STEKIUS
Belote online at STEKIUS: trumps, melds and tricks
Play nowBelote is the game for four played in two teams, with partners sitting opposite each other. You take the trumps, call your melds, play the tricks with your partner and try to make more points than the other team. It takes teamwork, memory and a good feeling for when it is worth taking the trumps.
At STEKIUS you play Belote online for free, with friends or with AI players in the empty seats. Below you will find all the rules: the deal, choosing trumps, the card values, the melds, the tricks and how the points count.
The teams and the cards
Four players play in two teams, with partners opposite each other. The deck has 32 cards, from the 7 to the Ace.
The deal and choosing trumps
Each player gets five cards, three and then two, and the next card of the deck turns up. In the first round of bidding you take the suit of the turned-up card as trumps or you pass. In the second round you can name another suit or pass. If everyone passes in both rounds, the cards are dealt again.
The player who took the trumps gets the turned-up card and two more, and the others three each, so that everyone has eight. At this table, in the first round whoever has the 7 of trumps can swap it for the turned-up card.
The card values
In trumps the Jack is worth 20, the 9 is worth 14, the Ace 11, the 10 ten, the King 4 and the Queen 3, while the 8 and the 7 are worth nothing. In the other suits the Ace is worth 11, the 10 ten, the King 4, the Queen 3 and the Jack 2. The last trick gives 10 more. All together they make 162 points.
Melds and the belote
Melds are called before the first trick and give extra points. Only the team with the strongest meld scores them; in a tie, the team that took the trumps, otherwise nobody.
- Three in a row, three cards in sequence in the same suit: 20.
- Four in a row: 50. Five in a row and more: 100.
- Four Jacks: 200. Four 9s: 150.
- Four Aces, tens, Kings or Queens: 100.
- Belote, the King and Queen of trumps in the same hand: 20, called when the first of the two is played.
The tricks
You follow the suit that was led. If you cannot, you must trump. A trump must go higher than the trumps already in the trick, when it can; in the other suits this does not apply. You tap a card to play it, and only the cards you are allowed to play light up, so that you never make a mistake.
How the points count
The team that took the trumps must make more points than the other team. Otherwise it goes “in”, and the other team scores everything. If it is a tie, the other team scores its own points, and the points of the team that took the trumps are held over for whoever wins the next hand.
If a team takes all the tricks, it makes a capot and scores 250 instead of 162. The first team to reach the table’s points wins: 501, 1001 or 1501.
Chips and leaving
Both players of the winning team get virtual chips, and the others lose. When you play only with bots, the win pays according to their level. After the first cards, whoever leaves pays a leave penalty. As soon as there is a winner, you leave freely.
Tips
- Take the trumps when you have the Jack or the 9 of trumps; they are the strongest cards.
- Count the trumps that have fallen, so that you know when yours win.
- Keep an Ace to take the last trick and its 10 points.
- Play for the team: let your partner take the trick when they are stronger.
Questions
How many play Belote?
Four, in two teams with partners opposite each other. The empty seats can take AI players.
Which is the strongest card?
The Jack of trumps, which is worth 20, and then the 9 of trumps, which is worth 14.
What is a capot?
When a team takes all the tricks. It scores 250 instead of 162.
To how many points is it played?
The table chooses: 501, 1001 or 1501 points. The first team to reach them wins.
