Contract bridge rules

The most demanding partnership card game there is. Four players in two partnerships, thirteen tricks per deal, and an auction beforehand that decides what you are trying to do.

Getting ready

A 52-card deck, all of it dealt out, thirteen cards each. Aces are high. Partners sit opposite each other and are referred to as North-South and East-West.

The auction

Before any card is played, the partnerships bid for the contract. A bid names a number of tricks above six and a trump suit — so "two hearts" is a promise to take eight tricks with hearts as trump. Suits rank clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, and no-trump above them all. Each bid must be higher than the last, and the auction ends after three consecutive passes.

You may also double an opponent's contract to raise the stakes, and they may redouble.

The play

The partnership that made the final bid is the declaring side. The one who first named that denomination is declarer; their partner is dummy and lays their entire hand face up on the table once the opening lead has been made. Declarer then plays both hands.

The player to declarer's left leads. You must follow suit if you can, otherwise you may play anything. The highest trump wins, or failing that the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.

Scoring

Make the contract and you score for the tricks bid, with more per trick for the higher suits and no-trump. Overtricks score extra. Fail, and the opponents score for every trick you fell short.

A partnership that accumulates 100 contract points wins a game, and two games win the rubber. Bidding a contract worth 100 in one deal — game — is the ordinary goal, which is why three no-trump, four hearts and four spades are the bids you will hear most.

The conversation

Bids do more than name a target: they describe your hand to your partner within an agreed system. That is the whole art of the game, and it is why two people who have played together for years beat two better card players who have not.

Contract bridge: an example game

One game of Contract bridge followed from the deal to the finish, move by move, with the reason for each choice.

The hands

You and Bo are partners against Ada and Cleo. You deal, so you speak first. Your hand: ♠ A K 4, ♥ A Q J 8 5, ♦ K Q 3, ♣ 9 2. Counting 4 for an ace, 3 for a king, 2 for a queen and 1 for a jack, that is 19 points with five hearts.

Bo, opposite you, holds ♠ 8 6 2, ♥ K 9 6 3, ♦ A 8 5, ♣ Q 7 4: 9 points and four hearts. Neither side is vulnerable yet.

The auction

You open 1♥, promising at least twelve points and five hearts. Ada passes. Bo raises to 2♥, which shows support for hearts and a modest hand. Cleo passes.

Your 19 points and Bo's six to nine add up to about 25–28, enough for game, and hearts is a major suit where game is ten tricks. You bid 4♥. Ada, Bo and Cleo pass, and three passes end the auction. The contract is 4♥, and because you named hearts first, you are the declarer.

The opening lead and the dummy

The player on the declarer's left makes the opening lead, so Ada leads K♣ from a clubs holding headed by the ace and king. Bo then lays his whole hand face up as the dummy, and from now on you play both hands.

Before playing to the first trick, count. You can lose two clubs straight away. You have a spade loser too, because you have three spades and only the ace and king. Everything else — five hearts and three diamonds — should be winners.

The first three tricks

Ada's K♣ wins the first trick: dummy 4♣, Cleo 3♣, you 2♣. Ada continues with A♣, and that wins too: dummy 7♣, Cleo 6♣, you 9♣. The defence has its two tricks.

Ada tries a third club, J♣. From the dummy you play Q♣, which is now the highest club left, and Cleo follows with 8♣. You have no clubs left, and instead of trumping a trick your partner is already winning, you throw away your losing 4♠. The spade loser has disappeared.

Drawing trumps and taking the rest

The dummy won the trick, so you lead from there: 3♥ to your J♥, with Cleo playing 2♥ and Ada 4♥. Then A♥ from your hand collects Ada's 10♥ and Cleo's 7♥. That is all four of the opponents' trumps gone in two rounds.

Now nothing can be trumped, and your remaining cards are all winners: A♠ and K♠, three more hearts, and K♦, Q♦ and the dummy's A♦. You take every remaining trick, eleven in all.

The score

You bid ten tricks and took eleven. The four tricks you bid in hearts are worth 30 each: 120 points below the line, which is more than 100 and so wins a game for your side. The overtrick is worth 30 above the line, where it counts for the final total but not towards a game.

Your side is now vulnerable: one more game wins the rubber, but going down will cost more. The next deal passes to Ada.