Bridge

1 Overview

Contract Bridge is a 4-player partnership trick-taking card game — considered by many the greatest card game ever devised. Two pairs of partners (North-South and East-West) sit across from each other. The game has two phases: bidding (an auction to determine the contract and trump suit) and play (winning tricks to fulfill or defeat that contract).

Bridge rewards communication, memory, logic, and partnership trust. It has a steep learning curve but extraordinary depth — people play competitively for decades without exhausting it.

2 Setup & Deal

Use a standard 52-card deck. Cards rank A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9…2 (low). One player deals 13 cards to each player, one at a time, clockwise. Suits rank (for bidding only): Spades > Hearts > Diamonds > Clubs, with No Trump above all.

3 Bidding

Bidding is an auction where each bid represents a contract to win a certain number of tricks. A bid states a number (1–7) and a suit (or No Trump). A bid of "3 Hearts" means your partnership will win at least 3 + 6 = 9 tricks with Hearts as trump.

Bidding starts with the dealer and goes clockwise. Each bid must be higher than the previous (higher number, or same number in a higher-ranking suit). You may also Pass, Double (challenge the last bid), or Redouble (answer a Double).

Bidding ends when three consecutive players Pass after any bid. The final bid is the Contract. The player on the winning team who first named the contract's suit becomes the Declarer. Their partner is the Dummy. The other team are the Defenders.

Point count bidding (basics): Ace=4, King=3, Queen=2, Jack=1. With 13+ HCP, open the bidding at the 1-level. Partnerships typically need 26+ combined HCP for a game contract.

4 Playing Tricks

The Defender to Declarer's left leads the first card. Then Dummy's hand is placed face-up and Declarer plays both hands.

• Each player in turn plays one card — you must follow suit if you can.
• If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card (including trump).
• The highest trump played wins the trick. If no trump is played, the highest card in the led suit wins.
• The winner of each trick leads the next one.

Play continues for all 13 tricks. The Declarer tries to win at least as many tricks as contracted. Defenders try to stop them.

5 Scoring

Scoring in Bridge is detailed. Key concepts:

• Trick points: Clubs/Diamonds (minor suits): 20 per trick. Hearts/Spades (majors): 30 per trick. No Trump: 40 for first trick, 30 each after.
• Game bonus: Scoring 100+ trick points in one hand earns a game bonus.
• Overtricks: Tricks won beyond the contract score modestly.
• Undertricks: Failing the contract scores penalty points for the Defenders.
• Rubber bonus: First partnership to win 2 games wins the rubber and earns a large bonus.
• Slam bonuses: Small Slam (12 tricks) and Grand Slam (13 tricks) earn massive bonuses.

6 Beginner Tips

• Count your high card points (HCP) before bidding. Don't open unless you have 13+.
• Support your partner's suit whenever you have 3+ cards in it.
• Lead low from an honor sequence (e.g., K-Q-J, lead the K) against trump contracts.
• Count tricks — Declarer should count winners before playing; Defenders count how many tricks they need to defeat the contract.
• Learn basic conventions like Stayman and Transfers once you're comfortable with the basics.