Reference
Belot glossary
Belot has its own language. At a Bulgarian table you will hear words like tsakam, kachvam, vatre ste or visyashta, and without knowing them the game looks harder than it really is. This glossary collects the terms used most often in Bulgarian Bridge-Belot, grouped by topic: cards and suits, bidding, play, scoring and declarations.
The explanations follow the rules used in Belot Arena. Some terms have local variants, and different towns or groups of friends may name the same situation differently. Where it helps, we list the Bulgarian word next to the English meaning.
6 min read · Updated October 5, 2026
Cards and suits
Belot is played with a 32-card deck, from seven to ace in each of the four suits. The strength and value of each card depend on whether its suit is trump in the current contract.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Boya (боя) | Suit: one of clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. |
| Spatia (спатия) | Clubs (♣). The lowest suit in bidding. |
| Karo (каро) | Diamonds (♦). Above clubs, below hearts. |
| Kupa (купа) | Hearts (♥). Above diamonds, below spades. |
| Pika (пика) | Spades (♠). The highest suit in bidding. |
| Koz (коз) | Trump: the suit named in the contract. Trump cards beat cards of all other suits. |
| Vale (вале) | Jack. The strongest and most valuable trump (20 points). Outside trump it is worth only 2. |
| Devetka (деветка) | Nine. The second strongest trump (14 points). Worth nothing outside trump. |
| Aso (асо) | Ace. 11 points in every contract and the strongest card when its suit is not trump. |
| Desetka (десетка) | Ten. 10 points in every contract; second strongest outside trump, after the ace. |
| Pop (поп) | King. 4 points. Together with the trump queen it forms a belot. |
| Dama (дама) | Queen. 3 points. Together with the trump king it forms a belot. |
| Osmitsa and sedmitsa (осмица, седмица) | Eight and seven. Pointless cards, often used as safe discards. |
| Teste (тесте) | The deck of 32 cards. |
Bidding and contract
Bidding decides what will be played in the hand. The order of bids from lowest to highest is: clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, No Trumps, All Trumps.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Naddavane (наддаване) | Bidding: the phase in which players take turns to name a contract or pass. |
| Obyava (обява) | Bid: a proposed contract – a suit, No Trumps or All Trumps. Each new bid must be higher than the previous one. |
| Pas (пас) | Pass: declining to bid this turn. If all four players pass without a bid, the cards are dealt again. |
| Dogovor (договор) | Contract: the final bid after bidding. The team that made it must score more points than the opponents. |
| Bez koz (без коз) | No Trumps: a contract without a trump suit. The ace is strongest, card points are doubled and no declarations are played, not even belot. |
| Vsichko koz (всичко коз) | All Trumps: every suit is played as trump, so jack and nine are strongest in every suit. |
| Kontra (контра) | Contra (double): a challenge to the opponents' contract. Doubles the score of the hand. |
| Rekontra (реконтра) | Recontra (redouble): the answer of the contracted team to a contra. Quadruples the score. |
| Novo razdavane (ново раздаване) | Redeal: when everyone passes, the cards are collected and dealt again. |
| Obyavyavasht otbor (обявяващ отбор) | Declaring team: the team whose contract won the bidding. |
| Zashtitnitsi (защитници) | Defenders: the opponents of the declaring team. |
A new, higher bid after a contra cancels the contra – bidding continues from the new contract.
Dealing and play
After bidding comes the play: eight tricks, in each of which every player puts down one card. You will hear these words throughout the game.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Razdavasht (раздаващ) | Dealer: the player dealing in the current round. The role rotates after every hand. |
| Tsepene (цепене) | Cutting: before the deal, the player before the dealer cuts the deck into two parts and swaps them. |
| 3-2-3 deal | Each player first receives 3, then 2 cards; after bidding they receive 3 more, 8 in total. |
| Ratse (ръка) | Trick: the four cards played in one round. The strongest card wins the trick. |
| Vodene (водене) | Leading: playing the first card of a trick. The first trick is led by the player after the dealer, later ones by the winner of the previous trick. |
| Otgovaryane na boya (отговаряне на боя) | Following suit: you must play a card of the led suit if you have one. |
| Tsakane (цакане) | Trumping (ruffing): playing a trump when you cannot follow suit. Mandatory unless your partner is currently winning the trick. |
| Kachvane (качване) | Overtrumping: playing a higher trump than the one already on the table. Mandatory whenever possible. |
| Partner holds | Your partner is currently winning the trick, so you are not obliged to trump. |
| Izhvarlyane (изхвърляне) | Discarding: playing a worthless card when you cannot or do not want to win the trick. |
| Posledna ratse (последна ръка) | Last trick: the eighth trick. The team that wins it gets a 10-point bonus. |
Scoring
Points in a hand are counted as raw points from cards, declarations and bonuses, and then converted to game points (divided by 10 and rounded). The game continues until one team reaches 151 game points.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Made contract | The declaring team has more points than the defenders. Each team records its own points. |
| Vatre (вътре) | Inside: the contract failed and the defenders take all the points of the hand. |
| Visyashta (висяща) | Hanging hand: the points are tied. The defenders record theirs, while the declaring team's points hang and go to the winner of the next hand. |
| Valat / kapo (валат, капо) | Capot: one team wins all 8 tricks. Worth a 90-point bonus. |
| Game points | The result after dividing by 10 and rounding – this is what goes on the score sheet. |
| 151 | The target of the game. The first team to reach 151 game points wins. |
| Multiplier | Contra doubles and recontra quadruples the points of the hand. |
Declarations and combinations
Declarations are combinations in your hand that bring extra points. They are announced at the start of play, while belot is announced at the moment the king or queen is played. No declarations are played in No Trumps.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Tertsa (терца) | Tierce: three consecutive cards of one suit (for example 7-8-9). 20 points. |
| Kvarta (кварта) | Quarte: four consecutive cards of one suit. 50 points. |
| Kvinta (квинта) | Quinte: five or more consecutive cards of one suit. 100 points. |
| Kare (каре) | Four of a kind: jacks (200), nines (150), aces, tens, kings or queens (100 each). Four sevens or eights do not count. |
| Belot (белот) | King and queen of trump held by one player. 20 points, announced when the first of the two is played. |
| Comparing declarations | Only the team with the single strongest declaration scores its declarations. Equal strongest declarations cancel out. |
| Sequence order | For declarations the natural order is used: 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, ace. |
Four of a kind always beats any sequence, even a quinte.
Table slang
Besides the official terms, players use many informal expressions. Here are some you will hear often, including in online chat.
- Chista ratse (clean hand) – cards with no strong trumps and no declarations, where passing is sensible.
- Golyam koz (big trump) – the jack and nine of the trump suit.
- Vlyazoha (they went in) – the opponents failed their contract.
- Broene (counting) – keeping track of which cards are out, especially trumps and aces.
- Davane na partnyora (feeding partner) – throwing points such as an ace or ten into a trick your partner will win.
- Partia (game) – a full game to 151 points, made up of several hands.
Read next
Belot rules
The complete rules: cards, dealing, bidding, play and end of game.
Bidding and contra
When to bid a suit, No trumps or All trumps, and when to double.
Declarations and belot
Tierce, quarte, quinte, four of a kind and belot — when they count.
Belot scoring
Card values, last trick, capot, failed and hanging contracts.