Bridge Card Game Rules: Complete Guide

1. The Basics

Players and Partnerships

Bridge requires exactly four players. Players form two partnerships: North-South and East-West. Partners sit opposite each other at a square table. They share information only through their bids and plays — no signals outside the game are permitted.

The Deck

A standard 52-card deck is used with no jokers. Cards rank from highest to lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The four suits are spades (♠), hearts (♥), diamonds (♦), and clubs (♣).

In bridge, suits also have a rank for bidding purposes: spades rank highest, then hearts, diamonds, and clubs (lowest). Notrump ranks above all four suits for bidding.

Objective

The goal is to score points. Points come from winning tricks (card combinations), making contracts, and earning bonuses. In rubber bridge, the first side to win two games wins the rubber — and the rubber bonus. In duplicate bridge, you compare scores against other pairs holding the same cards.

Point Count

Before bidding, each player evaluates their hand using High Card Points (HCP):

• Ace = 4 points
• King = 3 points
• Queen = 2 points
• Jack = 1 point

There are 40 HCP in the deck. A combined 25-26 HCP is typically enough to make a game contract. Players also count distribution points for short suits and long suits, but HCP is the foundation.

2. The Deal

Choosing Dealer

In rubber bridge, the first dealer is chosen by drawing cards — highest card deals first. After that, the deal rotates clockwise after each hand. In duplicate bridge, the dealer is assigned in a set rotation and printed on the board.

Dealing the Cards

The dealer distributes all 52 cards, one at a time, clockwise beginning with the player to their left. Each player receives exactly 13 cards. Cards are dealt face down and players keep their hands concealed from opponents throughout the auction.

Vulnerability

Vulnerability affects bonuses and penalties. A side is vulnerable if they have already won one game in the current rubber. Vulnerable contracts earn higher bonuses for making but face larger penalties for going down. In duplicate bridge, vulnerability rotates in a fixed pattern (Board 1 is neither vulnerable, Board 2 has North-South vulnerable, etc.).

3. The Auction (Bidding)

How Bidding Works

The auction begins with the dealer and proceeds clockwise. On your turn you may:

• Bid — name a contract higher than the previous bid
• Pass — decline to bid
• Double — double the stakes of the opponent's last bid
• Redouble — double back after an opponent has doubled

What a Bid Means

A bid consists of a number (1 through 7) and a strain (♣, ♦, ♥, ♠, or Notrump). The number represents how many tricks your side pledges to win beyond six. A bid of 1♠ means "we will win 7 tricks with spades as trump." A bid of 3NT means "we will win 9 tricks with no trump suit."

Each subsequent bid must be higher than the previous one, either by naming a higher number or the same number in a higher-ranking strain.

The Hierarchy of Strains

From lowest to highest: Clubs → Diamonds → Hearts → Spades → Notrump. So a bid of 1♥ can be overcalled with 1♠, 1NT, 2♣, 2♦, and so on up to 7NT.

Doubling and Redoubling

You may double the last bid of an opponent. This increases both the potential penalty if they fail and the bonus if they succeed. Your partner may not double on your behalf — only you can double your right-hand opponent's bid.

After a double, the side that was doubled may redouble, doubling the stakes again. If the contract is played doubled or redoubled and made, both trick score and bonuses are affected.

Ending the Auction

The auction ends when three consecutive players pass after any bid (the last bid may be a double or redouble). The final contract is the last bid before the three passes.

If all four players pass on the first round (a passed-out hand), no one scores anything and the deal rotates to the next dealer.

Declarer and Dummy

The player who first bid the strain of the final contract becomes the declarer. Declarer's partner becomes the dummy. So if East and West reach a contract of 4♠, and West was the first to bid spades in the auction, West is declarer — even if East made the final bid.

The Opening Lead

The player to declarer's left makes the first lead — this is the opening lead. The card is played face down initially; once the lead is made and accepted, dummy spreads their hand face up on the table.

4. Card Play

Playing a Trick

Each trick consists of four cards, one from each player in clockwise order. The player who led to the trick plays first. The other three players then follow in clockwise order.

Following Suit (Mandatory)

You must follow suit if you can. If hearts are led and you hold any hearts, you must play a heart. Failure to follow suit when able is a revoke — a serious infraction with penalties (see Section 7).

Only when you are void in the led suit may you play a card from another suit. At that point, you may play any card — including a trump.

Winning a Trick

A trick is won by:

• The highest card of the suit led, if no trump was played
• The highest trump, if any trump cards were played

The winner of each trick leads to the next trick.

Trump Cards

If a trump suit was named in the final contract, any card of that suit is a trump card. Trumps beat all other suits, regardless of rank. A 2 of trumps beats an Ace of any other suit.

If the contract is in notrump, there is no trump suit. Every trick is won by the highest card of the suit led.

How Many Tricks?

There are 13 tricks in every hand. Declarer needs to win the number of tricks contracted — their bid number plus six. A contract of 4♥ requires 10 tricks. A contract of 7NT (grand slam) requires all 13.

5. The Dummy

After the opening lead, dummy spreads their hand face-up on the table, sorted by suit. Dummy plays no active role — declarer calls the cards from dummy's hand as well as their own.

Dummy's Rules

• Dummy may not suggest, comment, or warn during play
• Dummy may ask declarer if they are following suit if another player is observed not following suit
• Dummy may not look at a defender's hand without permission
• Dummy may call a director or umpire if an infraction occurs

Dummy's cards are played by declarer, but dummy may draw declarer's attention to a card about to be played from the wrong hand.

6. Scoring

Trick Score (Below the Line)

In rubber bridge, you score below the line (toward game) for each odd trick bid and made:

• Minor suits (♣, ♦): 20 points per trick
• Major suits (♥, ♠): 30 points per trick
• Notrump: 40 points for the first trick, 30 for each subsequent

If doubled: multiply the trick score by 2. If redoubled: multiply by 4.

Game

A game requires accumulating 100 or more points below the line. This can be achieved in a single hand (game contracts) or across multiple partial scores (part-scores). Common game contracts:

• 3NT: 40 + 30 + 30 = 100 ✓
• 4♥ or 4♠: 4 × 30 = 120 ✓
• 5♣ or 5♦: 5 × 20 = 100 ✓

Bonus Points (Above the Line)

Overtricks, honors, and bonuses are scored above the line and do not count toward game:

Overtricks

Tricks won beyond the contract are overtricks. Undoubled overtricks score the same per-trick rate as the bid suit. Doubled overtricks score 100 each (not vulnerable) or 200 each (vulnerable). Redoubled overtricks score double that.

Undertricks (Going Down)

If declarer fails to make the contract, the defending side scores undertrick penalties:

Redoubled penalties are double the doubled rates.

7. Duplicate Bridge Scoring

In duplicate bridge (the competitive standard), each hand is dealt once and played at multiple tables simultaneously. Players compare their result against others who held the same cards.

Matchpoints

In matchpoint scoring, you earn 2 points for each pair you beat on a board, 1 point for each tie. The pair with the most matchpoints at the end wins. This format rewards consistency and encourages aggressive bidding on competitive hands.

IMPs (International Match Points)

IMPs convert the raw point difference between your score and a reference score into a 0–24 IMP scale. Used in team matches and many Swiss team events. Large swings matter more than in matchpoints.

Vulnerability in Duplicate

Boards rotate through a fixed vulnerability schedule. Board 1 is neither side vulnerable; boards 2, 5, 6, 9, etc. rotate through all four vulnerability states in a set sequence printed on the board.

8. Infractions and Penalties

Revoke

A revoke occurs when a player fails to follow suit when they held a card of the suit led. An established revoke (confirmed after two more tricks are played) carries a two-trick transfer from the offending side to the non-offending side. If only one trick was won after the revoke, the penalty is one trick.

A revoke on trick 12 is not established — there is only a one-trick penalty regardless.

Lead Out of Turn

If a defender leads out of turn, declarer has options: accept the lead and play normally, require the correct hand to lead, or treat the incorrect card as a penalty card (it must be played at the first legal opportunity).

Insufficient Bid

A bid that does not exceed the previous bid is an insufficient bid. The bidder must either substitute a sufficient bid in the same strain (partner is then barred from the auction) or substitute any sufficient bid (partner must pass for the rest of the auction if a different strain is chosen).

Bid Out of Turn

A bid made out of turn may be accepted by the opponents, in which case the auction continues normally. If not accepted, the offender's partner is barred from bidding for the rest of the auction.

Exposed Cards

Cards accidentally exposed during the auction or play (other than the dummy) become penalty cards. A penalty card must be played at the first legal opportunity.

Unauthorized Information

Bridge forbids conveying information through means other than legal bids and plays — tone, hesitation, gesture, or remarks. Using information from partner's pause or unusual behavior is a violation of ethics. In serious competition, a director may adjust the score if unauthorized information affected the outcome.

9. Common Variations

Chicago Bridge (Four-Deal Bridge)

Chicago is a faster form of rubber bridge played over exactly four deals. Vulnerability is fixed (Board 1: none; Board 2: dealer vulnerable; Board 3: opponents of dealer; Board 4: all). No part-scores carry over between rounds. Popular at home tables where players prefer a fixed-length game.

Duplicate Bridge

The competitive standard. Hands are pre-dealt and replayed at multiple tables. Results are compared across the field. Tournaments run from casual club games to international championships.

Mini-Bridge

A simplified version sometimes used to teach beginners. Players announce total HCP, the strongest hand declares, and they pick their best trump suit or notrump — no auction. Good for introducing card play before adding bidding complexity.