# Simplifying bridge **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 14, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465 "2010-05-14T19:52:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/1 "2010-05-14T19:52:22Z")
The Wikipedia description of bridge as a card game is extremely long and involved. Is there a step-by-step way to comprehend the game’s play, that isn’t so confusing and complex? ---
**Author:** ![Chipacabra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Chipacabra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chipacabra)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/2 "2010-05-14T21:21:38Z")
Well, sort of. See, there are two stages to a hand of bridge. First there’s the bidding, and then there’s the actual play. Actual play is simple, it’s just a standard trick taking game like spades or hearts. Everyone plays a card in order, you have to play the same suit if possible. The highest card of the led suit wins, unless someone managed to play a card of the trump suit, in which case the highest trump card wins. It’s the bidding where newbies freak out. At its face, bidding isn’t that complicated. Each player is just stating how many points they think their team is able to make, and whichever team bids the highest is the team that’s put on the spot to succeed or fail. The thing is, though, is that the bidding stage is the ONLY way you are allowed to communicate with your partner. So over the years, conventions have built up where the bids you make are designed to communicate information to your partner. These conventions aren’t rules, in the same sense that ‘always follow suit’ is a rule, but if you and your partner aren’t speaking the same language then you may as well be playing different games. The short answer, though, is that wikipedia is a terrible source to learn how to play a game. [http://www.bridge-clubs.com/rules.html](http://www.bridge-clubs.com/rules.html) is a decent summary, a google search will find countless more for you. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/3 "2010-05-14T21:30:20Z")
> [@Chipacabra](#): > > The thing is, though, is that the bidding stage is the ONLY way you are allowed to communicate with your partner. While I agree with your general description, this part is not quite true. You can communicate things at the play stage – e.g., if you lead a Queen, conventionally you also have a Jack and you don’t have a King; and if you play an unnecessarily high card, conventionally you are asking your partner to lead that suit. (And you can have a partnership agreement which is different from that, but then you must tell your opponents what your leads and discards mean). One good site for learning about Bridge is [the American Contract Bridge League](http://www.acbl.org/index.html). They also help you find local clubs, which often offer lessons for beginners. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/4 "2010-05-14T22:14:09Z")
[Have a look here](http://www.acbl.org/about/online.php) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/5 "2010-05-14T22:31:44Z")
> [@Chipacabra](#): > > Actual play is simple, it’s just a standard trick taking game like spades or hearts. Everyone plays a card in order, you have to play the same suit if possible. The highest card of the led suit wins, unless someone managed to play a card of the trump suit, in which case the highest trump card wins. The rules for the card play are pretty simple, but doing it well takes a lot of skill. For one thing, declarer gets to play his own hand, and the dummy. And you have to think ahead so you take a trick with the right card, so that you can lead for the next trick from your hand or from dummy. There’s a lot to think about. > [@](#): > > Well, sort of. See, there are two stages to a hand of bridge. First there’s the bidding, and then there’s the actual play. The third stage is the scoring, which I’ve never learned. There’s no sense bidding for a big contract if a small one will win the game. And I expect there are times when you can score more by letting the other team get the contract and fail than by getting the contract and succeeding. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/6 "2010-05-14T22:48:28Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > There’s no sense bidding for a big contract if a small one will win the game. That is a beginner’s strategy, mostly applicable to party bridge, aka rubber bridge, and not even really sound there if you’re gambling, because a missed slam is also a missed slam bonus. You absolutely do not do that in duplicate bridge. If everybody else is making game on the hand, and you win the auction at 2H, your team will have a bottom board (lowest score in the tournament for that particular hand). As for learning bridge…there’s tons of great books on the market, for all levels of interest. For a beginner, first consider whether you’re going to be playing duplicate or not. If you do intend to play duplicate, don’t bother with Goren’s book. Yeah, it’s sorta the “Bridge Bible” for party players over 60, but nobody plays Goren in competitive bridge. You probably want to learn the SAYC bidding system (Standard American Yellow Card) if you play in the U.S., but there are other systems out there as well. I don’t play anymore, but I used to play a little duplicate at a local club, and traveled to a few tournaments. Think my title is something like Sectional Master, maybe Regional Master. I have about 50 master points, mostly black, with some silver, red, colorless (from online play) and a gold point…or maybe a fraction of a gold point. Nobody takes titles/points seriously until you’re at least a Life Master, which takes, iirc, 300 points, including set numbers of gold, silver, red and maybe colorless now. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/7 "2010-05-15T18:25:15Z")
Agree with the others that the card play is not complex as far as the rules of it go. It’s just whist with the critical difference that dummy’s hand is laid out on the table. It’s certainly very difficult to master the play of the hand, but the rules are pretty simple. The bidding, OTOH, is the main barrier to understanding bridge as a novice. It’s not even that difficult to understand in principle, but it definitely takes a while to understand how to bid competently. I had always thought that lessons were the best way to approach the game, but my current partner taught himself from just reading and playing on BBO, and has made really fast progress. [QUOTE=Oakminster] Quote: Originally Posted by Robot Arm View Post There’s no sense bidding for a big contract if a small one will win the game. That is a beginner’s strategy, mostly applicable to party bridge, aka rubber bridge, and not even really sound there if you’re gambling, because a missed slam is also a missed slam bonus. [/QUOTE] I think **Robot Arm** means that 2m+2 scores the same as 4m. So if game is not on, bidding up to 4clubs, say, in an uncontested auction would be a very poor contract. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/8 "2010-05-15T20:37:17Z")
You need to understand the scoring as well. It would take too long to explain it here, but suffice to say, there are part scores, games and slams. Games receive a game bonus for bidding and making, Slams receive a game bonus AND a slam bonus. These bonuses are so lucrative that the bidding systems are structured around achieving them. It explains why you bid to high level contracts even though more tricks are required. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/9 "2010-05-15T22:32:40Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > I think **Robot Arm** means that 2m+2 scores the same as 4m. So if game is not on, bidding up to 4clubs, say, in an uncontested auction would be a very poor contract. I may have read too much into it. I was assuming he was talking about a situation where he’s playing rubber bridge, and already has a part score, say 60. In that scenario, bidding two of a major suit, or even 1NT, is enough to complete the leg and win a game, even if the hand has slam potential. In duplicate, the goal is entirely different. You want the best possible result for your pair, or at least the average result. If a game is reasonably biddable/makeable on the hand, somebody…and likely most pairs, are going to bid and make it. Stopping short of a game contract, even in an uncontested auction, would be disastrous. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/10 "2010-05-16T04:01:10Z")
Would any of you be interested in a regularly occurring Dope bridge game? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/11 "2010-05-16T09:12:32Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > In duplicate, the goal is entirely different. You want the best possible result for your pair, or at least the average result. If a game is reasonably biddable/makeable on the hand, somebody…and likely most pairs, are going to bid and make it. Stopping short of a game contract, even in an uncontested auction, would be disastrous. This is a matter of judgement. If you think that the game will not make, then it’s best to not go on, because if it doesn’t make, then your part score will be the top score. Do you chance that, or chance the game contract, possibly going down, for an average score? It can be very difficult. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/12 "2010-05-16T14:23:06Z")
It also depends if you’re playing Pairs (MP) or Teams (IMP); generally if I’m playing IMP I’m more likely to push a game bid that might be iffy. I seem to generally prefer IMP for another reason: it’s more generous to missed overtricks, and I’m a pretty horrible declarer. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/13 "2010-05-16T19:51:11Z")
> [@fubbleskag](#): > > Would any of you be interested in a regularly occurring Dope bridge game? Sure - would be great to play. On BBO? It might be a bit of an uphill task, tbh, just because bridge players seem to be relatively sparse on here. But I’m certainly game if there’s interest. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/14 "2010-05-16T19:58:38Z")
Well, that makes two of us - we really only need 4, but 8 would be awesome. And yes, I much prefer BBO over anything else out there. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/15 "2010-05-16T21:17:49Z")
Sign me up! I’m already a member on BBO. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/16 "2010-05-17T01:42:55Z")
I’m also already at BBO. I already play a regular game on Monday night with my partner, but would be VERY interested in playing another night. ---
**Author:** ![peekercpa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/17 "2010-05-17T02:21:16Z")
i really suck. can i be **FUBS** partner? ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/18 "2010-05-18T00:30:15Z")
ok so we’ve got 5 - let’s bump this for a couple days and see if we can garner any more interest, then we can start fighting over who gets stuck playing with me, etc 😛 ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/19 "2010-05-18T08:42:03Z")
> [@fubbleskag](#): > > ok so we’ve got 5 - let’s bump this for a couple days and see if we can garner any more interest, then we can start fighting over who gets stuck playing with me, etc 😛 Depending on what time you play, I might be available, at least on an irregular basis. I’ve never played bridge on-line; in fact I’ve played only a few times in the last 20 years. I was an ACBL Life Master during the Jurassic Era, but have forgotten almost as much about bridge as I ever knew. :mad: (I suppose I still _am_ a _Life_ Master, by definition!) ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465/20 "2010-05-18T09:30:41Z")
Count me in, if I can manage the hour of the day. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplifying-bridge/539465.md?page=2)