Contract bridge words · Beginner

The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.

B · Beginner · 37 words · Step 1 of 2

General terms

Duplicate bridge

The tournament form of bridge in which the same deals are played at several tables, so a contestant's result is compared with others who held the same cards. Skill, not the luck of the cards, decides the placing. The laws govern it, and a board is a numbered case holding the four hands.

Contract bridge

A four-player card game in which two partnerships first bid to decide a contract (a number of tricks and a trump suit or no trump) and then play the hand, one side trying to win at least that many tricks and the other trying to stop them.

Side and partnership

Two players at a table who play together against the other two. North and South are one side, East and West the other. In pairs and team events partners stay the same through a session; in an individual event each player enters alone and partners change.

The deal and the cards

Pack and rank

A pack of 52 cards, 13 in each of four suits. The suits rank spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs from the top, and the cards of each suit rank Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 down to 2.

Honour

Any ace, king, queen, jack or ten.

Denomination

The suit or no trump named in a bid. In order of rank from highest: no trump, spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs.

Trump

Each card of the suit named as the denomination in a suit contract. A trick that holds a trump is won by the highest trump played to it.

Board

A numbered duplicate board with four pockets for the hands (North, East, South and West), also used for the four hands as dealt. Its number sets the dealer and the vulnerability, which repeat every 16 boards.

Deal and dealer

The cards are shuffled and dealt face down one at a time, clockwise, into four hands of 13, and each hand is put in the board. The board names the dealer, who makes the first call: North for boards 1, 5, 9 and 13, East for 2, 6, 10 and 14, South for 3, 7, 11 and 15, and West for 4, 8, 12 and 16.

Vulnerability

The condition that sets the size of premiums and undertrick penalties. Each board shows neither side, North-South, East-West or both sides vulnerable, on a sixteen-board cycle. A vulnerable side scores more for a game or slam and loses more for failing.

Rotation

The clockwise order of calling and playing. The dealer calls first, then the player to the dealer's left, and so on round the table.

The auction

Auction

The calling that decides the contract. It starts when a player takes the cards from the board, and the dealer makes the first call. It ends when an opening lead is faced; the stretch between the end of the calls and the lead is the clarification period.

See also: Board, Call, Contract, Opening lead, Lead

Call

Any bid, double, redouble or pass.

Bid

An undertaking to win at least a stated number of odd tricks (tricks beyond six, from one to seven) with a stated denomination as trumps or in no trump. A new bid must name a higher denomination at the same level, or a higher level.

Odd trick

Each trick declarer's side wins in excess of six. A bid of three therefore promises nine tricks in all.

Pass

A call saying that, at that turn, the player does not bid, double or redouble.

Double

A call over an opponent's bid that increases the scoring value of the contract if it is made or defeated. It may only follow the last bid, made by an opponent, with nothing but passes in between, and the only correct form is the single word Double.

Redouble

A call over an opponent's double that raises the scoring value again. A later legal bid supersedes any double or redouble.

End of the auction

The auction ends when, after at least one bid, three passes in rotation follow the last bid, which becomes the contract. If all four players pass the hands go back in the board, nothing is played and each side scores zero.

See also: Board, Rotation, Auction, Contract

Contract

The undertaking by the declaring side to win, in the denomination named, the number of odd tricks in the final bid, whether undoubled, doubled or redoubled.

Declarer

The player on the side that made the final bid who first bid the denomination of that bid. Declarer becomes declarer when the opening lead is faced and plays both their own hand and dummy's.

See also: Denomination, Dummy, Opening lead, Lead

Dummy

Declarer's partner, and their hand, which is spread face up on the table after the opening lead, sorted into suits, with trumps to dummy's right. Dummy takes no part in the play.

Defender

An opponent of declarer. The two defenders try to win enough tricks to defeat the contract.

The play

Opening lead

The first card played, led by the defender to the left of declarer, face down. After the clarification period it is faced, the play period starts irrevocably, and dummy is spread.

Trick

The unit of play: four cards, one from each player in rotation, starting with the lead. A trick with a trump is won by the highest trump, otherwise by the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads to the next trick.

Following suit

Each player must play a card of the suit led if they can, and this overrides every other requirement of the laws. A player who cannot follow may play any card.

Lead

The first card played to a trick, which may be any card in the hand unless a restriction applies. The lead to the next trick comes from the hand that won the last one.

Revokes, penalty cards and irregular leads

Revoke

Failing to follow suit when able, or failing to lead or play a card or suit that the laws or an opponent's chosen rectification require. It must be corrected if attention is drawn to it before it is established.

Scoring

Trick score

Points scored by the declaring side for each odd trick bid and made. In a suit contract hearts and spades are 30 a trick and clubs and diamonds 20, doubled and redoubled double and quadruple it. In no trump the first odd trick is 40 and each other 30.

Also called: Contract points
See also: Trump, Odd trick, Double, Contract, Trick

Game

A trick score of 100 points or more on one board. It earns a premium of 300 not vulnerable or 500 vulnerable.

Partscore

A trick score of less than 100 on one board. Making a partscore earns a premium of 50.

Slam

A contract to win twelve tricks (small slam, six odd tricks) or all thirteen (grand slam, seven). Bidding and making them earns a premium of 500 or 1,000 not vulnerable and 750 or 1,500 vulnerable.

Overtrick

Each trick declarer's side wins beyond the contract. Undoubled it scores its trick value; doubled it scores 100 not vulnerable or 200 vulnerable, and redoubled twice that.

Undertrick

Each trick by which declarer's side falls short of the contract. The defenders score for it: 50 a trick undoubled not vulnerable and 100 vulnerable, with a table of higher amounts for doubled and redoubled contracts.

Matchpoints

Pairs scoring by comparison: a contestant gets two units for each other score on the same board that is worse, one for each equal score and none for each better one. The totals decide the placings.

IMPs

International matchpoints: on each board the difference between the two teams' scores is converted by a fixed scale, from 0 IMPs for a difference of up to 10 points to 24 IMPs for 4,000 or more.

The Director and rectification

Director

The tournament official who manages play on site, applies the laws, explains players' rights, rectifies irregularities and maintains discipline. Players do not decide rectifications themselves, and the Director is called at once when an irregularity occurs.