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While a deal of bridge is always played following a unique set of rules, its scoring may vary depending on the type of event the deal is played on. There are two main categories of scoring: rubber and duplicate. Rubber scoring, and its popular variant Chicago, are mostly used in social play. Duplicate scoring is focused on tournament competition and has many variations that compare and rank the relative performance of partnerships and teams playing the same deals as their competitors.
The following terms and concepts, defined in the glossary of contract bridge terms, are essential to understanding bridge scoring:
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Bridge scoring consists of six to eight elements, depending on the variant.
The method of accumulation of contract points toward a "game" varies, too. However, a "game" is always triggered when 100 contract points are reached, a "partial game" or "part-score" refers to 10 to 90 contract points, and once either side reaches a game, both sides' part-scores, while still valid to be counted as part of the final score of the entire match, are reset to 0 for the purpose of the next game or rubber bonus.
This is the list of the scoring elements:
Contract points are awarded for each odd trick bid and made. Their values depend on the suit (or notrump) and whether the contract is doubled or redoubled; they are not affected by vulnerability. Tricks won beyond that necessary to fulfill the contract are referred to as overtricks and their scoring points are accounted for separately because their values are dependent upon declarer's vulnerability.
Denomination | Contract Points Per Trick | ||
---|---|---|---|
Undoubled | Doubled | Redoubled | |
Notrump
| 40 30 | 80 60 | 160 120 |
Major suits | 30 | 60 | 120 |
Minor suits | 20 | 40 | 80 |
When declarer makes overtricks, their score value depends upon the contract denomination, declarer's vulnerability and whether or not the contract is undoubled, doubled or redoubled. In an undoubled contract each overtrick earns the same as in contract points (30 for notrump and major suit contracts, 20 for minor suit contracts); values increase significantly when the contract has been doubled or redoubled, especially when vulnerable.
Contract | Overtrick Points Per Trick | |
---|---|---|
Vulnerable | Not Vulnerable | |
Undoubled in: - Notrump - Major suit - Minor suit | 30 30 20 | 30 30 20 |
Any doubled | 200 | 100 |
Any redoubled | 400 | 200 |
Bonuses are awarded for all slam contracts bid and made:
When a doubled or redoubled contract is made, a bonus is awarded to the declaring side. It is colloquially referred to as a bonus for "insult", meaning that the opponents have insulted the pair by suggesting that the declarer will not make the contract.
In scoring notation, a doubled contract is indicated by an 'X" after the contract (e.g. a contract of four hearts doubled is indicated by 4♥ X); a redoubled contract is indicated by "XX" (e.g. 4♥ XX).
When a contract is defeated, penalty points are awarded to the defending side. The value of the penalty depends on the number of undertricks, whether the declaring side is vulnerable or not vulnerable and whether the contract was undoubled, doubled or redoubled.
Number of Undertricks | Points Per Undertrick | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Not Vulnerable | Vulnerable | |||||
Undoubled | Doubled | Redoubled | Undoubled | Doubled | Redoubled | |
1st undertrick | 50 | 100 | 200 | 100 | 200 | 400 |
2nd and 3rd, each | 200 | 400 | 300 | 600 | ||
4th and each subsequent | 300 | 600 | 300 | 600 |
Without a double or redouble, every undertrick has a fixed cost of 100 or 50 points. The scores for (re)doubled undertricks are such that after the first vulnerable undertrick, n vulnerable undertricks cost the same as n+1 undertricks when not vulnerable; for example, four undertricks when doubled and not vulnerable cost 800 points (100+200+200+300), the same as three undertricks when doubled and vulnerable (200+300+300).
In rubber bridge only, a bonus is awarded at the conclusion of the rubber as follows:
In rubber bridge only, a bonus is awarded for any one hand holding four or five of the honors, i.e. an ace, king, queen, jack or ten.
Honors may be declared and scored at any time after the auction but for strategic reasons it is best to do so at the conclusion of play so as not to give the opponents information about the lay of the cards. Honors may be held by any of the four players, including dummy.
In duplicate bridge only, game and partial-game bonuses are awarded at the conclusion of each deal as follows:
In four-deal bridge (Chicago) only, contract points accumulate toward a game like in rubber bridge, but game bonuses are awarded like in duplicate bridge. A separate part-score bonus is available in the fourth deal only, without accumulation.
Rubber scoring is tallied on a score sheet divided into four parts where each partnership accumulates points either above the line or below the line.
The objective is to win by scoring the most total points in the rubber; the rubber is completed when one side has twice accumulated 100 or more contract points below the line.
Only contract points are recorded below the line; all other points are recorded above the line. Any of the four players may be the recorder, his side being represented in the "We" column and the opponents in the "They" column. In the ensuing examples, South is the recorder (the 'We' on the score sheet).
The following table summarizes the results of a rubber consisting of six deals.
Deal | Declarer | Contract | Made | Down | Contract Points | Overtrick Points | Slam Bonus | (Re)doubled Bonus | Penalty Points | Honor Bonus | Deal Total NS | Deal Total EW |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | N | 2NT | 3 | (1×40)+(1×30)=70 | 1×30=30 | 100 | ||||||
2 | W | 4♥ | 4 | 4×30=120 | 120 | |||||||
3 | W | 5♣ | 2 | 2×100=200 | 200 | |||||||
4 | S | 4♠ X | 5 | 2×(4×30)=240 | 1×100=100 | 50 | 390 | |||||
5 | N | 3♣ | 4 | 3×20=60 | 1×20=20 | 80 | ||||||
6 | E | 6♦ | 6 | 6×20=120 | 750 | 150 | 1020 | |||||
Rubber Bonus | 500 | |||||||||||
Total | 770 | 1640 |
The following panels illustrate the progression of the scoring on the score sheet.
Deal 1 | Deal 2 | Deal 3 | Deal 4 | Deal 5 | Deal 6 | Rubber Bonus | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Deal 1: South bids 2NT making 3. Only the contract points (70) are scored below the line; the overtrick points (30) are scored above the line.
Deal 2: West bids and makes 4♥. This scores 120 contract points below the line; since there are no overtricks, no points are scored above the line. The accumulation of 100 or more points below the line constitutes the end of the first game and is signified by the drawing of a horizontal line. Since no part-game or game bonus is awarded in rubber bridge, East-West do not receive an additional game bonus and North-South do not receive any part-game bonus. Furthermore, the part score of 70 by North-South is no longer available for accumulation towards a game by them; the 70 points are said to be "cut off" as signified by the drawing of the horizontal line. Having won a game, East-West are vulnerable for all subsequent deals of the rubber meaning that they are now eligible for a larger rubber bonus if they win a second game before their opponents win one and they are susceptible to increased penalties if they are defeated in a contract.
Deal 3: West bids 5♣ and goes down 2, vulnerable, undoubled. This scores 200 penalty points for North-South above the line.
Deal 4: South bids 4♠ doubled, not vulnerable and makes 5. North-South score 240 contract tricks below the line, 100 overtrick points above the line and 50 points for 'insult' above the line. Accumulating 100 or more points below the line constitutes the end of the second game, signified by the drawing of a horizontal line. Having won a game, North-South are now also vulnerable for all subsequent deals of the rubber.
Deal 5: North bids 3♣ and makes 4 scoring 60 contract points below the line and 20 overtrick points above the line.
Deal 6: East bids and makes 6♦ - a small slam holding all five top honors. This scores a game of 120 contract points and earns a slam bonus of 750 points above the line (East-West being vulnerable). 150 honor points are scored above the line for holding all five honors. Having again accumulated 100 or more points below the line, East-West win a second game; a horizontal line is drawn to end the rubber.
Rubber Bonus: At the conclusion of the rubber, a rubber bonus is awarded. In this case, East-West have won a slow rubber and receive a 500-point rubber bonus above the line.
Total: The scores for each side are totalled and East-West (the 'They' on the score sheet) win the rubber.
Scoring in duplicate bridge is done in two stages:
In duplicate scoring, the score for each deal is independent from all others and is a single number resulting from the addition of points awarded in accordance with either of two cases:
In duplicate bridge, the dealer and the status of vulnerability for each side is predetermined by the board, there being sixteen possible combinations.
Board | Dealer | Vulnerability | Declarer | Contract | Made | Down | Contract Points | Overtrick Points | Slam Bonus | (Re)doubled Bonus | Penalty Points | Game Points | Total N-S | Total E-W |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | N | None | E | 1♥ | 3 | 30 | 2×30=60 | 50 | −140 | 140 | ||||
2 | E | N-S | N | 4♠ X | 2 | (1×200)+(1×300)=500 | −500 | 500 | ||||||
3 | S | E-W | N | 2♦ | 4 | 2×20=40 | 2×20=40 | 50 | 130 | −130 | ||||
4 | W | Both | W | 1NT | 3 | 40 | 2×30=60 | 50 | −150 | 150 | ||||
5 | N | N-S | S | 3NT | 1 | 100 | −100 | 100 | ||||||
6 | E | E-W | S | 3♥ | 4 | 3×30=90 | 30 | 50 | 170 | −170 | ||||
7 | S | Both | W | 3♣ | 3 | 3×20=60 | 50 | −110 | 110 | |||||
8 | W | None | E | 7♥ | 7 | 7×30=210 | 1000 | 300 | −1510 | 1510 | ||||
9 | N | E-W | N | 4♠ X | 4 | 2×(4×30)=240 | 50 | 300 | 590 | −590 | ||||
10 | E | Both | E | 2NT | 2 | 40+30=70 | 50 | −120 | 120 | |||||
11 | S | None | N | 6♣ | 6 | 6×20=120 | 500 | 300 | 920 | −920 | ||||
12 | W | N-S | E | 2♦ | 3 | 2×20=40 | 20 | 50 | −110 | 110 | ||||
13 | N | Both | W | 4♥ X X | 4 | 2×2×(4×30)=480 | 100 | 500 | −1080 | 1080 | ||||
14 | E | None | S | 5♠ | 1 | 50 | −50 | 50 | ||||||
15 | S | N-S | E | 4♥ | 5 | 4×30=120 | 30 | 300 | −450 | 450 | ||||
16 | W | E-W | N | 3NT | 3 | 40+(2×30)=100 | 300 | 400 | −400 |
One common form of pairs scoring is by matchpoints. On each board, a partnership scores two matchpoints for each other partnership that scored fewer points with the same cards, and one point for each other partnership that scored the same number of points. Thus, every board is weighted equally, with the best result earning 100 percent of the matchpoints available, and the worst earning no matchpoints; the opponents receive the complement score, e.g. an 80% score for a N–S pair implies a 20% score for their E–W opponents. Colloquially, a maximum matchpoints score on a board is known as a "top", and a zero score is a "bottom". The terms "high board" and "low board" are also used.
These matchpoints are added across all the hands that a pair plays to determine the winner. Scores are usually given as percentages of a theoretical maximum: 100% would mean that the partnership achieved the best score on every single hand. In practice, a result of 60% or 65% is likely to win the tournament or come close. In a Mitchell movement (see above) the overall scores are usually compared separately for North–South pairs and for East–West pairs, so that there is one winner in each group (unless arrow-switching has been applied - see above).
In board-a-match team game, the matchpoints are calculated using a similar principle. Since there are only two teams involved, the only possible results are 1 (won), ½ (tied), and 0 (lost) points per board. [1]
In International Match Point (IMP) scoring, [lower-alpha 1] the difference in total points scored (or "swing") is converted to IMPs using the standard IMP table below. [2] [3] The purpose of the IMP table, which has sublinear dependency on differences, is to reduce results occurring from large swings. [4]
Point difference | IMPs | Point difference | IMPs | Point difference | IMPs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
from | to | from | to | from | to | |||||
0 | 10 | 0 | 370 | 420 | 9 | 1500 | 1740 | 17 | ||
20 | 40 | 1 | 430 | 490 | 10 | 1750 | 1990 | 18 | ||
50 | 80 | 2 | 500 | 590 | 11 | 2000 | 2240 | 19 | ||
90 | 120 | 3 | 600 | 740 | 12 | 2250 | 2490 | 20 | ||
130 | 160 | 4 | 750 | 890 | 13 | 2500 | 2990 | 21 | ||
170 | 210 | 5 | 900 | 1090 | 14 | 3000 | 3490 | 22 | ||
220 | 260 | 6 | 1100 | 1290 | 15 | 3500 | 3990 | 23 | ||
270 | 310 | 7 | 1300 | 1490 | 16 | 4000 or more | 24 | |||
320 | 360 | 8 |
The score that is being compared against can be obtained in the following ways:
Example of averaged cross-IMP scoring:
Pair Making 4♠ for +620 | Scores of the four other North/South pairs | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
−100 | −100 | −300 | +650 | |
Point difference | 720 | 720 | 920 | −30 |
IMPs gained | 12 | 12 | 14 | −1 |
Total IMPs gained | 37 | |||
Number of competitors | 4 | |||
Average cross-IMP score | 9.25 |
Five North/South pairs play a board when vulnerable against non-vulnerable opponents. One pair makes a 4♠ contract, scoring +620, while the other North/South pairs score −100, −100, −300, and +650, respectively.
To determine the average cross-IMP score for the pair making 4♠, the table at right is created, entering the contract points scored by each pair.
Each of the other North/South's scores are subtracted from the +620 score and the result entered in the point-differential cells. For each point differential, the IMP look-up table is used to determine the IMPs gained. For example, the differential of 720 equates to 12 IMPs, because it falls in the range of 600 to 740 in the IMP table. Adding the IMPs gained gives a total of 37. To determine the average IMPs gained, divide the total by the number of competitors (37 divided by 4) to arrive at 9.25 as the averaged cross-IMP score.
In some events (for example, Swiss Teams), a further normalization to reduce the effect of large swings is applied to the International Match Point scores.
A specific number of Victory Points, either 20 or 30, are divided between the two teams in accordance with the following scales:
IMP Score | 0 | 1-2 | 3-4 | 5-7 | 8-10 | 11-13 | 14-16 | 17-19 | 20-23 | 24-27 | 28+ |
VPs | 10-10 | 11-9 | 12-8 | 13-7 | 14-6 | 15-5 | 16-4 | 17-3 | 18-2 | 19-1 | 20-0 |
IMP Score | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5-6 | 7-8 | 9-10 | 11-13 | 14-16 | 17-19 | 20-23 | 24-27 | 28+ |
VPs | 15-15 | 18-12 | 19-11 | 20-10 | 21-9 | 22-8 | 23-7 | 24-6 | 25-5 | 26-4 | 27-3 | 28-2 | 29-1 | 30-0 |
In the 1932 Laws of Contract Bridge, notrump tricks bid and made, and undoubled notrump tricks made but not bid, score 30, 40, 30, 40, 30, 40, 30. [5] : law 30
In 1935 this became 40, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30. [6] : law 39
Condition | Before 1935 [5] : law 32 | 1935-1987 [6] : law 39 [7] : law 81 |
---|---|---|
Not vulnerable, not doubled | 50 each | 50 each |
Not vulnerable, doubled | 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 etc. | 100, 200, 200, 200, 200, 200 etc. |
Vulnerable, not doubled | 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 etc. | 100 each |
Vulnerable, doubled | 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 etc. | 200, 300, 300, 300, 300, 300 etc. |
Redoubled undertricks have always scored twice as much as the same doubled undertricks.
A change to the scoring of the fourth and subsequent non-vulnerable undertricks, from 200 each to 300 each, was made in 1987 after a hand in the finals of the 1981 Bermuda Bowl. Munir Attaullah and Jan-e-Alam Fazli, playing for Pakistan, reached a vulnerable 7♥ contract, which would have scored them 2210. But their non-vulnerable opponent Jeff Meckstroth, playing for USA, calculated that down 11 would cost only 2100 points and thinking he might do better than that, [8] sacrificed in 7♠ on a weak hand with five spades to the jack; this was doubled and went down nine for a score of -1700. The 510 point differential resulted in an 11 IMP swing in his team's favor.
The 1987 change in scoring increased the penalty for down nine when doubled and not vulnerable from -1700 to -2300. [9]
Condition | After 1987 for duplicate bridge [10] : law 77 and after 1993 for rubber bridge |
---|---|
Not vulnerable, not doubled | 50 each |
Not vulnerable, doubled | 100, 200, 200, 300, 300, 300 etc. |
Vulnerable, not doubled | 100 each |
Vulnerable, doubled | 200, 300, 300, 300, 300, 300 etc. |
Also, the "insult bonus" in rubber bridge for making a redoubled contract used to be only 50. This was changed to 100, so that playing 5 of a minor, redoubled, making an overtrick, is always worth more than an undoubled small slam.
It has always been the intention of every official set of Laws of Contract Bridge to forbid contracts for more than thirteen tricks. Some versions have stated this more clearly than others, but this intention of the Laws has never changed.
International Match Point scoring was first introduced at the 1938 European Championships in Oslo. [11] Its purpose is to moderate the disproportionate effect that a very large score differential (or "swing') on just one or two boards could have on the outcome of a contest involving dozens of boards. [11] The difference in total points scored by each team is converted to International Match Points (IMPs) using a standard table [2] [12] which has sublinear dependencies on differences to reduce the effect of such large swings. [4]
Originally named European Match Points (EMPs), [lower-alpha 2] the scale provided for a maximum gain of 12 points as shown in the table below. A revised table was adopted for the 1948 European Championships in Copenhagen with a maximum of 15 points. North American players were first introduced to this scoring method at the 1951 Bermuda Bowl match in Naples, Italy. [4] [11]
Point difference | EMPs | Point difference | EMPs | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
from | to | from | to | |||
10 | 30 | 1 | 400 | 490 | 7 | |
40 | 60 | 2 | 500 | 590 | 8 | |
70 | 100 | 3 | 600 | 740 | 9 | |
110 | 180 | 4 | 750 | 1490 | 10 | |
190 | 290 | 5 | 1500 | 1990 | 11 | |
300 | 390 | 6 | 2000 or more | 12 |
Point difference | IMPs | Point difference | IMPs | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
from | to | from | to | |||
0 | 10 | 0 | 1000 | 1240 | 8 | |
20 | 40 | 1 | 1250 | 1490 | 9 | |
70 | 130 | 2 | 1500 | 1990 | 10 | |
140 | 210 | 3 | 2000 | 2490 | 11 | |
220 | 340 | 4 | 2500 | 2990 | 12 | |
350 | 490 | 5 | 3000 | 3490 | 13 | |
500 | 740 | 6 | 3500 | 3990 | 14 | |
750 | 990 | 7 | 4000 or more | 15 |
Further revisions were made in 1961 and again in 1962 by the World Bridge Federation. [11]
Point difference | IMPs | Point difference | IMPs | Point difference | IMPs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
from | to | from | to | from | to | |||||
0 | 10 | 0 | 370 | 420 | 9 | 1350 | 1490 | 18 | ||
20 | 40 | 1 | 430 | 490 | 10 | 1500 | 1740 | 19 | ||
50 | 80 | 2 | 500 | 590 | 11 | 1750 | 1990 | 20 | ||
90 | 120 | 3 | 600 | 690 | 12 | 2000 | 2240 | 21 | ||
130 | 160 | 4 | 700 | 790 | 13 | 2250 | 2490 | 22 | ||
170 | 210 | 5 | 800 | 890 | 14 | 2500 | 2990 | 23 | ||
220 | 260 | 6 | 900 | 1040 | 15 | 3000 | 3490 | 24 | ||
270 | 310 | 7 | 1050 | 1190 | 16 | 3500 or more | 25 | |||
320 | 360 | 8 | 1200 | 1340 | 17 |
Point difference | IMPs | Point difference | IMPs | Point difference | IMPs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
from | to | from | to | from | to | |||||
0 | 10 | 0 | 370 | 420 | 9 | 1750 | 1990 | 18 | ||
20 | 40 | 1 | 430 | 490 | 10 | 2000 | 2240 | 19 | ||
50 | 80 | 2 | 500 | 590 | 11 | 2250 | 2490 | 20 | ||
90 | 120 | 3 | 600 | 740 | 12 | 2500 | 2990 | 21 | ||
130 | 160 | 4 | 750 | 890 | 13 | 3000 | 3490 | 22 | ||
170 | 210 | 5 | 900 | 1090 | 14 | 3500 | 3990 | 23 | ||
220 | 260 | 6 | 1100 | 1290 | 15 | 4000 or more | 24 | |||
270 | 310 | 7 | 1300 | 1490 | 16 | |||||
320 | 360 | 8 | 1500 | 1740 | 17 |
Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions of people play bridge worldwide in clubs, tournaments, online and with friends at home, making it one of the world's most popular card games, particularly among seniors. The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the governing body for international competitive bridge, with numerous other bodies governing it at the regional level.
Auction bridge was the first form of bridge where players bid to declare a contract in their chosen trump suit or no trumps. It was first recorded as being played in Bath around 1904. The Bath Club and Portland Club met in 1908 and issued a super-set of rules for Bridge that covered the bidding and penalty for failing to make a contract in Auction Bridge. Early forms were rudimentary and unbalanced and the British and Americans could not agree over the bidding ranking and use of artificial bids, resulting in The Whist Club of New York and The Portland Club issuing competing sets of rules.
Safety play in contract bridge is a generic name for plays in which declarer maximizes the chances for fulfilling the contract by ignoring a chance for a higher score. Declarer uses safety plays to cope with potentially unfavorable layouts of the opponent's cards. In so doing, declarer attempts to ensure the contract even in worst-case scenarios, by giving up the possibility of overtricks.
Spades is a trick-taking card game devised in the United States in the 1930s. It can be played as either a partnership or solo/"cutthroat" game. The object is to take the number of tricks that were bid before play of the hand began. Spades is a descendant of the whist family of card games, which also includes bridge, hearts, and oh hell. Its major difference as compared to other whist variants is that, instead of trump being decided by the highest bidder or at random, the spade suit always trumps, hence the name.
Solo whist is the English form of Wiezen, a simple game of the Boston family played in the Low Countries. It is a trick-taking card game for four players in which players can bid to make eight tricks in trumps with any partner, or a solo contract playing against the other three players. Thus it combines both partnership and cut-throat play. Scoring is with small stakes won or paid out on each hand.
Rubber bridge is a form of contract bridge played by two competing pairs using a particular method of scoring. A rubber is completed when one pair becomes first to win two games, each game presenting a score of 100 or more contract points; a new game ensues until one pair has won two games to conclude the rubber. Owing to the availability of various additional bonus and penalty points in the scoring, it is possible, though less common, to win the rubber by amassing more total points despite losing two games out of three. Rubber bridge involves a high degree of skill but there is also a fair amount of luck involved in who gets the best cards. A popular variation of rubber bridge is known as Chicago.
Duplicate bridge is a variation of contract bridge where the same set of bridge deals are played by different competitors, and scoring is based on relative performance. In this way, every hand, whether strong or weak, is played in competition with others playing identical cards, and the element of skill is heightened while that of chance is reduced. This stands in contrast to Bridge played without duplication, where each hand is freshly dealt and where scores may be more affected by chance in the short run.
In the card game of bridge, the unusual notrump is a conventional overcall showing a two-suited hand. It was originally devised by Al Roth in 1948 with Tobias Stone, to show the minor suits after the opponents opened in a major.
Vint is a Russian card-game, similar to both bridge and whist and it is sometimes referred to as Russian whist. Vint means a screw in Russian, and the name is given to the game because the four players, each in turn, propose, bid and overbid each other until one, having bid higher than the others care to follow, makes the trump, and his vis-a-vis plays as his partner.
Chicago, also known as Four-deal Bridge and Short Bridge, is a form of contract bridge and a variation of rubber bridge in which one or more sets of four deals are played and scored.
Singaporean bridge is a re-invention of the traditional game of contract bridge deriving its name from where it is believed to have been invented, Singapore. There are many variations to the game which is primarily social, has no official book of rules and no formal organizing authority.
These terms are used in contract bridge, using duplicate or rubber scoring. Some of them are also used in whist, bid whist, the obsolete game auction bridge, and other trick-taking games. This glossary supplements the Glossary of card game terms.
In duplicate bridge, a sacrifice is a deliberate bid of a contract that is unlikely to make in the hope that the penalty points will be less than the points likely to be gained by the opponents in making their contract. In rubber bridge, a sacrifice is an attempt to prevent the opponents scoring a game or rubber on the expectation that positive scores on subsequent deals will offset the negative score.
In the card game contract bridge, a takeout double is a low-level conventional call of "Double" over an opponent's bid as a request for partner to bid his best of the unbid suits. The most common takeout double is after an opponent's opening bid of one of a suit where the double shows a hand with opening values, support for all three unbid suits and shortness in the suit doubled. Normally, the partner of the doubler must bid his best suit but may pass if (a) his right hand opponent intervenes or (b) on the more rare occasions when his hand is such that he wishes to convert the takeout double to a penalty double.
EHAA is a highly natural bidding system in contract bridge characterized by four-card majors, sound opening bids, undisciplined weak two-bids in all four suits and a mini notrump, usually of 10–12 high card points.
The Laws of Duplicate Bridge is the official rule book of duplicate bridge promulgated by the World Bridge Federation (WBF). The first Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge were published in 1928. They were revised in 1933, 1935, 1943, 1949, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017. The Laws are effective worldwide for all duplicate bridge tournaments sponsored by WBF, zonal, national and subordinate organizations.
The history of contract bridge may be dated from the early 16th-century invention of trick-taking games such as whist. Bridge departed from whist with the creation of Biritch in the 19th century, and evolved through the late 19th and early 20th centuries to form the present game.
Shooting is an approach in bridge to the bidding or play of a hand which aims for a favorable result by making a choice that is slightly against the odds. A player might decide to shoot toward the end of a pairs game, when he judges that he needs tops to win, not just average-plus results.
International match points (IMP) within the card game of contract bridge is a measurement for conversion of the absolute contract bridge scores. The total point difference between two scores is compared to a scale ranging from 1 to 24.
Priffe or Preference is a classic Swedish, trick-taking card game for four players who form two teams of two. It is an elaboration of Whist that involves bidding, but this is a different form from that in American Bid Whist. Together with Vira, Priffe was one of the most common card games in Sweden until superseded by Bridge.