Bridge is a popular game and there are plenty of resources online to help you get started. Here is a brief overview of the absolute basics of how to play the card game of bridge, for complete beginners.
The game is played by four players, working as two teams. A standard 52 card deck is used and all the cards are dealt so that each player has 13 cards. Each player orders his cards by suite (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs).
The object of the game is to do “tricks”. Each round (or hand) begins with one player leading a card. Then each player has to do the same (if he has a card of that suit). The player who plays the highest card wins his pair trick. If a player does not have a card in the suit played, he may discard a card of another suit or, if the game is played in “trumps”, he may play a card of the trump suit. The player who plays the highest trump card (if more than one is played) wins the trick for his pair.
There are two main elements in a game of bridge: the bidding or bidding, and then playing the hand.
The bidding takes place before the hand is played. Players can’t talk to each other, so bidding is a way to decide if you and your partner have enough “points” in your hand to take enough tricks to win the hand. Before the bidding begins, each player counts the number of points in their hand: 4 for each ace, 3 for each king, 2 for each queen, and 1 for each jack.
The player to the left of the dealer starts the bidding. If they have less than 12 points, they “pass”. Play continues clockwise until one player has 12 or more points and can open the auction. There are a total of 40 points, so if they are distributed evenly it is possible for all players to pass. If this happens, the cards are reshuffled and a new set is dealt.
The auction continues until 3 consecutive players pass. The final offer decides the “contract”. There are two types of contract: a suit contract and a “no trump” contract. If a suit contract has been bid, then the suit becomes the trump suit. A no trump contract is played without the use of a trump suit.
The auction between the partners is said in which suits they have cards and what range of points they have. It is generally accepted that to “suit” a major suit, the pair must have at least 25 points. Play means that if your partner wins the round, you will score at least 100 points with your tricks. Nothing is scored for the first 6 tricks, so one of the goals of the auction is to decide if you have enough points to take more than six tricks.
Some examples of contracts are:
3 spades: You are saying you will take 9 tricks (6 plus the bid of 3) and you want to use spades as your trump suit.
1 No Trump (NT) – you are saying you will take 7 tricks (6 plus 1 bid) and you do not want to use a trump suit.
Suits are divided into major suits (spades and hearts) and minor suits (diamonds and clubs). If you are playing in a major suit contract (for example, 2 hearts), you score 30 points for each trick taken above 6 tricks. If you are playing a minor suit contract (for example, 3 diamonds), you score 20 points for each trick taken above 6, and if you are playing No trumps, you score 40 points for the first trick over 6 and 30 points for the first trick over 6. subsequent tricks. .
If you bid and win the game (over 100 points), you get bonus points. If you bid for fewer tricks, this is known as a partial game contract. Your score is based on the number of tricks you bid on, as well as the number of tricks you take. So, for example, you won’t get the game bonus if you only bid on a partial game contract, even if you get enough cheats for the game, although you will still get points for the cheats.
