Lesson 2.1: Playing a hand
In bridge you first bid a hand, and then play it. However, learning to bid is harder than learning to play a hand.Since this site is designed to be as painless as possible, first I'll teach you how to play a hand. Then, in Lesson 3.1, I'll start to teach you how to bid.
O.K., from now on, to save space, I'm going to use abbreviations for the different cards. Thus, 2H stands for the two of hearts, QC stands for the queen of clubs, etc. Get the picture?
Lesson 2.2: Partner positions
Since you always have 4 people, it's a convention in bridge that each player's position is named for one of the four cardinal directions: North, East, South, and West. Since you always play partners, North and South are partners, and play against East and West.Although all four people bid, only three people actually play the hand.
The fourth person can go to the washroom, call a friend, pour drinks, etc.
Because this fourth person has nothing to say as to how his or her hand
is played, this hand is known as the dummy.
Example of dummy's hand as it would be laid out on the table: 
The dummy's hand is laid down on the table (also called the "board") for all the players to see. Then the dummy's partner plays both hands (their own hand and the dummy's) in turn.
I know it's a really silly way to play cards, but I didn't invent it! Just accept it and move on.
Play always moves clockwise. For example, say that West leads (i.e.
lays down the first card). The next card will come from North's hand, then
East will play, and finally South will play a card. Couldn't be much simpler,
right? O.K. Next lesson.
Lesson 2.3: Basic rules for playing a hand
- Always follow suit. This means, if someone plays a heart, you also have to put a heart on it, assuming you have one.
- What's the highest card? Aces are high, 2's are low. Thus, from high to low, within a suit, the values of the cards are: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Example: assume that hearts is trump. For a particular trick, let's say that East
leads the 2D, South puts the 9D on it, West puts on the JD, and North lays
down the KC:
| KC | ||
| JD | 2D | |
| 9D |
Which card wins the trick?
Lesson 2.4: Example hand
Here's a diagram of a sample hand. I've arranged it in the four
player positions:
| NORTH
S: H: Q 6 3 C: Q J 9 7 4 3 2 D: 10 7 6 |
||
| WEST
S: K J 10 9 4 H: A K J 10 4 C: 6 D: A 5 |
EAST
S: A Q 6 5 3 H: 9 7 2 C: 8 5 D: K 3 2 |
|
| SOUTH
S: 8 7 2 H: 8 5 C: A K 10 D: Q J 9 8 4 |
Assume that, after the bidding, spades is trump. The contract is for 4 spades, declared by West. East and West are partners. East is the dummy.
The card which each player chooses to play is highlighted in green The first card which is led out is highlighted in purple.
1st Trick: led by North:
| NORTH
S: H: Q 6 3 C: Q J 9 7 4 3 2 D: 10 7 6 |
||
| WEST
S: K J 10 9 4 H: A K J 10 4 C: 6 D: A 5 |
6C 5C KC |
EAST
S: A Q 6 5 3 H: 9 7 2 C: 8 5 D: K 3 2 |
| SOUTH
S: 8 7 2 H: 8 5 C: A K 10 D: Q J 9 8 4 |
