Bridge for Scholars 2016
Slide Set 00: Getting Started
Truett Cates
BFS 2016
The deck
The deck has 52 cards
There are four suits:
Clubs , Diamonds , Hearts , Spades 
The lowest card in the deck is the club 2, the
highest the spade Ace.
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
Dealer: South
Leader
Qxx
xxx
xx
AJxxx
Declarer
0101
Dummy
AKx
10 x x x
AKx
xxx
N
W
E
S
xx
KQJx
QJxxx
Kx
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J 10 x x x
Ax
10 x x
Q 10 x
Dealer: South
AQxxx
KQJx
Kx
xx
Leader
K 10 x
Axx
xx
Q J 10 x x
Declarer
0102
Dummy
N
W
E
S
xx
10 x x x
Q J 10 x x
AK
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Jxx
xx
Axxx
xxxx
“Finesse”
Dealer: South
Dummy
AQxxx
KQJx
Kx
xx
N
W
E
S
Declarer
0102
xx
10 x x x
Q J 10 x x
AK
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“Finesse”
Dealer: South
xxx
J 10 x x
A J 10 x x
x
“Unbalanced”
Leader
A K Q J 10 x
xx
xx
KQx
Declarer
0103
N
W
E
S
x
AKQxxx
KQx
10 x x
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Dummy
xxx
x
xxx
AJ9xxx
Bidding
•
•
•
•
The right to name trumps is determined by an auction
The auction takes place before any cards are played.
Bids consist of two parts: a number and a suit.
Each bid must be higher than the previous one. Players
may always pass.
• In the auction, players take turns making a call until
there have been three passes in succession.
• At that point the trump suit is set; the player in the
partnership who first named the suit of the highest bid
becomes declarer; her partner becomes dummy.
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The Auction
• Like commercial auctions, bridge auctions require that each bid be higher than the
one before it. (Players can always pass)
• Since there are 13 tricks in every deal, the bidding starts with a contract to take
more than half the tricks.
• A bid of “1 club” represents a contract to take 6 + 1 = 7 tricks with clubs as trump.
“4 spades” represents a contract to take 10 tricks with spades as trump.
• There is a rank order of suits for the auction.
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Table of Bids
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
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1nt
2nt
3nt
4nt
5nt
6nt
7nt
Contract Bridge
• Contract bridge originated in 1925. The simple innovation: only tricks contracted
for counted toward game.
• The points made in addition to those contracted for were still awarded, but were
written “above the line”, and were tallied at the end of the session.
• An Example: In this way, making 10 tricks with spades as trump might be good
enough for a game.
• But only if the partnership had bid up to 4 spades.
• If they had only bid 3 spades, but still made 10 tricks, then only 90 trick points would count
toward a game—a partial game score.
• The additional 30 points would count at the very end, after bonuses had been awarded.
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Trick Score

For tricks made, in excess of six, points are
awarded according to the scale:
• Clubs, Diamonds:
• Hearts, Spades:
• Notrump:
20 points/trick
30 points/trick
40 points for 1st,
30 points for rest
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Examples: trick score
• South declares 2 and takes 9 tricks
• Clubs = 20 points/trick over 6;
• 3 x 20 points = 60 points
• East declares 3 and takes 9 tricks
• Hearts = 30 points/ trick over 6
• 3 x 30 points = 90 points
• West declares 2NT and takes 8 tricks
• NT = 40 points for 1st trick over 6, 30 points for subsequent tricks
• 40 points + 30 points = 70 points
Auction Bridge was scored in this way. The first side to score 100 trick points was awarded a game.
The side to win two games first was awarded a substantial bonus.
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Bonus points
• Part score
• 50
(making a contract short of game)
• Game
contracted for)
• 300
(100 points in tricks
500
• Small Slam (12 tricks contracted for and
made)
• 500
750
• Grand Slam (All 13 tricks bid for and made)
• 1000
1500
Note: Only tricks contracted for count toward bonuses.
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
Penalty points
If you do not make your contract, opponents receive penalty points.
• Non-vulnerable (and undoubled), the penalty is 50 points per trick.
• Vulnerable (and undoubled), the penalty is 100 points/trick.
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GS 100F
• Syllabus
• Moodle
• Website
BfS: Guidelines
• January-term courses are intensive, experiential, and experimental
• Intensive—this course is your job for the month. Don’t be surprised if you wake up dreaming about
bridge hands.
• Experiential -- experiential learning means doing things and then reflecting on that experience. The
Lab reports entail formal analysis of your experiences playing and are essential to our aims.
• Experimental—we try new ways to deliver courses. My offering this course, for example, is an
ongoing experiment, in which I try to understand the role of play in learning of abstract concepts.
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Guidelines
• Our website: http://cml.austincollege.edu/BfS
• The required software is available on computers in Abell Library (“Bridge Master,”
“Bridge Baron 17”)
• Lab Reports are to be submitted to Moodle: Check Moodle daily for updates
• Bring paper and pencil to class. Notes and quizzes
• Your devices: No screens on during presentations or play. Ringers off- airplane
mode.
• Academic Integrity:
• Driving: college-certified drivers and vehicles. (next slide)
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Driving for Bridge in January
1. This course requires you to play open games at two locations off-campus: 501 W. Elm
St., Sherman (Sherman Duplicate Bridge Club) and 600 Wilson Creek Parkway, McKinney
(McKinney Duplicate Bridge Club).
2. In compliance with college policy, we will have to organize transportation.
3. College regulations (see the appendix of the syllabus on Moodle or on the Website)
require that all drivers to course events be college-certified drivers – that is a process
through the campus police – and that all cars involved be properly registered.
4. Accordingly, I ask you to undergo this online procedure with the campus police by
January 8. (The Campus police will provide me a list of those who have complied.)
5. We will be limited to 12 vehicles for the parking lot in McKinney, so coordination will be
required.
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