How To Play Bridge is a card game that has been around for centuries. It is a game of strategy, and it can be played by anyone who knows the basic rules.
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Introduction
Bridge is a trick-taking card game of skill and chance played by four players. The game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. The object of the game is to take as many tricks as possible. The player who takes the most tricks wins the hand, and the first player to win a predetermined number of hands wins the game.
Bridge can be played for money or for points. In money games, each player is responsible for paying a specified amount of money to the pot for each hand that is played. The winner of each hand takes the pot. In points games, players earn points for taking tricks, and the first player to reach a predetermined number of points wins the game.
Bridge has been around for centuries, and there are many different variations of the game that have been developed over time. While there are too many variations to list here, some of the more popular variations include duplicate bridge, Chicago bridge, rubber bridge, and contract bridge.
The Basic Rules
Bridge is a trick-taking game played by four people in two partnerships. Partnerships are determined by the dealers for each hand, who also become the declarer for that hand. The other two players are the defenders. The game is played in rounds, with each player taking a turn to deal. The basic aim of the game is to score points by taking tricks, with each trick worth a certain number of points.
The Deal
The bridge deal consists of two parts: the bidding, in which players compete to decide who will play which contract; and the play of the hand, in which players try to make their contracts.
Bridge is played with four hands of 13 cards each. The dealer deals all the cards clockwise one at a time face down, beginning with the player to his left. When everyone has 13 cards, the dealer turns over his top card to indicate which suit will be trumps for that hand. The turn to deal passes clockwise after each hand.
The aim is to make as many tricks as you can, in addition to any bonuses you may have acquired during the bidding. Each trick consists of one card from each player, and the trick is won by the player who played the highest trump card, or if no trump was played, by the player who played the highest card of the suit that was led. The lead goes to the winner of each trick and passes clockwise for each subsequent trick.
The Bidding
In bridge, as in all other competitive auctions, there are basic rules which must be observed if the auction is to be fair and bridge is to be an enjoyable game. These basic rules fall into 3 categories:
1. The Laws of Bridge
2. The Rules of Auction Bridge
3. Convention
The first category, the Laws of Bridge, is inviolate. These laws were formulated by the synthesis of ideas contributed by players and teachers of the game throughout the world and they were finally codified by an international body known as “The Laws Commission”. This commission meets periodically to consider amendments to the laws and its work is carried on by a permanent staff which functions between meetings. It should be understood that this first category includes only those precepts which are essential to the proper conduct of the game and does not attempt to deal with matters of etiquette or with questions of procedure which are not vital to the progress of the play.
The second category, the Rules of Auction Bridge, consists of those additional regulations which were found necessary during the development of bridge in order that the auction might proceed smoothly and without confusion and in order that there might be some generally accepted method for deciding disputed points. These rules are not set forth here in full but only those which concern themselves directly with the bidding will be considered. The object in bidding is, of course, to ascertain how many tricks one’s side can make when playing at no-trump or with a specified suit as trumps. It will be seen that there are several ways in which this information may be conveyed during the course of bidding; one player may state directly how many tricks he expects to take or he may bid up to a certain number if he expects his side to make more tricks than this number; finally, he may give some indirect indication such as bidding a new suit when holding sure values for playing at no-trump but insufficient values for bidding no-trump directly.
Convention is a third category which has grown up around certain favorite methods of descriptive bidding; it has no official standing but players who agree to use certain conventional methods in their partnership must observe these agreements strictly throughout the play.
The Play
To begin, the dealer shuffles the deck and deals out the entire deck to the four players, who each sit at a table with a partner. The dealer gives out 13 cards to each player, going clockwise around the table. Once all players have their cards, they look at their hand and sort it by suit. The goal of bridge is to receive the most points by taking tricks. A trick is when one player leads with a card and the other three players must play a card in that same suit. The highest card played in that suit will win the trick for that round. The winner of the trick then leads for the next round. This continues until all 13 tricks have been played and all 52 cards have been used. At the end of each hand, points are tallied based on which partnership won more tricks than the other. If a partnership wins seven or more tricks, they receive what is called a “book” of points (40 points for winning seven tricks, 30 points for winning eight tricks, etc.). In addition, if a partnership has what is called the “honors” in a particular hand, they will receive extra points—the ace, king, queen and jack of trump are worth four points each; the ace, king and queen of any other suit are worth two points each; and finally, the ace of any suit is worth one point.
The Scoring
Bridge is primarily a partnership game played between two pairs. It is played with a regular deck of 52 cards. The cards in each suit rank from high to low: Ace (the highest), King, Queen, Jack, and Ten down to Two (the lowest). There is no rank between the suits: for example, the Ace of Spades ranks as high as the Ace of Hearts, which in turn ranks as high as the Ace of Clubs, etc. The same goes for the other cards.
The basic principle of play is to win tricks containing valuable cards. The most basic way to do this is to follow suit: if you can, you play a card of the same suit as the one led. When you cannot or choose not to follow suit, you may play any card you desire.
Generally, the player who wins a trick leads to the next one, and must lead a card of a different suit from the one he or she just won. However, there are exceptions to this rule (see below). Tricks are won by either (a) having played the highest card of the suit led if someone else followed suit; or (b) playing any card when everyone else has played a card of a different suit (this is called “leading trump”). Trump suits take precedence over all other suits – that is why they are called “trump”! If no trump was played in a trick containing at least one trump, then it was “doubly” trumped – both players who did not lead trump were void in that suit and could not win that trick no matter what cards they held! But more about trumps later …
Conclusion
Thank you for choosing to learn how to play bridge! This classic card game is perfect for anyone who loves strategy, competition, and teamwork. Bridge is a challenging and rewarding game that can be enjoyed by players of all ages.
Whether you are just starting out or are an experienced player, there are always new things to learn about bridge. We hope this guide has been helpful in teaching you the basics of the game. Now get out there and start playing!