Bridge is a card game played with a standard deck of 52 cards with the jokers removed.
There are 4 players in each game which are made from two partnerships. North and South are partners and sit opposite, East and West are partners and also sit opposite each other.
To start the entire deck of cards are shuffled and then dealt to the players one at a time in rotation, each player receiving 13 cards. The person who shuffled and dealt is called the Dealer, it is the responsibility of the Dealer to make the first bid whether it is a passed bid (P) or an opening bid.
Bridge is a game of two phases – ‘bidding’ and ‘play’.
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BiddingThe bidding phase is an auction where each player gets to estimate how many rounds they think they and their partner can win. If they winner of the auction then achieves their target they win the game and gain points and the opposition loses points. If the winner of the auction fails to achieve their target then they lose points and the opposition gains points.
PlayAfter the bidding is finished the players enter the second portion of the game called ‘The Play’. This consists of 13 rounds where each player plays one card each in a clockwise order. Players must follow suit if they can.
The next two lessons cover the ‘bidding’ and ‘play’ phases in more detail and then you will play your first Bridge game.
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