Learn to Play Bridge - Rules and Tips

Bridge is a very popular game and is widely played around the world. It is played online, it is played in clubs, it is played in people's homes. It is so popular that virtually every cruise ship has a bridge card game room and many bridge holidays are run in a variety of venues around the world.

It is fun, it's sociable, it's a great way of meeting new friends and keeping your brain active. So it isn't surprise that each year many people decide they want to learn how to play.
Here are a few hints, tips and some basic rules to get you started.

Basic Rules
To play bridge you need four people, a table and a standard pack of 52 playing cards (you discard the jokers). The players form partnerships and partners sit opposite each other. Each player is assigned to one of the four points of the compass as they sit around the table. East & West are one partnership and North & South are the other.

At the start of a game, each player is dealt 13 cards. They sort the cards into suits and then value their hand. To value a hand the player counts 4 points for each Ace they hold, 3 for each King, 2 for each Queen and 1 for each Jack.

As an example, imagine you have been dealt this hand:
A, J 10 5 Spades, K Q 7 Hearts, Q J 6 5 Diamonds, K 2 Clubs.

You hold 1 Ace (worth 4 points), 2 kings (worth a total of 6 points), 2 queens (worth a total of 4 points) and 2 jacks (worth a total of 2 points). So the value of your hand is 16 points.

Bridge is a trick taking game and each trick comprises 4 cards - one from each player. At the start of each trick the player who won the previous trick plays a card. The other players must play a card from the same suit, if they hold one. If they don't they can play another suit. If a "trump" suit is being used, playing a card from the trump suit will win the trick, provided another player doesn't play a higher trump card.

Whether or not a trump suit is being used is decided before the card play starts, when the players make their "bids". The aim of bridge is to win at least the number of tricks that your partnership has said it will make if you win the bidding. The main aim of the bidding is to give your partner information about the content of your hand to help you decide how many tricks you think you can win.

In the bidding, players bid in a clockwise direction. A player won't open the bidding unless they hold at least 12 points in their hand. If all players hold fewer than 12 points then the cards are redealt, although the final player has the option to open with fewer than 12 points if they feel their hand merits doing so.

Once a player has opened the bidding, there are two main decisions to be made. The other partnership has to decide whether to bid against the opener and their partner, or whether to let the opener and partner continue bidding unopposed. Meanwhile, opener and their partner are trying to exchange information about the make-up of their hands to decide how many tricks they think they can win.

There are 13 tricks in each game of bridge. The first 6 tricks are not bid for, so a bid of 1 means that the player believes they can win 7 tricks (6 +1). Bids can be suit bids or No Trumps. If the game is being played with a suit bid then a player can win a trick by "trumping" with a card from that suit IF they don't hold a card in the suit being played. If the game is being played in No Trumps, then trumps are not played. (Note here that trumping is often referred to as ruffing by bridge players.)

Those are the basic rules that it is helpful to know before learning the intricacies of the bidding.

Hints and Tips
Practice. As with many things, practice is the best way of learning. If you enrol on a class or take lessons online, it is very helpful to try and play in between sessions. There are many websites or downloadable apps which allow you to play bridge against "robots" or dummy players. The great thing about the robots is they have infinite patience and really don't care if you make wrong moves. A great way of learning and having fun in the comfort of your own home.

Learn one thing at a time. Learning bridge bidding can seem daunting with many conventions and rules. If you try to learn too much at once it will seem overwhelming. Find a good teacher or online site and learn one topic at a time. Don't try to rush ahead - make sure you have understood each topic before moving on and trying to learn something new. As I have said to many of my own students: "It's not a competition. Learn at your own pace."

Don't spend too long on each learning session. If you find yourself spending too many hours at one time trying to learn a topic you will stress yourself and start to get muddled. For beginners one hour at a time, if you are learning at home, is quite long enough. Take a break. If you try to learn too much at once you will simply forget it all.

Revision. If you enrol on a local bridge course, try to go through the topics you have learnt before the next lesson. This, along with some home practice play, will help you remember the topics that you learnt. Don't try to get ahead of your teacher. Take it slowly - that way you will learn more in the long run.
< Finally. Enjoy yourself. Bridge is fun and sociable. You will meet new friends and keep your brain active.

The best place I know for learning bridge online, practicing, having fun and revising between offline classes is No Fear Bridge, which you can join by going to Blueberry Bridge

Opening The Bidding With Equal Length Suits

How do you decide which suit to open with if your hand contains two equal length suits - with either 5 or 6 cards in each?

Take a look at this new post on Blueberry Bridge - which will tell you the answer.

http://blueberrybridge.com/which-suit-to-open/

Bridge Holidays For Beginners 2015

My ever popular, annual (or sometimes biannual) post with a round up of the bridge holidays for beginners that I find by trawling the internet.  (It's a fun way to pass half an hour or so with a good cuppa.)

HF Holidays run a range of bridge holidays in beautiful destinations around the UK.  This year, their Introduction to Bridge holidays will run in Brecon in April and in Dovedale in November.
Click Here

Bridge Overseas are running 4 day beginners courses in Basingstoke and at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel in Lancashire.  Click Here

Stockenbridge Breaks are running beginners courses in the glorious surroundings of the French Alps.  They claim they have 300 days of sunshine a year.

Bridge Holidays For Beginners - 2014

Time for the ever popular round up of bridge holidays for beginners.  Ever since I added the first selection of holidays, these have been the most popular posts on this blog.  So here we are - a selection of beginners bridge holidays that I have found by surfing the web.

Acol Bridge
HF Holidays are running a 4 night course for absolute beginners in October 2014.  It's in the glorious surroundings of Beddgelert in North Wales in the UK. http://www.hfholidays.co.uk/holidays/introduction-bridge

Bridge Overseas will have beginners rooms on 4 night bridge holidays at the Bedford Park Inn in November 2014 and February 2015.  http://www.bridgeoverseas.co.uk/learning_bridge.html

Stockenbridge are offering beginners courses in the beautiful French Alps.  Contact them for full details http://www.stockenbridgebreaks.com/beginners.php

Begin Bridge offer a selection of bridge tuition holidays around the UK, including several for Absolute Beginners. http://www.begin-bridge.co.uk/events_list.html

Dordogne Bridge Holidays will run beginners courses if a group of players want to learn together.  Minimum 4 participants.  Take your friends and learn together. http://www.dordognebridgeholidays.com/bridge.php

St Ives Hotel - in Lytham St Annes (near Blackpool) offer breaks for all abilities including beginners.  Contact them for details. http://www.thestiveshotel.co.uk/breaks/bridge

Standard Bridge
Joan Butts is running two holidays for all standards of players, including beginners, in Australia. Full details on her website http://www.joanbuttsbridge.com/holidays/

Bridge Bidding Cheat Sheet

There's a lot to remember when you start learning to play bridge.  How many points do you need to open the bidding?  Can you open the bidding if you hold fewer points?  When should you make a major suit bid?  When to make a minor suit bid, or a No Trumps bid.  Should you support partner's suit or bid another suit?  Do you have enough points to bid for game, or maybe to bid for a small or large slam?

There's a lot to remember and it can be embarrassing and stressful if you forget or get it wrong.  The perfect answer is a bridge bidding cheat sheet.  Then you will have all the basic bidding facts in a handy, easy to read guide to help you to make the correct bid quickly and without embarrassment.

Where will you find a bridge bidding cheat sheet?  At No Fear Bridge, of course!  Members can download the crib sheet, print it out and have it handy whenever they are playing bridge online - or practicing their bridge bidding and play exercises.

How do you become a member?  That's easy too.  If you want to learn to play Acol bridge just click here NOW. (Acol bridge is widely played in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand)

If you want to learn to play American Standard bridge, just click here NOW. (American Standard bridge is widely played online and in most of the rest of the world)

Whichever system you choose to play, the bridge bidding cheat sheet will help you on your way.

Bridge Bidding Cheat Sheet

Bridge Bidding Flash Cards

Bridge bidding flash cards are a simple and easy way of improving your bridge bidding.

How Do They Work?

The front of the card has a question on a bidding topic of your choice.  You just read the question and work out your answer.

You might find it helpful to use a real pack of cards.  Deal yourself the hand shown on the flash card, which will help bring the question to life.

When you have worked out the answer - or if you don't know the answer - click on the card to display the answer.

Here are a couple of Acol bridge samples for you to try.  (Unlike on the real site, these aren't clickable, just scroll down for the answers).

Sample 1
This sample is on the topic of Stayman bidding

Sample 2

This sample is on the topic of opening bids in Acol bridge

Here are the answers.  Did you get them right?

Sample 1

Sample 2

Now you can see how the flash cards work, why not join No Fear Bridge for your two week free trial.  Look in the "My Flash Cards" section and  you will find flash cards on a wide range of topics for you to practice.  You can see more samples at Blueberry Bridge.

Bridge Holidays For Beginners 2013

Each year I put together a round up of all the bridge holidays for beginners that I can locate online.

Here is the list for 2013.

HF Holidays - each year HF run short breaks for absolute beginners.  Good company, good food in beautiful surroundings.

Dordogne Bridge Holidays run one week courses for beginners on a 50 acre estate in the French countryside.  Courses can be in Acol bridge or 5 card majors, although much of the material taught is relevant to both systems.

Arbuthnot Holidays are running 4 night holidays in Spain, which includes provision for beginners.

Begin Bridge offer several weekends, including weekends for absolute beginners, at various locations around the UK.