between two non-trump fifties or twenties with equal top cards, the one declared first is better - so the non-dealer, who leads to the first trick and declares first, wins ties.between two fifties or two twenties with equal top cards, a run in the trump suit is better.between two fifties or two twenties, the run with the higher top card (in the descending order A-K-Q-.) is better.Only the holder of the best run declared can score for runs.

The holder of a run must declare it when playing to the first trick in order to score (see Play and Declarations below). So A-K-Q-J is a 'fifty', but A-10-K-Q is not. Run of three consecutive cards in the same suit: 20įor the purpose of forming runs (sequences), cards rank in the order A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7 in every suit.

Run of four consecutive cards in the same suit: 50.

Thereafter the trumps follow the values applied to non-trump cards - A=11, Ten=10, K=4, Q=3, Eight and Seven=0.Ĭombinations held in hand at the start of play are worth: Next highest card is the normally worthless Nine - called Manel - now worth 14 points. In trump, the jack - called Yuss - is the highest card, worth 20 points. In the trump suit, the values change with very important consequences for the judgement of a hand. The other cards are worth nothing - although they may still have their uses in play. In general, the Ace is worth 11 points, the Ten is worth 10, with King, Queen, Jack being worth 4, 3, 2 respectively. A complete game takes several hands and is won by the player whose score first reaches or passes a total of 501. Each player aims to score more points in cards captured during a hand of play and in combinations than his opponent. One particular combination is declared as it is played - the K-Q of the trump suit (called Bela) - and points are also scored for making the last trick. Each card has a point value, and points are counted for combinations held in the hand before it is played. (This is a pretty standard pack for Germany, where Skat is played with thirty-two cards - or indeed for France, where it is sold as a pack for Piquet, Belote or Manille).Īlthough Bela is a trick taking game, the winner of a hand is not necessarily the winner of the most tricks. Belote is now one of the most popular card games in France and has been since before the Second World War.Ī thirty-two card pack is used, the cards 2-6 being removed. The appearance of Belote (closely similar, but with some subtle differences) in France is equally explosive: a Petit Larousse dated 1925 has no mention of Belote a later edition (1938) describes it as ' un jeu de cartes Etrangère' and a booklet of rules - La Belotte by G Huitte, published in Paris in 1925 - implies that it was recently introduced. Another possibility is that the game was introduced during or after WW1 from France, where a number of Kilsyth quarriers served in the Royal Engineers. Another correspondent Willie Pollock from Cumbernauld was told that Ned Beattie, a boxer originally from Banknock, introduced the game to Kilsyth after a boxing trip to America in the early 20th century. An older player thought it had been introduced by a Jewish hairdresser in Kirkintilloch in the late 1930s. No one could tell him reliably how it appeared on the scene. He subsequently found out that Bela (as it is called in that part of the world) is well known in mining communities in Scotland and also in the prisons (there is a unique four-handed variation called 'Barlinnie Rules'!). Mike Block, who contributed the first version of this page, learnt it as Clobyosh in his childhood, thinking of it then as a peculiarly Jewish game, but was amazed to discover it being played - in the early 1980's - in a pub in Central Scotland ( The Quarry Inn in Twechar to be precise). It is closely related to the French game Belote, versions of which are also played in southeast Europe as Belot and in the Arabic Middle East as Baloot. In some former Scottish mining communities the game is known as Bela, which is also the name for a declaration of the King and Queen of trumps. It has certainly been popular in many Jewish communities, but in fact it is far more widespread. Many people think of it as a peculiarly Jewish game. In English-speaking countries it is most often known as Clobyosh or some similar name such as Klaberyass, Clob, Clubiasch or Klabberjass, names all derived ultimately from the Dutch name Klaverjas, or as Finefindred or some other version of the number 500, which is the target score to win. This game goes by a variety of names and is played in many parts of the world.

Variations: Schmeiss - equal scores - last hand.

The Pack - The Aim - The Values of the Cards - Combinations - Tricks - The Deal - The Exchange - Play and Declarations - Last Trick - The Score - Winning the Game - Advice

Dirty hearts card game rules