If you’ve never played Bridge before, don’t worry – this guide will walk you through Rubber Bridge step by step, explaining the basics in simple terms.
1. The Goal of Rubber Bridge
The ultimate goal is to be the first team to win two games.
- A game is won when a team earns at least 100 points from fulfilling contracts (explained below).
- The first side to win two games wins the rubber.
You don’t just win by having the most total points – you must win two games.
2. Setting Up
Players: 4 (two teams).
Teams: North–South vs. East–West.
Deck: A standard 52-card deck. The suits are ranked as follows: Spades > Hearts > Diamonds > Clubs. The cards in each suit rank from highest to lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Dealing: The dealer shuffles, then deals 13 cards to each player, one card at a time, clockwise. The dealer role rotates to the next player after each hand.
3. The Bidding Phase
Bidding is how players decide what the contract will be for the hand. The contract is a promise by one team to win a certain number of tricks with or without a trump suit.
What’s a Trick?
A trick is when each of the four players plays one card, and the highest card (following the rules) wins the trick. There are 13 tricks in a hand.
How Bidding Works
The bidding tells the table how many tricks above six a team thinks they can win. For example, if you bid “2 Hearts,” you are saying your partnership will take eight tricks in total (the base of six plus two more), with hearts acting as the trump suit.
The bidding starts with the dealer and continues clockwise. Each player can either make a bid, pass, or use special calls such as doubling an opponent’s contract (which raises the stakes) or redoubling after a double. Once three players in a row pass, the bidding ends, and the last valid bid becomes the contract for the hand.
A bid has two parts:
1. The level (1 to 7) → how many tricks above six your team promises to win. Example: Level 2 = 8 tricks total (6 base tricks + 2).
2. The suit (the trump suit or No Trump).
- Trump suit: The chosen suit beats all others during that hand.
- No Trump (NT): No suit is trump; the highest card of the suit led wins.
Examples of bids:
“1♠” → Promise to win 7 tricks with spades as trump.
“3NT” → Promise to win 9 tricks with no trump suit.
Other bidding actions
- Pass: Skip your turn.
- Double: Challenge the other team’s contract (raises penalties or bonuses).
- Redouble: Raise the stakes even further after a double.
Bidding ends when three players in a row pass.
The final contract decides:
- Declarer → The first player on the winning team who mentioned the trump suit (or NT).
- Dummy → Declarer’s partner, who lays their cards face-up on the table once play begins.
Example bidding and result:
West: 1♥
North: 2♥
East: 3♥
South: 4♥
West: 5♦
North: 6♥
East: 7♥
West is the declarer
Even though East made the final bid of 7♥, West is the declarer because:
- The contract is 7♥
- East–West is the bid winning team
- West was the first player on that team to bid hearts
The declarer is always chosen based on who first showed the trump suit (or no-trump) for the winning side. This way, it doesn’t matter how many times the suit is bid or who pushes it higher – the role of declarer goes back to the one who first introduced that suit for the partnership.
4. Playing the Hand
Once the contract is set, the play begins.
The player to the left of the declarer makes the opening lead by playing the first card. Play continues clockwise, with each player putting down one card. Everyone must follow the same suit as the card that was led if they can. If they cannot, they may play a card from another suit, including a trump card if they wish.
The winner of a trick is the player who plays the highest card in the suit that was led, unless a trump card is played. In that case, the highest trump wins the trick. The winner of a trick leads the next one, and the process continues until all 13 tricks have been played.
The declarer’s objective is to win at least the number of tricks promised in the contract, while the opponents aim to prevent this.
The Dummy’s Role:
After the first card is led, the dummy (declarer’s partner) places their hand face-up on the table. From then on, the declarer plays both their own hand and the dummy’s cards.
5. Scoring Points
Scoring in Rubber Bridge is divided into two parts: points “below the line” and points “above the line.”
Trick Points (Below the Line – count toward winning a game)
Points below the line are earned for fulfilling contracts and are the only points that count toward winning a game. The number of points depends on the suit.
- Clubs and Diamonds = 20 points per trick above six.
- Hearts and Spades = 30 points per trick above six.
- No Trump = 40 points for the first trick above six, then 30 points for each additional.
Example:
If the contract is 2♥ (8 total tricks), and the declarer’s side makes 9 tricks:
2 tricks × 30 points = 60 points below the line.
The extra trick (overtrick) = 30 points above the line.
Bonus Points (Above the Line – do not count toward a game)
Points above the line are bonus points. These include rewards for winning extra tricks beyond the contract, for completing slams (contracts where nearly all tricks are won), and for successfully fulfilling a doubled or redoubled contract. There are also penalties, which go above the line, for failing to make the contract. If the declarer falls short, the opposing team earns points for each trick that was missed.
- Overtricks: Points for every trick above the contract.
- Slam Bonuses: Small Slam (12 tricks) = 500 or 750 points; Grand Slam (13 tricks) = 1000 or 1500 points.
- Rubber Bonus: Winning 2–0 = 700 points; Winning 2–1 = 500 points.
- Insult Bonus: 50 points for making a doubled contract, 100 for redoubled.
- Honor Bonuses: Extra points if one hand holds key high cards.
Penalties
If the declaring team fails to make their contract, the other team scores penalty points:
50 points for each trick they fall short (more if doubled, redoubled, or vulnerable).
6. Winning a Rubber
- A team needs 100 points below the line to win a game.
- The first team to win two games wins the rubber.
- Once a side has won one game, they become vulnerable → bonuses and penalties get bigger in later play.
Rubber Bridge may seem complex at first, but once you learn the rhythm of bidding, playing, and scoring, it becomes a fun and addictive game. With just four players, a deck of cards, and some practice, you’ll quickly pick up the flow.
Start by focusing on the basics: understand tricks, practice following suit, and get familiar with simple bids. With time, you’ll appreciate the deeper strategies that make Bridge one of the most enduring card games in the world.