Introduction : Bridge Online
Your first and most important lesson is that bridge is a partnership game. Looking after your partnership is paramount.
| ♠ AQ876 | ||
| ♥ J54 | ||
| ♦ QJ8 | ||
| ♣ 32 |
Bridge players are usually referred to by compass points. In all the lessons and hands in the lesson section, you are South and your cards will show at the bottom of the screen. Your right hand opponent is East, and your left hand opponent is West.
You need to know the rank of the cards. In bridge, aces are high and twos are low.
Rank of Cards
(high) AKQJ1098765432 (low)
To start with, one player plays a card face up on the table. Then, each player (in clockwise rotation) plays a card of the same suit as the one that was led.
Each round of four cards is called a trick. The highest card of the suit led wins the trick. Whoever wins the trick plays first to the next trick, and the game continues like this until all the cards have been played.
If a player has no cards in the suit led, he will not be able to follow suit. In that case he can discard a card from another suit.
On some hands there is a boss suit, called trumps. A player who plays a trump card will beat any non-trump card, regardless of what suit was led.
The more trumps you've got the better, of course, because even a little trump beats a big side suit. Length before Strength!
The Auction
To determine the trump suit, there is an auction at the start of each hand in which players bid for the right to name the trump suit. For the purpose of the auction, the suits also have a special rank.
Rank of Suits
(high) NT Notrumps, ♠ Spades, ♥ Hearts, ♦ Diamonds, ♣ Clubs (low)
| ♠ AK4 | ||
| ♥ QJ83 | ||
| ♦ 3 | ||
| ♣ AQ876 |
| South | West | North | East | |
| 1♣ |
The lowest bid possible is 1♣, and you must take more than 6 tricks to score points. A bid of 1♣, therefore, actually means you must make 7 (1+6) tricks to fulfill your contract.
The lowest bid of 1♣ = 1 + 6 = 7 tricks.
The highest bid of 7NT = 7 + 6 = 13 tricks.
| North | East | South | West | |
| P | 1♣ |
The dealer gets the first chance to bid. North is the dealer, but she decides to pass. East opens the bidding 1♣.
| ♠ AQ876 | ||
| ♥ J54 | ||
| ♦ QJ8 | ||
| ♣ 32 |
| North | East | South | West | |
| P | 1♣ | 1♠ |
If you want to bid, you have to make a higher bid than the previous one. One way to do this is to nominate a higher ranking suit. Here spades are higher than clubs.
| ♠ QJ8 | ||
| ♥ 32 | ||
| ♦ AQ876 | ||
| ♣ J54 |
| North | East | South | West | |
| P | 1♥ | 2♦ |
The alternative way is to bid to a higher level. 2 is higher than 1.
| ♠ KQ32 | ||
| ♥ 76 | ||
| ♦ K7654 | ||
| ♣ 87 |
| South | West | North | East | |
| P | 1♣ | 1♠ | 2♦ | |
| 2♠ |
You can always come back into the auction even if you have previously passed, unless the auction is over. South passed on the first round and then bid 2♠. It is always good to bid partner's suit.
The auction is over when there have been 3 consecutive passes. Think going, going, gone! - just like in any sort of auction. The highest bid becomes the contract.
| North | East | South | West | |
| P | 1♣ | 1♠ | 2♦ | |
| 2♠ | P | P | P |
In this case, the highest bid is 2♠.
The person who first nominated the trump suit, or notrumps, is called the declarer. On this hand that's South. South will play the hand.
The Play
| ♠ AQ876 | ||
| ♥ J54 | ||
| ♦ QJ8 | ||
| ♣ 32 |
play - W:h08 N: E: S:
The person to the left of the declarer plays the first card. South is playing in 2♠ and needs to make 8 tricks.
| ♠ K54 | ||
| ♥ 32 | ||
| ♦ 654 | ||
| ♣ A8654 | ||
| ♠ | ♠ | |
| ♥ | ♥ | |
| ♦ | ♦ | |
| ♣ | ♣ | |
| ♠ AQ876 | ||
| ♥ J54 | ||
| ♦ QJ8 | ||
| ♣ 32 |
play - W:h08 N: E: S:
Declarer's partner is called the dummy. Dummy's cards are placed face up on the table, with the trump suit on dummy's right.
It's polite for the declarer to thank dummy once the cards are exposed - even if you don't like the cards in dummy.
Now the play continues, however the declarer chooses which cards to play from the dummy. Dummy's job is to play the cards that declarer nominates.
Dummy also checks that declarer has played from the right hand - remember you lead from the hand that won the previous trick.
Once you have finished playing all the cards, you count the tricks to see if declarer fulfilled his or her contract.
And that's it! You can play bridge now, but there's still a lot to learn.