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Reference
Quick answers to look up at the table, at home, or before your first congress. Official rules always live with the ABF and WBF; we explain them and link to the source.
Cheat sheets
At the bridge table
Who sits where, what happens in order, the auction, the play, dos and don'ts, and numbers to know.
Open →Card cheat sheet
The parts of a card, how cards rank in contract bridge, and words you'll hear at the table.
Open →Scoring cheat sheet
How the score is built, undertrick penalties, contracts made, doubled contracts and the IMP scale.
Open →Bidding boxes and slips
Three ways to make a call, how to use a bidding box properly, written bidding, and good habits.
Open →System cards
A system card tells your opponents what your bids mean. At ABF events each player should have one. Fill it in with your partner before you play.
ABF system card: SAYC beginner course
Filled in for the six-week course. Students can use it as their first system card.
Download PDF →ABF system card: Basic Standard American
A filled-in card for a basic Standard American partnership.
Download PDF →ABF convention card
A blank ABF card to complete with your own partnership agreements.
Download PDF →Standard American system card (generic)
An editable version you can adapt and print.
Download .docx →Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Auction | The bidding stage, which decides the contract |
| Board | A tray holding one pre-dealt hand in duplicate |
| Book | The first six tricks, which don’t count towards the contract |
| Call | Any bid, pass, double or redouble |
| Contract | The final bid. It sets the number of tricks to win and the trump suit |
| Declarer | The player who plays both their own hand and dummy’s |
| Defenders | The two players trying to defeat the contract |
| Director | The official who runs the session and rules on irregularities. Call “Director, please” if something goes wrong |
| Dummy | Declarer’s partner, whose cards are laid face up |
| Fit | Eight or more cards in one suit between you and your partner, which makes a good trump suit |
| Game | A contract worth 100 or more trick points (3NT, 4♥, 4♠, 5♣ or 5♦) |
| HCP | High Card Points: A = 4, K = 3, Q = 2, J = 1 |
| Lead | The first card played to a trick |
| Major / Minor | Hearts and spades are majors. Clubs and diamonds are minors |
| No Trumps (NT) | A contract with no trump suit |
| Opening bid | The first bid of the auction |
| Overtrick | A trick won beyond the number contracted for |
| Part-score | A contract below game |
| Revoke | Failing to follow suit when you could have |
| Slam | A contract for 12 tricks (small slam) or 13 tricks (grand slam) |
| Trick | Four cards, one from each player |
| Trumps | The suit chosen in the auction that beats all other suits |
| Undertrick | Each trick by which declarer falls short of the contract |
| Vulnerable | A state in which bonuses and penalties are larger |
See the words in context in the overview of bridge.
Pairs or teams?
Club life is mostly pairs, but serious interstate and national events lean heavily on teams. Players who've only played pairs are often surprised by teams strategy.
| Pairs | Teams | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you play with | You and your partner against every other pair in the field (or in your direction) | Your pair plus two teammates, against one opposing team per match |
| Usual scoring | Matchpoints: how many pairs you beat on each board | IMPs: the size of the difference against your teammates' table, often converted to Victory Points |
| What's rewarded | Beating the field often. Overtricks matter | The size of swings. Overtricks matter less; game, slam and part-score decisions matter more |
| In practice | Easier to enter (just two of you). Most club sessions | Needs four. The pathway to GNOT, ANC teams and national knockouts |
| What it builds | Card-play precision and competitive part-scores | Bidding judgement, discipline and temperament over a long match |
Scoring methods
You don't need to calculate these yourself, because the scoring program does it. But it helps to know what you're playing for.
| Method | Where you'll meet it |
|---|---|
| Duplicate score table (Law 77) | Every hand: trick scores, bonuses, undertricks, doubled and redoubled. See the scoring cheat sheet |
| Matchpoints (MPs) | Club pairs and most congress pairs |
| IMPs | Teams, and some pairs events |
| Victory Points (VPs) | Swiss and round-robin teams. IMPs are converted so one big win can't dominate a whole event |
| Total points / Butler | Sometimes used in teams or special pairs events |
| Carry-over | Qualifying-plus-final events, as set out in the conditions of contest |
Movements
A movement is just the plan for who sits where and which boards you play. Its purpose is simple: meet as many opponents as possible, compare the same deals, and finish on time. The Director will always tell you where to go next.
| Movement | How it works |
|---|---|
| Mitchell | North–South stay put, East–West move one way and the boards move the other. The classic club movement |
| Howell | Almost everyone moves. Common when there are only a few tables |
| Arrow-switch | A Mitchell adjusted so there's a single overall winner instead of one per direction |
| Sit-out | With an odd number of pairs, one pair rests each round. It's normal, and it isn't a penalty |
| Swiss pairs and teams | At congresses: after each match you play opponents near your current ranking |
Official rules and regulations
The Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2017
The official rules of the game. A reference document, not a beginner's read.
Open the Laws →Australian Bridge Federation
ABF Tournament Regulations cover alerts, system cards, bidding boxes and conduct at Australian events.
abf.com.au →Coming soon
- How to conduct yourself: arriving on time, tempo, calling the Director, and partnership kindness Soon
- Your first congress: entries, system cards, dress and a checklist Soon
- Alerts in plain English, under the ABF Alerting Regulations Soon
- Standard American and Acol: the common differences you may meet at the club Soon