Belot Rules

Object

The object of Color Belot is to be the first player to score 500 or more points. The rules described here apply to the two player version of this game.

Cards Used

28 cards are used to play the two person version of Color Belot. These cards are the eights, nines, tens, jacks, queens, kings, and aces from a normal deck of playing cards.

The Initial Deal

One of the two players is randomly chosen to deal the first game. The deal alternates back and forth from game to game. The dealer gives five cards to each player. One card is then turned over.

The Bid

There are potentially two rounds of bidding. During the first round, the suit of the turned over card can be called trump by either player. First, the non-dealer has the option of naming this suit trump or passing. If he passes, the dealer then has this same option. If the dealer also passes, the non-dealer in the second bidding round can call any of the other three suits trump, as well as "everything" trump or "nothing" trump. If the non-dealer passes, the dealer then has the same options. If the dealer also passes, the deal passes to the other player and the cards are redealt.

Finishing the Deal

Once trump is named, the turned over card is given to the player who called trump, along with two other cards. The other player is dealt three cards. Finally, a new card is turned over. This card is not used in play at all. It is there as one more piece of information for the players.

The Play

The non-dealer leads a card and the dealer must follow suit if possible. Whoever plays the higher card wins the trick. The winner of the trick gets to lead the next trick. Play continues until all of the cards have been played by each player.

Card Order

In trump, the order of the cards from highest to lowest is jack, nine, ace, ten, king, queen, eight. In non-trump, the order of the cards from highest to lowest is ace, ten, king, queen, jack, nine, eight.

Counting Points

In trump, cards captured during play have the following values: jack (20), nine (14), ace (11), ten (10), king (4), queen (3), and eight (0).

	In non-trump, cards captured during play have the following values: ace (11), ten (10), king (4), queen (3), jack (2), nine (0), eight (0).
	Whoever takes the last trick gets 10 points.
	If someone has both the king and queen of trump in their original eight cards, that person scores 20 points.
	If someone takes all of the tricks during play, they score 100 points, plus they capture any bonus points that their opponent scored.
	If a player has all four jacks (in the original eight cards), she scores 200 points. None of the bonuses below can be scored in this case.
	If a player has all four nines (in the original eight cards), she scores 150 points. None of the bonuses below can be scored in this case.
	If a player has all four aces (in the original eight cards), she scores 100 points. None of the bonuses below can be scored in this case.
	If a player has all four tens (in the original eight cards), she scores 100 points. None of the bonuses below can be scored in this case.
	If a player has all four kings (in the original eight cards), she scores 100 points. None of the bonuses below can be scored in this case.
	If a player has all four queens (in the original eight cards), she scores 100 points. None of the bonuses below can be scored in this case.
	If a player has a "quint" (five or more cards in a row in the same suit in the original eight cards, using normal card ordering: 8-9-10-J-Q-K-A), she scores 100 points. None of the bonuses below can be scored in this case. If both players have a quint, the player with the longer quint scores 100 points. If they both have the same number of cards, the quint that contains the highest top card (using normal card ordering) scores 100 points. If both quints contain the same top card, but one quint is in trump and one quint is in non-trump, the player with the quint in trump scores 100 points. If neither quint is higher than the other, neither player scores points.
	If a player has a "quart" (four cards in a row in the same suit in the original eight cards using normal card ordering), she scores 50 points. None of the bonuses below can be scored in this case. If each player has a quart, but one quart is higher than the other (see the above rules to determine which one is higher), the player with the higher quart scores 50 points. If neither quart is higher than the other, neither player scores points.
	If a player has a "tierce" (three cards in a row in the same suit in the original eight cards using normal card ordering), she scores 20 points. If each player has a tierce, but one tierce is higher than the other (see the above rules), the player with the higher tierce scores 20 points. If neither tierce is higher than the other, neither player scores points.

Scoring

If the player who named trump scores fewer points than the opponent, the opponent receives all of the declarer's points for that round and the declarer's point total is set to zero. If the two players score an equal number of points, the declarer's point total is set to zero for that round.

Each player now rounds his or her point total to the nearest multiple of ten and then divides that score by 10. For example, a score of 84 becomes 8, but a score of 85 becomes 9. This new score is then multiplied by the value of trump to produce a game score for the game. Clubs are worth 1, diamonds 2, hearts 3, spades 4, "nothing" 5, and "everything" 6. Thus, if a player scores 58 points with "nothing" trump, that player's score would be converted into 30 game points. The first player to reach 500+ game points is declared the winner. If both players reach 500+ game points on the same hand, the player who has more game points is declared the winner. If the players are tied, another hand must be played to break the tie.

Scoring Summary

Trump	Value	NonTrump	Value
Jack	20	Ace	11
Nine	14	Ten	10
Ace	11	King	4
Ten	10	Queen	3
King	4	Jack	2
Queen	3	Nine	0
Eight	0	Eight	0

Bonus	Value
Last Trick	10
All Tricks	100
K-Q Trump	20
Four Jacks	200
Four Nines	150
Four Aces	100
Four Tens	100
Four Kings	100
Four Queens	100
Quint	100
Quart	50
Tierce	20

Example

Suppose that player one has called hearts trump. Player one has the jack of hearts, the ace of hearts, the king of hearts, the queen of hearts, the ace of spades, the ten of spades, the nine of diamonds, and the eight of diamonds. Player two has the ace of diamonds, the king of diamonds, the queen of diamonds, the ten of clubs, the king of clubs, the nine of clubs, the eight of clubs, and the nine of hearts.

Player one scores 70 bonus points; 20 for the king-queen of trump and 50 for a quart (player two also has a quart headed by an ace, but since player one's quart is in trump, it is the winner).

Suppose that in play, player two captures the nine of diamonds (0 points) with the ace of diamonds (11 points) and the eight of diamonds (0 points) with the ten of diamonds (10 points). Player one wins all of the rest of the tricks, including the last one.

Player one gets 10 points for the last trick, 20 points for the jack of hearts, 14 points for the nine of hearts, 11 points for the ace of hearts, 4 points for the king of hearts, 3 points for the queen of hearts, 11 points for the ace of spade, 10 points for the ten of spades, 3 points for the queen of diamonds, 10 points for the ten of clubs, 4 points for the king of clubs, 0 points for the nine of clubs, and 0 points for the eight of clubs. Including the 70 bonus points, player one has 170 points. Player two scored 21 points.

Since the trump declarer outscored the other player, each player retains his or her points. Player one converts her points into a game score by rounding 170 to the nearest multiple of 10 (170), dividing by 10 (17), and multiplying by the value of the trump (hearts is worth 3) for 51 game points. Player two rounds 21 to 20, divides by 10 to get 2, and multiplies by 3 to get 6 game points.

Last updated: 01/28/99.