Traditional card games
Three-player Belote
Be the first to reach the game's target score, each playing for yourself: in every deal, the player who takes faces the other two alone.
- players
- 2–3
- minutes
- 30-45
- variants
- 4
You’ll need: 32-card deck. Marquoir gives you all the rules and keeps score.
Never played? Aim of the game and full rulesStep by step, with examples, for a first game.Setup
- Three players, no teams. Remove the four 7s and the four 8s from a 32-card deck: 24 cards remain, from 9 to ace. Those cards were worth nothing, so a deal still holds 162 points with the last-trick bonus.
- The dealer shuffles, has the deck cut, then deals five cards to each player, three then two. The next card is turned face up in the middle: it is the proposed trump.
- Once trump is taken, the taker picks up the turned card and receives two more, the other two players three each. Everyone then holds eight cards, and the deck is used up.
- The deal passes to the next player every hand.
- To play with two, see open Belote in the detailed rules.
How to play
- Taking works as in classic belote. In the first round, each player may take the suit of the turned card or pass; in the second round, a player may name another suit. If nobody takes, the cards are dealt again.
- The player seated after the dealer leads the first trick. The usual belote obligations apply: follow suit, go higher in trumps, trump when you cannot follow, overtrump if someone has already trumped.
- With no partner, the "partner is winning" exception disappears: if you cannot follow and you hold a trump, you trump, whoever is winning the trick.
- The winner of a trick leads the next one.
Scoring
- Cards are worth the same as with four players. In trumps: jack 20, nine 14, ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3. Other suits: ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3, jack 2, nine 0. The last trick scores 10 more: 162 in all.
- The taker must score strictly more points than each of the other two, belotes included. They do not need 82: beating each opponent separately is enough.
- Contract made: everyone scores the points they took.
- "Dedans" (the taker fails): if an opponent scores as many points as the taker, or more, the taker scores nothing and their points go to that opponent, who scores their own plus the taker's. The other opponent simply scores their own points.
- Belote-rebelote: 20 points to the player holding the king and queen of trumps who announces them as they play them. They keep the 20 even when they fail.
- Capot: the player who wins all eight tricks scores 252 points, the other two nothing apart from belote.
End of the game
- The game is played to 1,000 points, or 501 for a short game. The first player to pass the target wins.
- If two players pass the target on the same deal, the higher total wins. On a perfect tie, play one more deal.
House rules and pitfalls
- Three-player belote has no official rulebook: the French Belote Federation only codifies the four-player game. Habits vary from table to table; agree before the first deal.
- Common variant: the taker must score more than the other two combined, that is at least 82 points out of 162. Taking becomes much riskier. Marquoir's counter uses the "more than each" rule.
- Another way to deal: keep all 32 cards, remove just two 7s and deal ten cards to each player. Sevens are worth nothing, so the deal still holds 162 points.
- If both opponents beat the taker with the same score, Marquoir splits the taker's points between them.
- Belote declarations (tierce, fifty, hundred, four of a kind) are rarely played with three; the counter does not score them.
never played?Aim of the game and full rules4 chapters · about 1 min read
Two-player belote: open Belote
With two, you hold almost nothing in your hand: the game is read on the table. All 32 cards are used, with the usual belote values and obligations.
Setting up for two
- The dealer lays eight cards face down in front of each player, in two rows of four.
- Then they cover each of them with a face-up card. Each player thus has sixteen cards in front of them, in eight small piles where only the top card shows.
- The last card turned up on the dealer's side shows the proposed trump for the first round of bidding.
Some tables deal six cards in hand to each player and lay the other ten in front of them, half hidden: the idea stays the same.
Taking and playing with two
In the first round, each player may take the shown trump or pass; in the second, a player may name another suit. If both pass again, the cards are dealt again. The non-dealer leads one of their face-up cards, and the opponent answers following the belote obligations.
- After each trick, a face-down card that is no longer covered is turned face up.
- You may play any face-up card in front of you, whether or not it still covers a hidden card.
Scoring with two
The deal is worth 162 points, last trick included. The taker fails with 81 points or fewer: the opponent then scores all 162. Otherwise, each scores their own points. Capot is worth 252.
for example
The taker scores 90 points: they make it, scoring 90, and the opponent 72. With 81, they would fail, and the opponent would score 162.
Declarations and belote-rebelote do not count, unless both players agree before starting.
Variants
Number of players
Three players
24-card deck (no 7s or 8s), eight cards each. The taker must score more than each of the other two.
Two players (open Belote)
All 32 cards on the table, half of them face up. The taker needs at least 82 points out of 162.
Game to
501 points
1,000 points
chosen when starting, the scorer follows
Frequently asked questions
How many points does the taker need in three-player belote?
More than each of the two opponents, belotes included. With 70 points against 50 and 42, the taker makes it; with 60 against 62 and 40, they fail and their 60 points go to the player who scored 62. Some tables require 82 points instead, more than the other two combined: agree on it before you start.
How many cards are used in three-player belote?
Twenty-four: remove the 7s and 8s from a 32-card deck. Each player receives eight, in two stages as in classic belote, and the deal is still worth 162 points.
Can belote be played by two?
Yes, as open Belote ("belote découverte"): all 32 cards are laid on the table, half face down under the other half face up. The taker needs at least 82 points; with 81 or fewer, the opponent scores all 162.
The box
- Age
- Ages 8+
- Origin
- Traditional game, with no specific designer or publisher
- Mechanics
- Hand ManagementTrick-taking
- Contents
- 1 32-card deck, without the 7s and 8s for three players
- Something to write the scores down