Bête (cards)


Bête, Labet or the Germanised Bete and Beet, is a term used in certain card games for a penalty payment e.g. for failing to take the minimum number of tricks, or for a stake or money which a player has lost. In the trick-taking game, Mistigri, the player who has failed to win a single trick is called the "bête". Likewise in Mauscheln, if the declarer, or Mauschler, fails to win a trick, he is called the Mauschlerbete.
The word is used with verbs in phrases that have further meanings:
The name is derived from the historical French card game of Bête where it referred to the stake and the penalty for losing. Labet is another name for the card game of Tippen and Bête also came to be a synonym for the card game of Mouche.

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