Bridge is one of the most fascinating indoor games in the world, a social asset and a constant source of enjoyment. It requires, in its simplest form, 4 people, 2 packs of cards, preferably with different coloured backs, a table, 4 pencils and paper. The pack contains 52 cards of which there are 4 suits with 13 cards in each suit. The highest card in each suit is the Ace, followed by the King, Que
en, Jack and ten, down to the two, which is the lowest. Bridge is a partnership game, the 4 players forming two partnerships sitting opposite each other and referred to by compass points. North and South are one partnership and East and West are the other partnership. Who plays with whom is determined by cutting the cards. The two highest cards versus the two lowest cards, with the highest card having the choice of seats and cards and is also the first dealer. The pack chosen is passed to the opponent on his left (LHO), who shuffles them and passes them to the dealer's right hand opponent (RHO), who cuts them for the dealer. The deal now commences in a clockwise direction, starting with LHO until all players have 13 cards. (The last card is dealt to the dealer). The bidding (Auction) can now commence with the dealer. (This will be discussed later). Tricks:
A trick consists of four cards, one from each player. It is won by the player who contributes the highest card and the person who wins that trick leads first to the next trick, with the other players following in a clockwise direction. The rules demand that a player must follow suit if he can. If he has none of the suit led he can either throw a card from another suit (Discard) or attempt to win the trick by trumping. This brings us to TRUMPS, the suit selected as the master suit for that particular deal. Even the lowest trump – the 2 can beat any card in any of the other three suits. The bidding or auction is when the partnerships bid for the right to choose trumps and to forecast how many tricks they think they can win. (As everybody starts with 13 cards and contributes one to each trick, there is therefore a possible 13 tricks on each deal). The bidding commences with the dealer and commences clockwise. The first six tricks are called the book, and so bidding effectively starts at the seventh trick. The suits and the denomination of no trump have the following rank order:
No Trumps
Spades
Hearts
Diamonds
Clubs
