🧮 Scoring guide
Belote scoring explained — card points, capot & the 501 match
Belote scoring looks like a lot at first, but it rests on one simple table of card values. Once you know it, every round adds up the same way.
Card point values
Cards are worth different points depending on whether their suit is trump:
- Trump: Jack 20, Nine 14, Ace 11, Ten 10, King 4, Queen 3, Eight & Seven 0.
- Plain (non-trump): Ace 11, Ten 10, King 4, Queen 3, Jack 2, Nine/Eight/Seven 0.
The Jack and Nine leaping to the top in trump is the heart of Belote.
The round total
The card points on the table always sum to 152. Whoever wins the last trick adds 10 (the dix de der), so a full round is 162 points to split between the two teams.
Contract made — or “chute”
The team that took trump must score more than the opponents to keep their points. If they fall short, they score 0 and all the points go to the defenders — that is a chute. On an exact tie the points can hang to the next round (litige), depending on the rule set.
Capot (winning every trick)
Take all eight tricks and you score a capot — worth 162 in French Classic (or 252 in the Official 2016 rules, where the last-trick bonus becomes 100). A rare and satisfying result.
Declarations & belote add on top
Melds and belote-rebelote are scored on top of the card points. See the declarations guide for exactly what each is worth.
The match
Rounds accumulate until a team crosses 501 points; the higher total wins. Some rule sets round each round to the nearest ten. An exact tie at or above the target plays one more round.
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