How to Play

Baloot is Saudi Arabia's national card game, a four-player Belote-derived partnership game with Hokum (trump) and Sun (no-trump) contracts, project declarations, and the showpiece Jack-of-trumps worth 20 points.

Baloot is Saudi Arabia's national card game, an Arabian descendant of French Belote played by four players in two fixed partnerships using a 32-card deck. Each deal opens with an auction in which players choose between a trump contract (Hokum), a no-trump contract (Sun), or take-the-card (Ashkal), then proceed through declarations of bonus combinations and a fully strict-following trick play. Bonus 'projects' (siri, fifty, hundred) reward sequences and four-of-a-kinds; the trump Jack and trump 9 are scoring monsters; the match runs to 152 points (or longer with the Gahwa multiplier).

Players

Baloot is played by exactly 4 players in two fixed partnerships, partners sitting opposite each other. The dealer rotates anti-clockwise after each hand. Variants for 2, 3, and 6 players exist but are rare; this guide describes the standard 4-player game.

Card Deck

• Use a standard 52-card pack with the 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and 6s removed (32 cards remain).
• Card rank in non-trump (and Sun) suits, high to low: Ace, 10, King, Queen, Jack, 9, 8, 7.A♠K♠Q♠J♠
• Card rank in the trump suit (Hokum), high to low: Jack (20 pts), 9 (14 pts), Ace (11), 10 (10), King (4), Queen (3), 8 (0), 7 (0).A♠K♠Q♠J♠
• Card values for capturing in Hokum (trump): Jack 20, Nine 14, Ace 11, Ten 10, King 4, Queen 3, others 0. In non-trump (any other suit) under Hokum: Ace 11, Ten 10, King 4, Queen 3, Jack 2, others 0.A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠9♠
• Card values in Sun (no trumps): Ace 11, Ten 10, King 4, Queen 3, Jack 2, others 0. (Hierarchy is unaltered: A high, then 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7.)A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠
• Last trick bonus: 10 points to the team winning the final (8th) trick.
• Total card points per deal: 152 in Hokum, 130 + last-trick = 140 in Sun.

Objective

Win the auction with a contract you can fulfill, then capture more card points than the opponents (plus declarations). Across deals, accumulate game points; the first partnership to 152 game points wins the match. Many groups use a Gahwa rule that requires winning twice to actually win the match.

Setup and Deal

1. Cut for first dealer; the deal then passes anti-clockwise after each hand.
2. Deal 5 cards face-down to each player in batches (3 + 2), anti-clockwise.
3. Turn the next card face-up in the centre to set the proposed trump suit (the suit of this upcard).
4. First auction round: Starting with the player to the dealer's right, each player in turn either accepts the upcard's suit as trump (calling 'Hokum') or passes. The first to accept becomes the declarer.
5. Second auction round (only if all four pass first round): Starting again with the player to the dealer's right, each player may declare a different trump suit (NOT the original upcard's suit), call Sun (no trumps with the upcard belonging to the partner), or pass. The first to declare becomes the declarer.
6. If both rounds pass, the deal is annulled and re-dealt by the next dealer.
7. Deal 3 more cards face-down to each player so all hands hold 8 cards. The face-up card is taken into the declarer's partner's hand (in Sun/Ashkal) or the declarer's hand (in Hokum, depending on house rules).
8. The player to the dealer's right leads the first trick.

Declarations (Projects)

• Before the second card of the first trick is played, any player may announce one or more 'projects' (declarations) they hold. Only the partnership with the highest-ranking project scores; the loser scores nothing.
• Siri (3-card sequence in same suit): 2 game points in Hokum; 4 in Sun.
• Fifty (4-card sequence in same suit): 5 game points in Hokum; 10 in Sun.
• Hundred (5-card same-suit sequence OR four-of-a-kind in Aces, 10s, Kings, Queens, or Jacks): 10 game points in Hokum; 20 in Sun.
• Baloot (King + Queen of the trump suit): 2 game points; declared at the moment of playing the second of the pair to a trick (not in the pre-trick declaration). The exception that gives the game its name.
• Project ranking: Higher-card-count projects beat lower; equal length is broken by the highest top card; equal cards are broken by trump-suit projects beating non-trump.
• Multiple projects per player are allowed but only the partnership winning the rank gets to score them ALL.

Gameplay

1. Lead any card. The trick winner leads the next trick.
2. Strict following: You MUST follow the led suit if you have any. If you have NO card of the led suit, you MUST trump if you can. If you have neither, you may discard any card.
3. Overruff rule: When trumping, you must play a higher trump than any trump already played in the trick if you can. If you cannot overruff, you may play a low trump (you still must trump).
4. Winning the trick: The highest trump played wins. If no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
5. Continue for all 8 tricks. The team that wins trick 8 also scores a 10-point last-trick bonus.
6. Locked play (in doubled / Gahwa Hokum games): Trump may NOT be led unless the leader holds only trumps; this house rule prevents quick trump exhaustion.

Scoring

• At deal end, count card points captured by each side, add 10 for last trick, add winning declarations. Convert to game points: divide by 10 (Hokum) or by 5 (Sun) and round to nearest, with the Baloot king-queen bonus added separately.
• Falling (Saqta): If the declaring team scores fewer card points than the defenders, ALL points (theirs + the defenders') go to the defending team. This is the 'fall' penalty.
• Match target: First partnership to 152 game points wins one set. With the Gahwa rule (which doubles or quadruples stakes during bidding), the match can be won in one go or require winning two sets.
• Doubling and redoubling: During the auction, opponents may DOUBLE the declarer's bid (raising stakes); the declarer may REDOUBLE in response.

Winning

The match is won by the partnership that first reaches 152 game points OR that wins the final hand at the doubled/redoubled stakes (Gahwa). Local conventions vary on whether 152 alone wins or whether two consecutive sets are required.

Common Variations

• Hokum (described above): The standard contract; trump suit chosen during the auction.
• Sun (Ashkal): No-trump contract; Aces are highest, all suits are equal in rank, declarations score double.
• Saudi vs Kuwaiti rules: Differ in declaration scoring, doubling structure, and the Gahwa multiplier rules. Always agree which version before play.
• Locked Baloot: Trump cannot be led unless the leader holds only trumps. Used in Gahwa hands to prolong the trump-management phase.
• Tournament Baloot: Standardised by the Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports; played to fixed scores with strict declaration rules.

Tips and Strategy

• The trump Jack (20 pts) and trump 9 (14 pts) are the most valuable cards in the deck. Tracking who has them is the single most important defensive task.
• Bid Hokum on a strong trump suit (Jack + 9 + 5+ trump). Without the Jack, Hokum bids fail more often than they succeed.
• Bid Sun with a balanced hand of Aces and Tens. Sun rewards control of long-suit Aces; declarations score double in Sun, so a hand with two siri or a fifty is a strong Sun candidate.
• Declare every project you hold at the start of the deal; the rule is winner-take-all, so even a small siri can claim points if the opponents have nothing.
• Watch the falling line. If your team is approaching the score where a fall would cost the match, defenders should fight extra hard to push the declarer below.
• Lead trumps aggressively as the declarer. Drawing 2-3 rounds of trumps strips opponents and lets your side-suit Aces and Tens cash safely.

Glossary

• Hokum: Trump-suit contract; declarer names the trump suit (originally the upturned card's suit).
• Sun (Shams) / Ashkal: No-trump contract; Aces are highest, declarations score double.
• Baloot: Both the name of the game and the special declaration of King+Queen of trump for 2 bonus points.K♠Q♠
• Siri / Fifty / Hundred: The three project (declaration) tiers, scoring 2/5/10 in Hokum or 4/10/20 in Sun.
• Falling (Saqta): Failure to outscore the defenders; all points go to the defending team.
• Gahwa: A multiplier rule in tournament Baloot that doubles or quadruples the stakes of a hand.
• Doubling / Redoubling: Stake escalation in the auction phase; defenders double, declarer can redouble.