A complete walkthrough of contract bridge, from fundamentals to strategy, for first-time players.
Contract bridge is a trick-taking card game played by four players in two partnerships. It combines memory, communication via bidding, and strategic play.
This guide covers the structure of the game, bidding conventions, play of the hand, scoring, and basic tactics—everything a beginner needs to start playing confidently.
Bridge is played in four phases:
Bridge uses a standard 52-card deck ranked A (high) to 2 (low) in four suits: spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs.
Deal proceeds clockwise, one card at a time, starting with dealer. Each player ends with 13 cards. Bridge hands are typically recorded in four-hand notation (North, East, South, West).
Each trick: one card from each player in turn. The first card's suit becomes the led suit; players must follow suit if possible.
The winner of each trick leads the next. Counting and tracking cards in suits is key for planning.
The auction determines the contract: how many tricks above six the declaring side commits to win and which suit (or no-trump).
Basic point count: Ace=4, King=3, Queen=2, Jack=1. Aim for 25+ combined points for game contracts.
Conventions add precision beyond natural bids:
Begin with Stayman and simple transfers to improve your 1NT openings before adding complex conventions.
As declarer, plan the play by assessing:
Formulate a clear plan before playing to the first trick and adapt as cards appear.
As a defender, focus on:
Effective defense requires partnership harmony and attentive card-counting.
Bridge scoring rewards contracts made and penalizes failures:
Use rubber or duplicate scoring sheets to track performance and compare over multiple hands.
Deepen your understanding and connect with the bridge community: