AN INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE

by

Charles R. Greenwood

Charles was for many years Tournament Director at the Shotton Bridge Club and also, for many

years, a TD at the Deva Bridge Club now located in Christleton, near Chester.

He was the author of the computer scoring programme used for many years at the Deva.

HOW TO PLAY BRIDGE

This tutorial is for the complete newcomer to the game of Bridge, including when he or she is a complete

stranger to a pack of cards.

The  re are countless books on Bridge with all the squeezes, throw-ins and coups etc., but first you need know

the jargon and the basic mechanics of the game. That is our object here.

In its simplest form, Bridge is a partnership game in which one pair, sitting opposite to each other at the card

table, play against another pair, sitting opposite to each other on the alternative sides. They are known as the

Nort/ South pair and the Easr/West pair.

If you have played Whist or Solo Whist etc. then you are on your way. You already know about the suits and the

function of Trumps, so you already know something of the foundation of the basic mechanics of Bridge.

If you have never used playing cards before, or have not played any version of Whist, then please

BRIDGE TUTORIAL   (First Steps)

PLAYING CARDS

For the purpose of Bridge, the pack comprises 52 playing cards divided into four suits,

SPADES,  HEARTS,  DIAMONDS AND CLUBS

Each suit has 13 cards headed by an Ace followed by the King,Queen,Jack (or Knave), 10,9, 8, etc. down

to the 2.      Jokers and any other cards are discarded from the box and not used.

THE DEAL

To commence play the cards are dealt out face down to each of the players in turn, clockwise, until all of the

cards have been dealt and each player has 13 cards.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PLAY

The general play of the cards is similar to whist. Before play of the hand starts, one of the suits is usually

designated "Trumps" (the hows and whys will be explained later). The player who is "on lead" (again explained

later), plays a card by laying it face up in the middle of the table. Then the other players at the table, clockwise

and in turn, must play a card of the same suit. This is called "following suit". When all four players have

contributed a card, this constitutes a "trick" and the player who plays the highest ranking card in the suit wins the

trick for his side. If, when it is a player's turn to play,he does not have a card in that suit, he may substitute a card

from the trump, in whichcase it wins the trick (this is called "ruffing"), or he may throw away a card from another

suit ( this is called a "discard). If a player has a card or cards in the suit being played, and chooses to "ruff" or

"discard" on the trick, he is in breach of the rules and is subject to a penalty (this is called "revoking").

BRIDGE - THE ELEMENTS OF THE GAME

There  are a number  of forms in which  bridge is played.  We shall deal here with "Rubber Bridge" which is the kind

of bridge most  played at home or generally at social gatherings.  The first  partners, and the first dealer, are often

chosen by  each player cutting  the cards.  The  players who cut the two highest ranking cards become partners.

The player who  cuts the highest ranking card  becomes the Dealer.  For each subsequent deal,  the dealership

passes to the next player on the left of the current dealer and so on to the end of the "rubber" (see later).

Overview of the Bidding

The first stage in the game is the "AUCTION".  In this each player may bid to make a contract of so many tricks

with his choice of suit as trumps.  His bid is defined as the number of tricks in excess of six he hopes to make. For

example, he would be required to make at least seven tricks in a contract of "One Club" with clubs as trumps, or ten

tricks in a contract of "Four Spades" with Spades as trumps. It is also possible to bid for a contract in which there

are no trumps, e.g. "Three No-Trumps" would require him to take at least nine tricks with no trumps being available.

A bid is made by saying "One Club" or "Two Spades" etc when it is your turn to bid. A contract successfully made

will score points for your side, but failure to fulfill your contract will land you with substantial penalties which may

escalate as the number of tricks you make fall short of the number for which you have bid.

For the purposes of the auction there is a hierarchy for the suits. The lowest suit is Clubs, next Diamonds,then

Hearts, then Spades,and highest ranking of all is No-Trumps. This means that, in the course of the bidding, a bid of

One Club can be overcalled with One Diamond, One Heart, One Spade or One No-Trump, whereas a bid of say One

Heart can still be overcalled with One Spade or One No-Trump, but would require an overcall of Two Clubs or Two

Diamonds. Similarly, a bid in No-Trumps requires a raise in the contract level from one to two or two to three etc. to

call over  it. The dealer makes the first bid. The player on his left may then overcall with a bid of his own, and then

the player on his left may respond with his bid and so on. When a player feels he does not have the strength and

character of hand to bid at the required level, he says "Pass". The last actual bid before three passes becomes the

contract and the first player to bid in that suit becomes the Declarer.

e.g an auction might go:-   North: - "Pass"         East:-  "1 Spade"          South:-   "Pass"     West:-   "2 Clubs"

(North is Dealer)             North: - "Pass"          East:-  "2 spades"         South:-   "Pass"     West:-   "3 Spades"

North: - "Pass"         East:-  "4 Spades"         South:-   "Pass"     West:-   "Pass"

North: - "Pass"

Thus the final contract is "Four Spades" by East/West, played by East as Declarer and with West as "Dummy"

(see below).  The reason why East/West may continue to bid after North/South has dropped out of the bidding will

be apparent later in this discussion.

We do not propose to deal in depth with the bidding and play of Bridge hands as there are plenty of books on the

subject which will be much better at it. However, a few of the more basic factors will be described to get you started.

How do you know when you can make the first bid?  (Known as the "Opening Bid".

Many years ago a number of clever mathematicians and stastisticians made a study of the qualities which

make a Bridge hand a good bet on which to bid. The most commonly adopted feature of their deliberations is " The

Milton Point Count". In this evaluation the cards from Ace down to the ten are dubbed "honour cards" and, in the

evaluation of a hand, points are allocated to the four top ranking cards; four for an Ace, three for a King, two for a

Queen and one for a Jack.

The statisticians have calculated that, normally, a hand containing fewer that 12 points is a shaky proposition to

open the bidding with a first bid so, with fewer than 12 points, they recommend "passing" which is indicated by a call

of "Pass" or "No Bid". You will learn that the number of points is only one factor in the playing strength of a hand.

Texture and distribution are also very important. However, for the moment we will confine ourselves to the natural

bidding of commonplace hands. With 12 or more points you can start the bidding on suitable holdings. The following

hands are examples of minimum holdings which just merit an opening bid.

Hand 1                        Hand 2                            Hand 3                           Hand 4

Spades                   5  2                 A  Q  9  8  5                  Q  10  7  6  4                        A  Q  7

Hearts               K  10  9                         Q  J  7                            A  J  7                     K  J  8  5

Diamonds           K   8  2                         K  9  8                           K  Q  9                            Q  9

Clubs          A  Q  9  7  5                             9  4                                 7  6                     9  8  7  6

Hand 1 just qualifies for an opening bid of "One Club". Note that it has 12 points and 5 clubs. Hands 2 and 3

similarly qualify for an opening bid of "One Spade". On Hand 1 you are contracting to take 7 tricks with Clubs as

trumps or, in the case of Hands 2 and 3, with Spades as trumps.

To open one in a suit with about 12 to 14 points normally requires at least five cards in the suit bid. With no five

or more card suit, and with only 12 to 14 points, the hand, if it is opened at all, is usually opened "One No-Trump".

This applies in the case of Hand 4. If partner responds to your suit bid with a suit of his own, (we will deal with

responding bids later), it is normal, with only 12 to 14 points, to rebid your long suit at the lowest available level thus

showing at least five cards in your suit and a minimal point count in your hand.

Again, with 15 or more points and two four card suits, you can bid the second suit if partner responds.

Thus responder can generally distinguish between partner having a 12 - 14 point count and one based on 15 - 16.

For example                        Hand 5                    Hand 6

Spades                    A  K  7  6                 A  J  4  2    With your 15 points on Hand 5 you would open "1 Club"

Hearts                              7  4                     K 10 5    and if partner responds "One Heart" or "One Diamond"

Diamonds                     10 9  2                    K  J  7     you would bid "One Spade". Partner now knows you

Clubs                        A  K  J  9               K 10  6  4     probably have four or possibly more clubs, at least 4

spades and a hand valued at 15 to 16 points.

If partner responds "One Spade" then you have found

a fit and happily raise him to "Two Spades".

Hand 6 you might bid similarly, but a superior rebid over a respose of "One Diamond" or "One Heart" would be

"One No-Trump". This shows a hand with 15 or 16 points and suitable to play in No-Trumps. There is also a process

for bidding hands with 17 - 18 points, another for bidding 19 - 22 points and yet another for the the 23+ hand.

However, the above examples are given to illustrate some of the basic principles of bidding. There are many books

available to pursue the subject in greater depth.

How do you know when you can respond (make a bid) to your partners Opening Bid.

It is generally accepted that if partner makes an opening bid you need at least 6 points to respond in another

suit at the one level, and at least 8 points to respond at the two level. You also need at least four cards in the suit

you bid. Thus to an opening bid of say "One Heart", with 6 points, you could respond "One Spade" or

"One No-Trump" but to respond "Two Clubs" or "Two Diamonds" you would require to have at least 8 points.

Remember these are the minimum holdings for the responder. An original change of suit response can be made

on unlimited strength so, if responder's first response is in a new suit, it is essential Opener must bid again. His

partner's response is said to be "forcing for one round". From then on both players bid or pass as they see fit.

Opener therefore seeks to open the bidding in such a way that he has a fairly comfortable rebid whatever partner may

respond. The only responses not forcing are bids in No-Trumps or raises in openers suit. These are said to be "limit"

bids. However, if responder has already passed, his bid is then not forcing and can be passed. Such a bid usually

shows a minimum five card suit and usually little liking for the suit opened.

Overcalls

When opponents have opened the bidding, and you decide to contest the auction, your bids are called

"Overcalls". Overcalls are based more on shape than on high card points and are not limited by any minimum point

count. They may be intended simply to muddy the waters for the opposition. However, we would strongly suggest that

they show a suit of at least five cards in which you would welcome a lead especially against a No-Trump contract.

Also with due regard for vulnerability and the dangers of a "double".

Distribution and Texture.

Mention was made earlier of shape or distribution and texture as factors in assessing the quality of a hand in

relation to the bidding. The following three hands illustrate our meaning.

Hand 6                                    Hand 7                             Hand 8

Spades                     A 10  5  4  2                          A  Q 10  4  2                        Q  J  5  4  2

Hearts                               K  Q  6                         K  J   6  4  2                         K 10  6 3  2

Diamonds                          9  8  6                                          6                                     Q  6

Clubs                                    Q  2                                      4  2                                         Q

Hand 6 has 11 points and, in our opinion, does not qualify for an opening bid.

Hand 7 has only 10 points but has a favourable "shape" (two five card suits) and good "texture" (all of the high card

points are in the five card suits). This hand we regard as qualified to open with "One Spade"

Hand 8 also has 10 points and two five card suits but its "texture" is obviously poor. To open with this hand would

be to invite trouble much of the time.

These examples are given simply to show the kind of thing we mean when we refer to "shape" or "distribution" and

"texture". Generally, to qualify for an opening bid, the lower the point count the more extreme must be the distribution

(i.e. shape) plus texture properties. To take the most extreme of examples, if you were dealt all thirteen  Spades,

you would have a stone cold Grand Slam of Seven Spades in your hand with only 10 high card points. The ability to

assess the influence of shape factors on your bidding will come with practice and experience.

Overview of The Play of the Hands

To start the play the opponent on the left of the Dealer leads a card by placing it face up on the table. The

Declarer's partner then becomes "Dummy" and arranges his cards face up in their suits in front of him, usually in

alternating colours with the trumps on his right, so that Declarer will be facing something like:-

Spades       Diamonds        Clubs           Hearts

With Spades            A                 9                  K                 Q     This would in fact be a suitable  hand for East

as               10                 7                  Q                 8         in the auction previously described.

Trumps               9                                      9                  6

6                  4

After the opening lead it is Dummy's turn to play a card (actually Declarer plays the cards from both his own

hand and from the dummy). As each trick is won, its cards are gathered and picked up by the player who won the

trick and placed face down in front of him ready to be counted as a trick won at the end of the play of the hand.

Scoring

At this point it will be convenient to explain the scoring process. This will make clear the value in sometimes

continuing to bid on even though the opponents have dropped out of the auction.

A successful contract with Clubs and Diamonds as trumps will score 20 points for each trick (in excess of six)

won by the contractor ( he is called the "Declarer"). If declarer's suit is Hearts or Spades he scores 30 points for each

trick. In a No-Trump contract he scores 40 for the first trick and 30 for each subsequent trick. If he fails to meet his

contract he concedes to the opponents 50 points for the each trick by which he underachieves his contract. If he is

"vulnerable" (see below) he concedes 100 points for each trick he is short of his contract.

In Rubber Bridge scores are entered on a score pad and the score for contracts successfully made are added up,

deal by deal. until the total for one pair reaches 100. The pair concerned are then declared winners of that "game" and

become "vulnerable". They then become subject to the higher range of penalties.

Only the tricks actually bid count towards game. For example, if a pair bids "One No-Trump" and subsequently

take 9 tricks, only the first 40 points (1 No-Trump as bid) count towards game, and this score is recorded below a line

drawn on the score pad. The overtricks are valued at 30 points each in the case of No-Trumps,Hearts and Spades -

Club and Diamond overtricks rate 20 points per trick. The points scored for overtricks are included in the total scoring

up at the end, but do not count towards game and are entered on the pad above the line. The cards are then re-dealt

for another game.

The first pair to win two games wins the "rubber" which carries a bonus of 700 if their opponemts have not

previously scored a game in that rubber, and 500 if they have done so. Thus it can be seen that a successful

contract of "Five Clubs" or "Five Diamonds", each totalling 100 points or "Four Hearts" or "Four Spades" each

totalling 120 points, or a contract of "Three N0-Trumps" for 100 points, will each produce a game score on the one

deal. When you take into account the bonuses which attach to winning a "rubber", and the fact that winning a game

ends that game and so cancels out any scores opponents may have earned towards the game, you will see the

importance of systematic bidding, enabling you to estimate the strength of your combined holdings and so judge

how high you can afford to bid to get your below - the - line score towards 100 without risking a punitive penalty. All

bonus and penalty scores are entered above the line.

Then there are the slam bonuses. To make a Small Slam you must bid and make a contract of six, in other words

you can lose only one trick. If successful, this will net you a further bonus of 500 if you are not vulnerable, or 750 if

you are. A Grand Slam requires you to bid and take every trick in a contract of "seven" and, if bid and made, will

give you an added 1000 non-vulnerable and 1500 if vulnerable.

Finally in Rubber Bridge there are points for honours. If you are Declarer and you hold A, K, Q, & J in your trump

suit, all in the one hand, you get 100 points for "honours". Add also the 10 and you get 150. All four Aces in a hand in

a No-Trump contract will also score a bonus of 100 points.

A very important feature of the scoring is:- PENALTIES

When a pair has bid to a certain level, and an opponent feels confident that the contract will fail, (called "setting the

contract"), he can "Double". This means that, should the contract succeed, declarer will get double the normal score

and it all goes below the line counting towards a game score,e.g.a contract of "Two Spades" bid, doubled and

successfully made yields (2 x 30) x 2 = 120 points and wins the game. On the other hand if he is doubled and goes

down,he will concede penalties on the following scale:- Not Vulnerable he concedes 100 for one trick down, 300 for two

tricks,500 for three tricks and a further 300 added for each subsequent trick down. Vulnerable he concedes 200 for one

trick down and an additional 300 for each subsequent trick down.

The importance of an accurate assessment during the bidding process thus becomes apparent. Attempts to

achieve such accuracy are made through the use of bidding conventions. There are a great number of these but the

most commonly used one in Great Britain is the "Acol System" on which such bidding as has been indicated above is

based. Again there is a wealth of literature on bidding systems.

There are a few points that need to be learned about the probable value requirements for game and slam

contracts. With reasonably moderate distribution, to make a game on one deal of 3 No-Trumps, or on contracts of 4

Hearts or 4 Spades based on a 4/4 fit in trumps, you will normally need about 25 points or more high card points

between yourself and partner. The above major suit contracts will also normally require at least one of the hands to

hold a doubleton (two cards) or less. A small slam normally requires about 33 combined points and a grand slam 37.

These are very general figures and are subject to variation according to distributional factors.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE

Rubber bridge, as described above, is the usual type of bridge game played at home or other social gatherings, but

there is little doubt that, once you reach a modicum of proficiency at the game, and are bitten by the Bridge Bug, you

will want to join a Bridge Club and be introduced to the addiction of Duplicate Bridge. Bidding and play in Duplicate

Bridge are essentially the same as in Rubber Bridge but Duplicate Bridge is played over a number of tables.

The played cards are placed face up in front of the player and at the end of the trick are turned over facing one way

if the trick was won, and the other way if the trick was lost. When all cards have been played the hands are preserved

as they were dealt and replaced in the four labelled pockets (North, South, East and West) of a board which bears the

same number as the table at which it started. The result is entered on a score slip which is attached to the board.

Boards and players are moved around at the end of each round in such a way that, by the end of proceedings, ideally

each pair will have played all of the boards.

Scores are allocated to each pair, board by board, according to how they have done in comparison with their

competitors who will have played the same hands. Thus, unlike Rubber Bridge, your final total score is not dependant

on the quality of the hands you are dealt, but on what you make of them compared with all the other pairs. This being

so, it would seem that the best players should win all the time, and this is largely true if the number of boards is very

large. However, over a mere 24 or so boards, typical for a club evening, the distributional gremlins are such that any

moderately competent player, if his luck is in, has a chance of winning on the night. It is this element of luck, combined

with its truly competitive nature, that accounts for the immense popularity of Duplicate Bridge.

Scoring in Duplicate Bridge is similar trick for trick as in Rubber Bridge, but there are no rubbers or rubber bonuses.

Instead there is a bonus of 50 for each part score made (i.e.scores of less than 100). Each pair,on each board, is

allocated a vulnerability status and the penalties for undertricks are similar to those in Rubber Bridge. The bonuses for

game contracts bid and won are 300 if not vulnerable and 500 if vulnerable. Slam bonuses are similar as in Rubber Bridge.

FINAL OBSERVATION

There are no absolute "dos" or "donts" in bridge. There is no doubt that an example can be dreamed up to

confound almost every statement made on the subject but, as a total beginner, you will not go far wrong, initially, if you

adopt the approach and suggestions I have made.

As has been stated, it is not my purpose to teach advanced bidding and play techniques. There are dozens of

books, written by players of more exalted rank, which can do better than I can. My purpose is to impart the basic

concept of the game of bridge, with a few elementary suggestions on bidding, so that aspiring players, with no prior

knowledge of the game at all, will be able to learn by experience in play either, with other beginners like themselves, or

with tolerant friends, who can help them get started. If your local authority or bridge club runs lessons in bridge, it is a

good idea to go along, but anyone who wants to get really serious about the game will have to read some of the books

referred to above. There is a plethora of rules and regulations on the play and ethics of the game, and you will have to

become conversant with these once you start to play in bridge drives or join a bridge club.

However sufficient unto the day. For a start let us just play along as above and have fun.