
- Origin
- Traditional game, with no specific designer or publisher
- Mechanics
- Team-BasedTrick-taking
Where to buy it
Near you
In a shop
Within 50 km.
The basics
Two teams of two, with 32 cards: each player receives five cards, you take the turned-up card as trump or pass, then the dealer completes the hands to eight. You must follow suit, trump if you cannot (unless your partner is winning the trick) and play higher in trumps; the highest trump wins the trick. The taker must score more points than the defence out of the 162 in the deal, and the first team to 501, 1,000 or 2,000 points wins.
Checked against the official rules · September 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
2 teams of 2, 32 cards, 7 to ace, 5 cards each
- Four players, in two teams of two, seated crosswise: partners sit opposite each other.
- A 32-card deck, from 7 to ace. The first dealer is chosen by drawing cards: the lowest card drawn deals.
- According to the Federation, the dealer shuffles, has the player on their left cut (at least three cards in each pile), then deals anticlockwise, starting with the player on their right. Many tables play the other way round: what matters is to stick to it.
- In classic belote: five cards each, three then two (or two then three). The next card is turned face up on the stock: it is the proposed trump.
- Once trump is taken, the dealer completes the hands: the taker receives the turned-up card and two more cards, the others three cards each.
- In coinche and contrée: all 32 cards are dealt straight away, eight per player in three packets (3-2-3, 3-3-2 or 2-3-3), and trump is decided by bidding.
How to play
Take or pass, Follow, trump, go higher, Highest trump wins trick
- First round of bidding, starting with the dealer's neighbour who received the first cards: each player may take the face-up card as trump, or pass.
- If everyone passes, second round: a player may take by naming the trump suit of their choice.
- If nobody takes, the deal is cancelled and the next player deals.
- In coinche and contrée, each player in turn bids a contract (from 80 to 160, in steps of ten) with a suit, or a capot, outbidding the previous one. A player who has passed may bid again later.
- The player who spoke first leads. You must follow the suit led.
- In trumps, you must play higher than the highest card already played if you can.
- Without the suit led, you must trump unless your partner is already winning the trick. If an opponent has already trumped, you must overtrump; in classic belote, if you cannot overtrump, you must still play a lower trump (undertrump) if you have one.
- When your partner is winning the trick, you are obliged neither to trump nor to play higher: you play whatever you like.
- The trick goes to the highest trump played, otherwise to the highest card of the suit led.
Scoring
Jack 20, nine 14, 162 points per deal, Belote-Rebelote 20
- In trumps: jack 20, nine 14, ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3, eight and seven 0.
- Outside trumps: ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3, jack 2, nine, eight and seven 0.
- The last trick, called dix de der, is worth 10 extra points: a deal therefore holds 162 points.
- Belote-Rebelote: holding the king and queen of trumps is worth 20 points, provided you say "belote" when playing the first and "rebelote" when playing the second. In classic belote and in coinche, those 20 points stay with the team that announces them, even if it goes down. In contrée, a taker who goes down loses their belote.
- Capot: winning all eight tricks brings the deal to 252 points instead of 162, the dix de der going from 10 to 100.
- Classic belote: the taking team must score strictly more points than the defence, each side's belote included. Without belote, that means 82 points out of 162. If it succeeds, each team scores its points; if it goes down, the taker scores only its belote, if any, and the defence takes all 162.
- A tie in classic belote (81 each, or 91 each with a belote) is the "litige": the defence scores its points at once, while the taker's points are held in suspense and go to the team that makes the next deal. Tournaments may do without it, deciding in advance whether a tie counts as made or down.
- Coinche: the taker must reach its contract and score more than the defence. If it succeeds, it scores its points plus its contract, and the defence scores its own; if it goes down, the defence scores 160 plus the contract.
- Contrée: the taker only needs to reach its contract, even if the defence scores more points. Scoring is points made plus points bid, as in coinche, or points made only, depending on the table.
- Doubled (coinché or contré), the winning team scores (160 + contract) × 2, and the other scores only its belote, if any; redoubled (surcoinché or surcontré), × 4.
- In coinche as in contrée, scores are rounded to the nearest ten: 84 counts as 80, 85 as 90.
- Unannounced capot in coinche: 250 plus the contract. Announced capot: the contract is worth 250, which makes about 500 with the 252 points of the deal, doubled or quadrupled if coinché; if it fails, the defence scores 160 plus those 250. In coinche the taker then keeps its belote; in contrée it loses it.
- Capot made in coinche: the defence's declarations go to the taker.
End of the game
501, 1,000 or 2,000, First team to target
- The game is played to 501, 1,000 or 2,000 points depending on the table. The first team to pass the target wins.
- If both teams pass the target on the same deal, the one that passes it by more wins. In a perfect tie, one more deal is played.
- In coinche, a team that goes down or is capot does not win the game on its belote alone: it still needs a trick.
House rules and pitfalls
In contrée, the defence can double (contrer) a bid it thinks cannot be made…
- In contrée, the defence can double (contrer) a bid it thinks cannot be made: the contract is then worth double. The taker can redouble (surcontrer), which quadruples it.
- Declarations (tierce 20, fifty 50, hundred 100, four of a kind from 100 to 200): the Federation excludes them from classic belote and contrée, but keeps them in coinche. Many family tables also play them in classic belote.
- Tournament variant: the No Trumps and All Trumps contracts, which the organiser may add to the four suits.
- With three or two players, belote is played each for themselves, with its own scoring: see the Three-player Belote page.
- Classic pitfall: when you cannot follow suit and your partner is winning the trick, you do not have to trump. However, when trumps are led, you must play higher even over your partner's card.
Going further
Variants · Frequently asked questions · Rules on video · In the same family · Play with the game assistant
Variants
Variant
Classic belote
A card is turned up; take or pass. The taker must score 82 of 162 points.
Coinche
Bids from 80 to 160, then Capot. Made: points scored + contract. Down: 160 + contract to the defence. Doubled × 2, redoubled × 4.
Contrée
Like Coinche: bids from 80 to 160 then Capot, the defence may double (× 2) and the taker redouble (× 4). Reaching the contract is enough; a taker who goes down loses their belote.
Game to
501 points
1,000 points
2,000 points
choose them when you start a game: the scorer adapts
Frequently asked questions
How many points does it take to make a deal in belote?
The taking team must score more points than the defence, which means at least 82 of the 162 when no belote is in play. In coinche, it must reach the amount it bid during the auction, from 80 to 160, or make capot, and score more than the defence; in contrée, reaching its contract is enough.
What is the difference between coinche and contrée?
Both are played with bidding and all cards dealt, and in both the defence can double the stake (coincher or contrer) and the taker can redouble to quadruple it (surcoincher or surcontrer). According to the Federation, coinche is played with declarations and requires scoring more than the defence; contrée is played without declarations, reaching the contract is enough, and a taker who goes down loses their belote.
What is Belote-Rebelote worth?
Twenty points, for the player holding the king and queen of trumps. They must say "Belote" when playing the first of the two, whichever it is, and "Rebelote" when playing the second, otherwise the bonus is lost.
How much are the cards worth in belote?
In trumps, the jack is worth 20, the nine 14, the ace 11, the ten 10, the king 4, the queen 3, the eight and seven nothing. Outside trumps, the ace is worth 11, the ten 10, the king 4, the queen 3, the jack 2, and the nines, eights and sevens nothing. With the 10 points for the last trick, a deal holds 162 points.
How does bidding work in contrée?
All eight cards are dealt straight away. Each player in turn bids a contract, from 80 to 160 in steps of ten, with a trump suit, or a capot, going above the previous bid; you may also pass. The defence can double a bid it thinks cannot be made, which doubles the stake, and the taker can redouble, which quadruples it. The last bid becomes the contract.
Rules on video
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.