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Belote coinche rules
The café classic for four: two teams, 32 cards, a contract to make and an opponent ready to say "coinche".
Last updated: October 24, 2026
The game in a few words
Belote coinche is played by 4 players in 2 teams, partners sitting opposite. Each hand, the teams bid for a contract: how many points they promise to win with the trump suit they choose. Then everyone plays 8 tricks. The team that reaches 1000 (or 2000) points first wins the game.
The cards and the deal
Belote uses a 32-card deck: 7, 8, 9, 10, Valet (V), Dame (D), Roi (R) and As in each suit. Each player gets 8 cards, dealt 3-2-3.
Bidding
- Bidding starts to the left of the dealer. A bid is a number from 90 to 160 in steps of 10, or Capot (250, all 8 tricks), plus a trump suit. Each bid must be higher than the last.
- Three passes after a bid end the bidding. If all four players pass, the next dealer deals again.
- Coinche: an opponent of the highest bidder can say "coinche". It doubles the contract and ends the bidding, unless the bidding team answers with surcoinche, which multiplies it by four.
Card order and points
| Order (strongest first) | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| Trump suit | V, 9, A, 10, R, D, 8, 7 | V 20 · 9 14 · A 11 · 10 10 · R 4 · D 3 |
| Other suits | A, 10, R, D, V, 9, 8, 7 | A 11 · 10 10 · R 4 · D 3 · V 2 |
The last trick is worth 10 more, so a hand holds 162 points in all. A team that takes every trick scores 250.
Playing the tricks
- You must follow the suit that was led if you can.
- On a trump lead, you must go higher than the trumps already played if you can.
- If you can't follow suit, you must trump (and overtrump if possible), unless your partner is already winning the trick.
- The highest trump wins the trick; with no trump, the highest card of the suit led wins.
Belote-Rebelote and announcements
Holding the Roi and Dame of trumps is worth 20 points: announce "belote" and "rebelote" as you play them. Tables can also play announcements, declared with your first card: Tierce (3 in a row) 20, Cinquante (4 in a row) 50, Cent (5 in a row) 100, four Valets 200, four 9s 150, four Aces, 10s, Rois or Dames 100. Only the team with the single best announcement scores theirs.
Scoring a hand
- The contract is made if the bidding team wins at least its bid and more than the defence. Bidders then score their bid plus their points; defenders score their own points.
- If the contract fails, the defence scores 160 plus the bid (plus announcements), and the bidders keep only their Belote.
- With a coinche or surcoinche, whoever wins the contract scores 160 plus the bid × 2 (or × 4).
The first team to the target wins. An exact tie plays another hand.
Tips
- Count your trumps before bidding. The Valet and 9 of trumps are worth 34 points together; without one of them, bid carefully.
- Lead trumps when you hold the master cards, to pull out the opponents' trumps before playing your Aces.
- Coinche when the contract looks too high. If you hold strong trumps in the bidder's suit, a coinche can double your points.
Play it online
Our Belote plays these table rules. Create a table and share its code with three friends, or fill the empty seats with computer players, who only see their own cards.