Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (57 page)

It’s OK if you cannot secure a slam contract. It just means you’re not eligible for bonus points (or liable for penalty points) at the end of the hand.

One final note: There are numerous systems for bidding in Bridge, known as
bidding conventions
. If you’re interested in learning a specific bidding method, such as the popular Blackwood Convention, visit a Web site like the American Contract Bridge League (www.acbl.org).

HOW TO PLAY
The player to the left of the declarer leads the first trick, and as soon as the first card is played, the declarer’s partner turns over his cards, organized into columns by suit. This player is known as the
dummy
, not because they’re a dull knife or a dim bulb, but because the dummy plays no role in the hand from this point forward.

Instead, when it’s the dummy’s turn in rotation to play a card, the
declarer
chooses which card to play. The dummy sits back, refills players’ drinks, and otherwise stays out of the way. The dummy is not allowed to discuss strategy or offer any advice to any player.

A typical Bridge hand, therefore, can be diagrammed as follows, with the North-South team having won the bid against the West-East team. In this example, South is declarer and North is dummy:

If West opens with 8 of diamonds, for example, the declarer plays a card from the dummy’s hand and the turn shifts to East. All players
must
follow suit if possible; otherwise they may play any card in any other suit, including trump. Tricks are won by the highest trump played or, if none, by the highest card in the leading suit. The winner of each trick leads the next trick.

Table position is important in Bridge. In the example above, assume that hearts are trump and that South knows (based on how East-West interacted during the bidding phase) that East holds a strong hand of diamonds. In this case, South will try to
finesse
a trick by leading, say, 9 of diamonds from the dummy (South does this by having the dummy win a trick, in order to lead the next).

If East holds A of diamonds, J of diamonds, 10 of diamonds, 5 of diamonds, they’re in a pickle. Against a lead of 9 of diamonds, East could play A of diamonds to guarantee winning the trick. But this is a risky move: against A of diamonds, South will inevitably play a low diamond, resulting in East
overplaying
(a nice way of saying “wasting”) the ace. Yet if East plays J of diamonds instead, South might play Q of diamonds and win the trick. And any play that captures a trick with a low card—against an opponent holding a higher card in the same suit—is called a
finesse
. It’s a thing of beauty when it works, unless of course you’re on the losing end of it.

SCORING
In Bridge, teams compete to win
rubbers
, which consist of three
games
. Whichever team wins two out of three games wins the rubber. It takes 100 points to win a game. Points are awarded as follows (for each trick in excess of six):

20 points per trick for contracts in clubs or diamonds. A successful contract of, say, 3 of diamonds earns 60 points (three tricks × 20 points each).

40 points per trick for contracts in spades or hearts. A successful contract of 2 of hearts earns 80 points (two tricks × 40 points each).

40 points for the first trick and 30 points for all subsequent tricks in no-trump contracts. A successful contract of 2NT earns 70 points (1 × 40 points plus 1 × 30 points).

Keep score on a piece of paper divided into two sections:
above the line
and
below the line
. Successful contracts are scored below the line and count toward winning a game. Bonus scores for
overtricks
(tricks in excess of the contract) and
undertricks
(tricks shy of the contract) are scored above the line and do not count toward a game.

Double all above-the-line points when the contract is doubled; quadruple the points when the contract is redoubled. And don’t forget to score an extra bonus of 50 above-the-line points to the declarer’s team if they succeed in making a doubled contract.

BONUS POINTS
In each rubber, teams that have won a game are considered
vulnerable,
while teams that have not are
not vulnerable
. Points for slam contracts are as follows:

If your team is not vulnerable, score an above-the-line bonus of 500 points for a small slam, 1,000 points for a grand slam.

If your team is vulnerable, score an above-the-line bonus of 750 points for a small slam, 1,500 points for a grand slam.

The declarer’s team also scores an above-the-line bonus for each overtrick earned, using the same point values as the contract bids. For example, a successful 2 of hearts contract with 2 overtricks (e.g., your team won ten total tricks in the hand) scores 80 below-the-line points for the 2 of hearts contract plus
80 above-the-line bonus points for capturing those two extra tricks. If the contract was doubled or redoubled, you earn even more bonus points, depending on whether your team is vulnerable or not.

If your team is not vulnerable, score an above-the-line overtrick bonus of 100 points (doubled) or 200 points (redoubled).

If your team is vulnerable, score an above-the-line overtrick bonus of 200 points (doubled) or 400 points (redoubled).

If the declarer’s team fails to make its contract, no below-the-line points are scored. However, the opposing team earns above-the-line bonus points as follows:

If the declarer’s team is not vulnerable, the opposing team scores 50 points per overtrick or, if doubled, 200 points for the first overtrick and 300 points for each subsequent overtrick. If the contract is redoubled, the opposing team scores 400 points for the first overtrick and 600 points for each subsequent overtrick.

If the declarer’s team is vulnerable, the opposing team scores 100 points per overtrick or, if doubled, 200 points for the first overtrick and 300 points for each subsequent overtrick. If the contract is redoubled, the opposing team scores 400 points for the first overtrick and 600 points for each subsequent overtrick.

When a team wins two games, they win the rubber and receive a 500-point “rubber bonus” if their opponents are vulnerable. Otherwise, they earn a rubber bonus of 700 points.

A typical Bridge game might be scored like so:

In the first hand, North-South wins a 3 of diamonds contract and captures eleven total tricks, for a score of 60 below the line and 40 above the line for overtricks. In the second hand, East-West fails to make a doubled contract of 3 of hearts by two tricks. So North-South scores 500 above-the-line points (on a doubled contract that’s 200 points for the first undertrick, 300 points for the second undertrick).

In the third hand, East-West wins a contract of 3 of hearts and captures ten tricks, for a total of 120 points below the line and 40 points above the line for one overtrick. This earns East-West the game and makes them vulnerable in the next game. The total points at the end of the first game are 600 points for North-South, 160 points for East-West.

VARIATION 1: CHICAGO BRIDGE

The rules of this variation are identical to Contract Bridge. The main difference is that a rubber lasts for four deals—no more, no less. The idea here is to simplify and speed up the normal Contract Bridge game. In Chicago Bridge, vulnerability is “assigned” (since it’s unlikely to develop on its own in just four hands) as follows:

Deal 1: North deals, neither team vulnerable

Deal 2: East deals, North-South vulnerable

Deal 3: South deals, East-West vulnerable

Deal 4: West deals, both sides vulnerable

If both teams pass on the bidding, the hand is dead, and cards are shuffled and redealt by the very same dealer. Game bonus is 500 points (vulnerable) or 300 points (not vulnerable). Partial scores are carried over until a team wins a game, at which point the partial score is erased. In Hand 4 only, score either team a bonus of 100 points if they earn a partial score.

VARIATION 2: DUPLICATE BRIDGE

Most players agree that luck plays a small but crucial role in Contract Bridge. That’s because a mediocre team dealt good cards will usually beat a better
team holding mediocre cards. The luck of the draw has an impact. This is not the case in Duplicate Bridge, where hands are replayed by different sets of players to eliminate the luck factor.

Duplicate Bridge is typically played in Bridge clubs, since you need specialized equipment (sixteen “boards” that are numbered sequentially, each containing four pockets labeled N, S, E, W to stash the pre-dealt Duplicate Bridge hands) and large numbers of Bridge players (eight players for two teams of four, or twelve players for a three-table game). If you’re new to Bridge and aspire to club play, learn more about Duplicate Bridge at the American Contract Bridge League (www.acbl.org).

VARIATION 3: HONEYMOON BRIDGE

Bridge is best played by four people. That said, there is a semi-enjoyable two-player version called Honeymoon Bridge. The two players sit next to each other, and one of them deals out four thirteen-card Bridge hands. The hand opposite each player is their own personal dummy hand, which should not be looked at until after the bidding. The bidding alternates between the two players until one player passes. At this point, the two players review their own dummy hands but still keep them concealed until after the first card is played. Lead from the hand that is to the declarer’s left (either dummy or player, whichever is appropriate). Then turn over both dummy hands and follow the normal rules of Contract Bridge. Each player pulls cards from his own dummy when it’s his dummy’s turn.

VARIATION 4: CUTTHROAT BRIDGE

The three-player version of Bridge follows the Contract Bridge rules, with only a few exceptions. Deal four thirteen-card hands (one to each player plus a dummy hand); bidding is opened by the dealer. Once two players in a row pass, the declarer automatically plays with the dummy hand against the two other active players. The player to the declarer’s left leads the first card, after which the dummy hand is turned up. The rest of the game proceeds as normal.

Each player keeps her own separate score. If the declarer makes the contract, she earns the standard points. If the declarer fails to make the contract, the two opponents
each
score for undertricks. If either opponent has honors, both score it. The rubber bonus is 700 points if neither opponent has won a game, otherwise the bonus is 500.

VARIATION 5: AUCTION BRIDGE

Auction Bridge, popularized in the early 1900s, put the nail in the coffin of Whist and was the very first version of modern Bridge to have mainstream success. There are no differences at all in the way Auction Bridge and Contract Bridge are played—the only difference is in scoring. In Contract, overtricks do
not
count as below-the-line points towards game; in Auction Bridge,
all
the declarer’s tricks are scored below the line and count towards game score, which means the declaring team can afford to be less accurate in their bidding.