How to Play Rubber Bridge
Bridge is a trick-taking game for four players in two fixed partnerships (seats across from each other are partners). Unlike Hearts, Euchre, and Spades, Bridge has a full auction to set the contract before anyone plays a card, and its scoring is tracked toward winning a best-of-three rubber, not a single running total.
The deal
Section titled “The deal”A standard 52-card deck, dealt out completely: 13 cards to each player. The dealer makes the first call in the auction; Bridge is the one game here where the dealer, not the seat to their left, starts things off.
The auction
Section titled “The auction”Going in turn starting with the dealer, each player makes one call: a bid, a pass, a double, or a redouble.
A bid names a level (1 through 7) and a strain: clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, or notrump, ranked in that order from lowest to highest. A new bid must outrank the current highest bid: either a higher level, or the same level in a higher-ranked strain. For example, 2♥ outranks 2♦, and 3♣ outranks 2♠.
- Double: only legal if the current highest bid belongs to your opponents, and it isn’t already doubled.
- Redouble: only legal if the current highest bid belongs to your own side and it’s currently doubled.
- Making a new bid clears any double or redouble in effect.
The auction ends one of two ways:
- Passed out: all four players pass with no bid ever made. The hand is thrown in and redealt by the next dealer, with the rubber’s game/vulnerability state carried over unchanged.
- Contract settled: after at least one bid has been made, three players in a row pass. The contract is the last bid made, plus whatever doubling was in effect.
Declarer and dummy
Section titled “Declarer and dummy”The declarer is whichever player on the winning side named the contract’s strain first during the auction, not necessarily whoever made the final bid. For example, if you bid 1♥ and your partner later bids 4♥, you’re the declarer, because you were the first on your side to name hearts.
The player to declarer’s left leads the first card. As soon as that opening lead is made, declarer’s partner, the dummy, lays their whole hand face up on the table. From that point on, dummy’s hand is played by declarer calling the card; the dummy doesn’t make their own decisions for the rest of the hand.
Playing a trick
Section titled “Playing a trick”The opening leader leads any card; after that, the trick winner leads next. You must follow suit if you can. If you can’t, you may play anything, including a trump (the contract’s strain is trump for the hand, or there’s no trump at all if the contract is notrump). Highest trump played wins the trick; if no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led wins.
Example: contract is 4♠
Section titled “Example: contract is 4♠”| Seat | Plays | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | 7♦ | opens the trick |
| Next | K♦ | follows suit, currently winning |
| Next | 2♠ | void in diamonds, trumps in |
| Next | A♦ | follows suit, but can’t beat the trump |
The 2♠ wins on a trump alone, even though it’s the lowest spade in the deck: any trump beats any non-trump card here.
Making or defeating the contract
Section titled “Making or defeating the contract”A contract at level N requires the declaring side to win 6 + N tricks (the first 6 tricks are “the book,” free; the level is tricks beyond that). For example, 4♠ needs 10 tricks; 1NT needs 7.
- If declarer’s side reaches that number, the contract is made; any extra tricks beyond it are overtricks.
- If they fall short, the contract is defeated; the shortfall is measured in undertricks (“down 1,” “down 2,” and so on), and the defenders score for it instead.
Scoring a deal
Section titled “Scoring a deal”Bridge scoring is split into two running totals per side: below the line (only earned by making your contract, and the only points that count toward winning a game) and above the line (bonuses and penalties that add to your total but never count toward a game).
Below the line: making the contract
Section titled “Below the line: making the contract”Each trick you bid and made is worth a fixed amount depending on strain:
| Strain | Per trick |
|---|---|
| Clubs / Diamonds (minor) | 20 |
| Hearts / Spades (major) | 30 |
| Notrump | 40 for the first trick, 30 each after |
This is doubled if the contract was doubled, or quadrupled if redoubled. For example, 4♠ undoubled is 4 × 30 = 120 below the line; 4♠ doubled is 240.
Above the line: bonuses when you make it
Section titled “Above the line: bonuses when you make it”- Overtricks: undoubled, worth the same per-trick value as the contract (20 minor / 30 major-or-NT) each. Doubled, 100 each if your side isn’t vulnerable, 200 if vulnerable. Redoubled, 200 non-vulnerable, 400 vulnerable.
- Slam bonus: bidding and making a level-6 contract (small slam) is worth 500 non-vulnerable, 750 vulnerable. Level 7 (grand slam) is worth 1000 non-vulnerable, 1500 vulnerable.
- Insult bonus for making a contract that was doubled or redoubled against you: +50 doubled, +100 redoubled.
“Vulnerable” means your side has already won one game in the current rubber (see below); vulnerable bonuses and penalties are bigger in both directions.
Above the line: going down
Section titled “Above the line: going down”If the contract is defeated, the defenders score above the line based on how many undertricks, doubling, and vulnerability:
| Undoubled | Doubled, non-vul | Doubled, vul | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down 1 | 50 (100 vul) | 100 | 200 |
| Down 2 | 100 (200 vul) | 300 | 500 |
| Down 3 | 150 (300 vul) | 500 | 800 |
| Down 4 | 200 (400 vul) | 800 | 1100 |
(Each further undoubled/vulnerable down simply adds 100/50 per trick as shown; each further doubled down adds 300 per trick.) A redoubled contract doubles all of these numbers again.
Honors
Section titled “Honors”Regardless of who declares, if one player’s original 13-card hand contains 4 of the 5 trump honors (A, K, Q, J, 10 of the trump suit), their side scores 100 above the line; all 5 in one hand is 150. In a notrump contract, holding all 4 aces in one hand is worth 150 instead. This is checked against the hand as dealt, not what’s left after cards are played.
Winning a game, and the rubber
Section titled “Winning a game, and the rubber”Below-the-line points accumulate across deals as your side’s running part-score, toward a game. The moment a side’s below-the-line total reaches 100 or more, they win the game: both sides’ below-the-line part-scores reset to zero (a fresh line is drawn), and the winning side becomes vulnerable for the rest of the rubber.
A single deal’s below-the-line score can reach 100 outright (for example, 3NT made is 100 exactly), or it can take multiple deals adding up (a part-score contract like 2♥ made, at 60, needs another deal’s points to cross the line).
Winning a second game ends the whole rubber. The winning side gets a bonus above the line: 700 if the opponents never won a game in the rubber, or 500 if the opponents won exactly one. The final winner is not decided by who won 2 out of the 3 games. The winner of the rubber is whichever team has the most total points. This means that you could win 2 out of 3 games but still lose the rubber and thus the overall match.
Worked example: a full deal
Section titled “Worked example: a full deal”You and your partner bid to 4♥, undoubled, and you’re not yet vulnerable. You make exactly 10 tricks (your bid, no overtricks).
- Below the line: 4 × 30 = 120. That’s over 100 on its own, so you win the game outright this deal; the line resets, and your side becomes vulnerable going forward.
- No overtricks, no slam, no doubling, so nothing else above the line from this deal (honors aside).
If this was your side’s second game of the rubber, add the rubber bonus (700 or 500 depending on the opponents’ game count) above the line, and the rubber is over.
Worked example: going down
Section titled “Worked example: going down”Contract is 3NT, doubled, and you’re vulnerable, but you only take 7 tricks; you needed 9, so you’re down 2.
Doubled and vulnerable, down 2, is 500 above the line to the defenders. Nothing goes below the line for either side on this deal.