Belote
 
A Belote of Clubs
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| Origin | France |
|---|---|
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | 4 |
| Skills required | Skilful |
| Age range | 8-80 |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | Piquet deck |
| Play | Counter-clockwise |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) |
J 9 A 10 K Q 8 7 (Trump) A 10 K Q J 9 8 7 (Suit) |
| Playing time | 30 min. |
| Related games | |
| Klaverjas, Jass, Coinche | |
Belote (French pronunciation: [bəlɔt]) is a 32-card trick-taking game played in France, and is one of the most popular card games in that country. It was invented around 1920, and is a loose relative of both Klaberjass (also known as Bela) and Klaverjas. Closely related games are played throughout the world. Definitive rules of the game were first published in 1921.
Within the game's terminology, belote is used to designate a pair of a King and a Queen of a trump suit, possibly yielding the game's name itself.
Variations on the game include Baloot in Saudi Arabia, and Pilotta in Cyprus.
German style cards are used widely in former Yugoslav countries for playing this card game. Belote is played with a deck of 32 cards (A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7)
The game is played differently in different locations, but most versions share a considerable set of common rules. The rules below describe the common version of this game. A typical 32-card piquet deck is used, 4 suits with 8 ranks, or {♠ ♥ ♦ ♣} × {A K Q J 10 9 8 7}, and is not shuffled between games. The game is mostly played by four people, but versions exist for five, three and two players, including a non-trivial two-player "open cards" version. Players form two teams in the usual 4 players version: North-South and East-West, and playing in turn in counterclockwise direction.
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