Open Stock

Open Stock is a house rule for Draw Bridge. It only works with Draw Bridge: pick 2 players, the Draw Bridge style, then turn on Open Stock.

What changes

In plain Draw Bridge the stock is face down, so the 13 draw tricks are a bit of a lottery: the winner takes the top card and the loser the next one, and neither knows what it is until it arrives.

With Open Stock the top card of the stock lies face up for both players to see.

• The winner of each draw trick takes that face-up card.
• The loser takes the next card, without showing it.
• The new top card is then turned face up, and the next draw trick is played for it.

Everything else is the same as Draw Bridge: the draw tricks are played at no trump, following suit is not required, they score nothing, and once the stock is gone the auction and 13 scored tricks follow as usual.

Why it matters

Now every draw trick is a decision. If the face-up card is the ace of your long suit, it’s worth spending a good card to win the trick. If it’s a low card you don’t need, you can throw your worst card, lose the trick on purpose, and take the unknown card underneath instead.

Spending a card to win a trick costs you that card for good, since cards played to draw tricks are out of the deal. So don’t trade a king for a queen, and don’t spend an ace to win a two.

A worked example

Say the face-up card is the K, and your hand includes J 10 8 5, the 9 and the 2.

• Your opponent leads the 7. A draw trick can only be won by a higher card of the suit led, so you play the 9, win the trick and take the K to go with your spades. Your opponent takes the next card, unseen.
• The new face-up card is the 3. You don’t want it, so you lead your 2 and let your opponent win the trick if they care to. If they do, they get the 3 and you take the unknown card under it.

What everyone sees

Both players see the face-up card, so both know who took it. The app shows the card that is up for grabs in the middle of the table and tells you which card your opponent took. The card the loser draws stays private, exactly as in plain Draw Bridge.

Rated or casual?

Casual. Draw Bridge never changes anyone’s rating, with or without Open Stock.