Bridge is a partnership card game played by 4 people seated opposite each other and named after compass points. The 52 card deck is divided into 4 suits ranked from highest to lowest: spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs. Each card has assigned high card points and there are a total of 40 points in a deck. In a basic version called Minibridge, cards are dealt, points counted, and a trump suit or no trump chosen to determine which suit outranks others. The partner with more total points between them is declarer and plays both hands aiming to take a set number of tricks based on their points.

1. Learning Bridge
Lesson 1

2. Bridge - a partnership game
for 4 people
North
South
West East
Partners sit opposite each other
Named after compass points

3. The cards
52 cards
4 Suits
All shuffled and dealt
13 EachWest North East South
Spades
Hearts
Diamonds
Clubs

4. The suits
Suits are ranked:-
NT No-Trumps
♠ Spades
♥ Hearts
♦ Diamonds
♣ Clubs
MAJOR
MINOR

5. Honour Cards
High Card Points (HCP)
Ace
King
Queen
Jack
4
3
2
1
How many HCP
in a suit?
How many
HCP in a
pack of
cards?

6. Dealing
“Dealer” distributes all 52 cards starting with the player on left
Deals in a clockwise direction.
North
West East
South
1
2
3
4
5
6
EG North is Dealer

7. Sorting your hand
• Put all the cards in each suit together
Black-red-black-red
• Arrange cards in order in each suit
• Count high card points (HCP)
• How many HCP in a pack?
practice
10 per suit
40 in a pack
of cardsHow many HCP in
this hand?

8. Trumps
The Trump suit outranks the other suits for
the duration of the hand.
The Trump suit is chosen before the hand is
played.
You may chose to play where no suit is the
Trump suit – No Trumps

9. Tricks & trumps (Whist)
• Each player plays in turn – clockwise
• Follow the suit led
• Highest card wins the trick
N
W E
S
Lead WEST
Trumps

10. If you can’t follow suit
N
W E
S
Lead WEST
Trumps
RUFFING

11. Playing in no-trumps (NT)
N
W E
S
Lead WEST
NO-TRUMPS
No one Suit is trumps
NT - outranks all suit contracts

12. Main Elements
• Bidding
• Playing
• Defending
• Bidding is a long process to learn
• I want you to play!
• So we will play Minibridge

13. Minibridge
• Deal hands
• Sort and count points
• Announce your High Card Points (HCP)
Side with Most HCP
is Declaring Side
Defending Side
N
W E
S
16
10
8
6
North-South East-West

14. Minibridge
North is Declarer
plays Both hands
N
W E
S
16
10
8
6
South puts card on table is
Dummy
Player on Declarer’s right
leads a card
Declarer decides
Which suit is trumps
How many tricks

15. Choosing the trump suit
(declarer)
• Suit with the most cards between you
• MAGIC 8!
• Announce which suit is trumps and how
many tricks you think you will make

16. How many tricks?
HCP No of Tricks
21-22 7
23-24 8
25-26 9
27-28 10
29-32 11
33-36 12
37+ 13
Strategy tip!
• Draw trumps as soon as you can
• Remember if honour cards gone!

17. Let’s play
Minibridge

18. What you should know
• How many cards in a pack
• How many cards in a suit
• The names and priority of suits (No Trumps)
• How to count points
• What a trick is
• How to deal
• How to announce points
• Who is Declarer and who is Dummy
• How to choose a suit or NT to play in

19. How many tricks?
HCP No of Tricks
21-22 7
23-24 8
25-26 9
27-28 10
29-32 11
33-36 12
37+ 13
Strategy tip!
• Draw trumps as soon as you can
• Remember if honour cards gone!