How to play Moroccan Belote
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Moroccan Belote is a trick-taking card game for four players in two teams of two, played with a 32-card deck. Partners sit opposite each other, play runs counter-clockwise, and a match runs to 500 points. Each hand is worth 162 points, and the team that bids trump must collect more than their opponents or they score nothing.
These are the complete rules, in the order they come up at the table.
On this page
- The deck
- Card values
- Dealing
- Bidding
- Playing the tricks
- Announcements
- Scoring
- Moroccan Belote terms
- Common questions
The deck
Eight ranks per suit: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12. Balote lets you play with either Spanish or French card art — the rules are identical either way.
Card values
A card’s worth depends entirely on whether its suit is trump (l’Atout).
Trump, strongest first
| Rank | Points |
|---|---|
| 10 | 20 |
| 6 | 14 |
| 1 | 11 |
| 7 | 10 |
| 12 | 4 |
| 11 | 3 |
| 5 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 |
Non-trump, strongest first
| Rank | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 11 |
| 7 | 10 |
| 12 | 4 |
| 11 | 3 |
| 10 | 2 |
| 6 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 |
The rule that decides most tricks: any trump beats any non-trump, no matter the points or the rank.
Dealing (Tafr9a)
Each player gets 5 cards, and one card is turned face up in the middle. That face-up card is the offer.
Bidding (Smsara)
Starting counter-clockwise from the dealer, each player in turn either passes or takes.
First round. You may take the face-up card’s suit as trump. If you do, you take the face-up card plus 2 more, giving you 8 cards; everyone else gets 3 more.
If the face-up card is a 10, the first player to bid must take it. Passing is not allowed.
Second round. If everyone passed, each player gets another turn and may name any of the other three suits as trump. Dealing works the same way.
If everyone passes twice, the hand is dead. Cards are shuffled, the deal moves on, and nobody scores.
The team that takes the bid are the Preneurs. The other pair are the Défense.
Playing the tricks
Eight tricks, one card each per trick. The first card played sets the suit that has been asked for.
- Follow the suit if you can. No exceptions.
- If you cannot follow: if your partner is currently winning the trick, play anything. If your partner is not winning, you must play trump if you have any.
- If trump was led: you must play a higher trump than the best one so far if you have one. If not, you must still play a trump. Only if you have none at all may you play something else.
The highest trump wins the trick. If no trump was played, the highest card of the suit that was asked for wins. The winner leads the next trick.
The first trick is led by the player counter-clockwise after whoever took the bid.
Announcements (Les Annonces)
Announcements are declared before you play your second card of the hand.
Sequences
Consecutive ranks in one suit. The sequence order runs 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 1 — the Ace is high and follows the 12.
| Length | Points |
|---|---|
| 3 cards | 20 |
| 4 cards | 50 |
| 5 or more | 100 |
A run may not start at 1, and it does not wrap around: 10-11-12-1 is valid, 12-1-4 is not.
Four of a kind (Carré)
All four suits of one rank.
| Rank | Points |
|---|---|
| 10 | 200 |
| 6 | 150 |
| 1, 7, 11, 12 | 100 |
| 4, 5 | nothing |
Which announcements actually count
Only one team scores — the one holding the single best announcement. Longer beats shorter; at the same length, the higher top card wins; if still level, a trump sequence beats a non-trump one. If the two teams are perfectly tied, neither scores. The losing side’s announcements are worth nothing, however many they had.
Belote and Rebelote
Holding both the 11 and the 12 of trump is worth 20 points to your team. It is scored no matter what happens — the other team can never take it, and it survives even a failed contract.
Scoring
Each hand is worth 162 points: 152 in cards, plus 10 for winning the last trick (dix de der).
The contract holds
If the Preneurs collected more than the Défense, both teams keep what they won, plus whichever announcements counted, plus any Belote.
Chute — the contract fails
If the Preneurs collect the same as or less than the Défense, they have gone down. They score nothing except Belote/Rebelote, and the Défense takes all 162 points plus every announcement from both teams.
Litige — a perfect tie
If both sides finish level on card points, the hand is in dispute. The Défense keeps their points. The Preneurs’ points go into the Litige pot instead of being scored.
The next hand that ends decisively claims the whole pot as a bonus — the Preneurs if their contract holds, the Défense if it falls. Ties back to back keep stacking into the same pot until somebody wins it.
Winning the match
First team to 500 points wins. In Balote you can raise the target up to 2000 in steps of 100 if you want a longer evening.
Moroccan Belote terms
The Moroccan game keeps its own vocabulary, most of it Darija. If you learned the game at a family table you already know these; if you are learning from this page, this is the glossary.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| L’Atout | The trump suit. Any trump beats any non-trump card, whatever the points. |
| Smsara | The bidding round — literally the brokering. Each player in turn takes or passes. |
| Tafr9a | The deal. Five cards each, then one card turned face up as the offer. |
| Fra9i | The teams. Partners sit opposite; the pairs are fixed for the match. |
| Preneurs | The team that took the bid and named trump. They carry the contract. |
| Défense | The other pair, playing to make the Preneurs fall short. |
| Belote / Rebelote | Holding both the 11 and 12 of trump. Worth 20 points, and it can never be taken from you. |
| Chute | Going down: the Preneurs collect no more than the Défense, so they score nothing and the Défense takes all 162. |
| Litige | A dead-level hand. The Preneurs’ points go into a pot that the next decisive hand claims. |
| Dix de der | Ten points for winning the last trick of the hand. |
| Carré | Four of a kind — all four suits of one rank. |
| Suite / Seryat | A run of consecutive ranks in one suit. |
Common questions
How many players do you need for Moroccan Belote?
Exactly four, in two fixed teams of two. Partners sit opposite each other, so you never play alongside the person to your right or left.
How many cards are in a Moroccan Belote deck?
Thirty-two. Eight ranks per suit — 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12.
What is the highest card in Moroccan Belote?
It depends on trump. In the trump suit the 10 is highest and worth 20 points. In every other suit the 1 (the ace) is highest, worth 11.
How many points is a hand worth?
162 in total: 152 points in the cards themselves, plus 10 for taking the last trick. Announcements and Belote/Rebelote are added on top of that.
What happens if both teams tie?
That is a Litige. The Défense keeps their points, and the Preneurs’ points go into a pot instead of being scored. The next hand that ends decisively claims the whole pot as a bonus. Consecutive ties keep stacking into the same pot.
What is Belote and Rebelote worth?
Twenty points, to whoever holds both the 11 and the 12 of the trump suit. It is scored no matter how the hand ends — the other team can never capture it, and it survives even a Chute.
Do I have to play a trump if I cannot follow suit?
Yes, unless your partner is already winning the trick. If your partner is not winning and you hold a trump, you must play one.
What score do you play to?
500 points by default. In Balote you can raise the target as high as 2000 in steps of 100 if you want a longer session.
Is Moroccan Belote the same as French belote or coinche?
It shares the 32-card deck and the trick-taking core, but the Moroccan game has its own bidding round, the forced take on a face-up 10, and the Litige pot — which French belote and coinche do not have.
Balote plays by exactly these rules, offline against three levels of bot or online with friends. Read more about the game.
Hamza Hannad — support@balote.ma