Learn bridge: how to start
Bridge is best learnt in lessons at a bridge club or with a bridge teacher; after that, you improve mostly by playing and practising a lot.
VosBridge is not a course. It is a place to practise calmly after your lessons, with an explanation of every bid.
Bridge in brief
| Topic | How it works |
|---|---|
| Players | Four, in two partnerships: North-South play against East-West. |
| Cards | 52 cards; each player gets 13. |
| Bidding | First the players bid for the contract: how many tricks their side will take, with which suit as trumps or in no-trumps (NT). |
| Level | A bid at the 1-level promises 7 tricks: 6 plus the number. A 4-level bid promises 10. |
| Suits | From low to high: clubs ♣, diamonds ♦, hearts ♥, spades ♠. No-trumps rank above them. |
| Play | Then 13 tricks are played. Declarer also plays the cards of partner, the dummy. |
| Counting points | Ace 4, king 3, queen 2, jack 1. There are 40 points in the pack. |
| Game | 3NT (9 tricks), 4♥ or 4♠ (10 tricks), 5♣ or 5♦ (11 tricks). |
| Slam | Small slam: 12 tricks. Grand slam: all 13. |
With about 12 points or more you open the bidding; the exact limit and the opening bid depend on your system. With about 25 points or more between you and your partner, there is often a game.
Examples
Example 1: enough to open
- ♠ A K 7 4
- ♥ Q 8 3
- ♦ J 6 2
- ♣ K 9 5
Ace 4, king 3, queen 2, jack 1 and another king 3: 13 points in all. That is enough to open. Which bid depends on your system: see Acol.
Example 2: not enough to open
- ♠ 9 6 3
- ♥ K J 5
- ♦ Q 7 4 2
- ♣ 10 8 3
6 points: not enough to open, so you pass. If your partner opens, 6 points is usually enough to respond.
Example 3: few points, a long suit
- ♠ A Q 10 8 6 4
- ♥ 5
- ♦ K 9 3
- ♣ 7 6 2
9 points with six spades: too weak to open at the 1-level. Playing weak twos, you open 2♠ (6–10 points, six cards). Playing strong Acol twos, you pass. So the length of your suits counts too.
Common mistakes
- Counting only points. Look at your suits as well: a long suit makes tricks.
- As declarer, playing to the first trick at once. Take a moment: count your sure tricks and make a plan.
- Forgetting what partner has shown. Every bid tells you something; add partner's points to yours.
- Trying to learn too much at once. Pick one system and play lots of boards.
Practise this
In VosBridge you play as many boards as you like and read what every bid means. VosBridge is not open to everyone yet: a small group of testers already plays.
Tell me when VosBridge opens
You will get one e-mail when VosBridge opens. First we send you an e-mail to confirm your sign-up.