Belote (French pronunciation: [bəlɔt]) is a 32-card, trick-taking, ace–ten game played primarily in France and certain European countries, namely Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia (mainly Guria), Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Macedonia (mainly Bitola), Bosnia and Herzegovina and also in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.

Variations on the game include belot in eastern Europe, baloot in Saudi Arabia, and pilotta in Cyprus.

The bidding phase is over when one of the following becomes true: The play consists of eight tricks, the first one being started by the dealer's successor.

The first player in a round can play any card, but subsequent players must obey the following rules (the first one which applies is binding): The winner of the trick is the highest ranked card in the dominant suit.

The rounding is somewhat complicated as the sum of points is a multiple of ten only for a "No trumps" contract.

A special valat (or capot) premium of 9 match points exists for not leaving a single trick for the opponents.

The first team to reach 151 in the global score is the winner, but the game cannot end while a valat takes place.

This part describes the main differences between the classic French rules and the ones above.

Generally, this means a team needs to score at least 81 as there are a total of 162 points in the game.

In this game, however, there are relatively different interpretations of the rules, so that one cannot speak of a fixed, uniform ruleset.

The rules are almost identical to the French national card game belote and it is thus an Eastern European variant of the large Jass family.

Each round of belot (no matter how many players) consists of these steps: dealing, bidding, declaration, playing and scoring: The game is played with a 32-card (A K Q J 10 9 8 7) German-suited pack which is first shuffled by dealer and then offered to the person sitting to the left of the dealer to cut.

It is called "сюр-контра" (Sur-Contre - derived from French; over-double), "чаршаф-контра" (bed sheet-double) or "излез-контра" (go out-double) and the aim is to win the whole match in a single game (26 MP x 8, see section Scoring below).

Note that if a player/team is afraid to play a doubled game, they can bid different colour suit.

Particulars for the 2, 3, and 4-player games: The two-handed version (known as белот на две ръце in Bulgarian), the first 6 cards are picked up by the players and bidding begins, starting from the player who didn't deal.

Another variation exists (known in Bulgaria as Open Belot (Открит Белот)).

That includes if face-down cards that are turned up (e.g. Queen and King of the Trump) the player is allowed to declare Belot.

"Belot", "bela", or in Bulgarian "белот" is king and queen of any trump suit held together in one player's hand.

Note that declaring belot is not obligatory, a player can keep it quiet if the game is developing badly for him.

Between equally long sequences, declared by opposing teams, the one containing the higher ranked cards wins.

If a player can't follow suit he must play trump card.

The player or team is allowed to add points retrieved from declaration(s) only if they won at least one trick.

A special valat (or capot) premium of 9 Match Points exists for not leaving a single trick for the opposing side.

The result is divided by ten, rounded, and added up to the global score sheet.

The rounding is somewhat complicated as the sum of points is a multiple of ten only for a "No trumps" contract, which is 130x2=260 total.

In some parts of Bulgaria, the rules of the game include a kirtik, which is a special −10 match points penalty for not winning when committed or for being valat.

To win a round or a small game, also called a single deal the team or player who bid the contract must score more points.

The current reigning champions are the Bulgarians Enio Nakov and Ivelin Spasov.

They are the youngest players to earn the championship rings, and have been able to successfully defend the title over the last several years.

They both currently reside in the US, where their charitable work has helped spread the popularity of the game.