how to play bridge
Bridge is a game for 4 players. It is played using a standard pack of playing cards.
Players play as two pairs or partners, usually referred to as North and South and East and West. The partners sit facing each other.
At the start of a game all the cards are dealt, so that each player has 13 cards. Then each player sorts his cards into the four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs). Cards are ranked in descending order, Ace being high.
Each player counts the total number of “high card points” in his hand. He counts 4 points for each ace, 3 points for each king, 2 points for each queen and 1 point for each jack. There are a total of 40 points.
Example: You are dealt: A, 10, 7, 6 of spades, K, 3, 2 of hearts, J, 8, 6 of diamonds, 9, 5, 4 of clubs. Add up your points, counting four for the ace of spades, 3 for the kind of hearts, and 1 for the jack of diamonds. A total of 8 points.
Starting with the player to the dealer’s left, each person in turn decides if they have enough points to “open” the auction. The general rule is that you must have at least 12 points to open the auction. If you have less than 12 points, just say “approved”.
Move counterclockwise around the table until one player has enough points to open the auction. If all four players pass, the cards are shuffled and dealt.
When a player has opened the bidding, the next player has the option to bid or pass. The decision is based not only on the number of points, but also on the composition of your hand. They may decide to pass, even if they have more than 12 points, and wait to see how the auction goes.
The opening offer can be one of 2 basic things. A suit bid (spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs) or a No Win bid. The exact offer (for example, 1 spade, 2 diamonds, 1 no trump) will depend on the number of points in the hand and the distribution of the cards.
The opening partner (the one who responds) makes his offer based on the number of points in his hand, the distribution of cards in his hand and the offer made by his opening partner.
One of the main purposes of the auction is to interact with your partner and tell each other about the contents of your hands to see if they can accept the contract. The contract is the final offer.
A contract of 1 NT or 1 of a suit means that you think you can win 7 tricks. (6 tricks plus the number of your bid). A contract of, say, 3 No Trumps or 3 Hearts means you think you can win 9 of the 13 available tricks.
The person who first bids the suit (or NT) ending as the contract becomes the declarer. The declarer’s partner becomes the “dummy” and no longer participates in the game. Dummy’s hand is placed on the table and declarer plays both his and dummy’s hands.
Each round begins with one player leading a card. Each player must do the same if he can. The winning pair wins the trick (each round of 4 cards is called a trick) and the winning player draws the first card for the next trick. If the game is being played in a trump suit and a player has no cards in the suit that was led, he may ruff (or fail) the trick by playing a card from the trump suit. If the game is being played without trumps, then there is no chance of winning a trick by ruffing.
When all 13 tricks have been played, the declaring side has won the contract if it takes or exceeds the number of tricks its offer said it should take. The declaring side loses the contract if it makes fewer tricks.
