Coinche

Variant played: Contracts 80–160 · slam 250 · grand slam 500 · Version 1.0.0

The essentials to get started

Belote with bidding, coinche, and surcoinche.

Bid a contract

Bid on a point total and trump suit. Standard contracts run from 80 to 160 in tens; your bid must beat the previous one.

Double and redouble

After the contract, the opponents may double. The taking side may then redouble. The contract multiplier goes from one to two, then to four.

Follow the requested suit

You must play a card of the requested suit if you have one. The value of your other card does not let you avoid that obligation.

Trump with a trump card

If you do not have the requested suit, you must trump if your opponent is winning and you have a trump. If your partner is winning, you may discard.

Overtrump if possible

If you must play trump and a trump is already winning, play a higher trump if you can. With spades as trump, the Jack beats the 9.

Discard

With no hearts, you may discard the 7♣ when your partner is winning the trick. If they are not and you have a trump, you must trump.

Trump order

Trump order: V, 9, A, 10, R, D, 8, 7. Non-trump order: A, 10, R, D, V, 9, 8, 7. Here, the Jack of spades beats the 9 of spades, which beats the Ace of spades.

Complete the contract

The points won must meet the announced contract. Capot and général are special commitments; they are not just intermediate bids.

The table guides you through each turn and suggests the legal moves. This guide presents the basic rules; regional variants may differ.