Bridge Rules: The Complete Official Guide

Need to settle a rules dispute? Looking up whether something’s legal? You’re in the right place.

This isn’t a tutorial. It’s a rulebook. Quick, clear answers to specific bridge rules questions. Bookmark this page—you’ll come back to it.

What Makes Bridge Rules Unique

Bridge has actual laws. Not suggestions, not customs—laws. The World Bridge Federation maintains the official Laws of Contract Bridge, updated every 10 years. The current version came out in 2017.

These laws cover everything from how to deal cards to what happens when someone revokes. Bridge takes its rules seriously because the game is played in clubs, tournaments, and world championships where consistency matters.

Three things set bridge rules apart:

Clarity over spirit. If the rule says you can’t do it, you can’t do it. No “but I meant to…” or “can we just…?” Bridge rules are black and white.

Penalties exist. Break certain rules and you get actual penalties—your opponents might get extra tricks or points. This isn’t poker where you can just re-deal.

Different formats, same core rules. Whether you’re playing rubber bridge at home or duplicate at a club, the fundamental rules stay the same. The scoring changes, but the mechanics don’t.

The Deck and Players

The Cards

Standard 52-card deck. No jokers, no wild cards.

Four suits:

  • ♠ Spades (black)
  • ♥ Hearts (red)
  • ♦ Diamonds (red)
  • ♣ Clubs (black)

Ranking: Ace is high. The order is A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Suit ranking (for bidding): ♠ (highest), ♥, ♦, ♣ (lowest), plus notrump (highest of all).

The Players

Exactly four players. No more, no less.

Two partnerships. North-South plays against East-West. Partners sit opposite each other.

Positions are fixed. Once the deal starts, you can’t switch seats or partnerships mid-hand.

Dealing Rules

Here’s how cards get dealt:

The dealer deals. Cards pass clockwise, one at a time, starting with the player to dealer’s left.

Face down. You can’t look at anyone’s cards while dealing. Nobody sees anything until all 52 cards are out.

13 cards each. Every player gets exactly 13 cards. If someone has 12 or 14, you misdeal and start over.

Clockwise rotation. After each hand, the deal moves one spot clockwise. If North dealt this hand, East deals next.

No showing cards during the deal. Keep your hand concealed until the auction begins.

Misdeal Rules

If someone notices a misdeal before bidding starts:

  • Wrong number of cards? Redeal.
  • Card exposed during dealing? Redeal (in most casual games).
  • Deck missing a card? Find it or get a new deck and redeal.

Once bidding begins, you can’t claim misdeal anymore. You play what you got.

Bidding Rules

Bidding is where you make your contract. Here are the legal parameters:

Who Bids First

The dealer always bids first. After that, bidding continues clockwise.

You must bid in turn. Bid out of turn and you face penalties (usually you lose that bid and might restrict your next bid).

A bid has two parts: a level (1-7) and a denomination (a suit or notrump).

Minimum bid: 1♣ (promises 7 tricks total)

Maximum bid: 7NT (promises all 13 tricks)

Each bid must be higher than the last. “Higher” means:

  • Higher level (2♣ beats 1NT)
  • Same level but higher suit (1♥ beats 1♦)

Examples:

  • You can bid 1♥ over 1♦ ✓
  • You can’t bid 1♣ over 1♠ ✗
  • You can bid 2♣ over 1♠ ✓

Other Calls

Pass: You skip your turn. You can still bid later if the auction comes back around.

Double (X): Says “I think they’re going to fail.” Only legal when opponents made the last bid. Increases penalties.

Redouble (XX): Says “No, we won’t fail.” Only legal after your side gets doubled. Increases stakes even more.

When Bidding Ends

Three consecutive passes end the auction. After someone bids, if the next three players all pass, that bid becomes the contract.

Four passes from the start? That’s a passed-out hand. Nobody plays, cards get shuffled, next dealer deals.

The final bid sets the contract. If the auction goes 1♠-Pass-Pass-Pass, the contract is 1♠.

Bidding Restrictions

You can’t communicate outside the legal calls. No gestures, no hesitations to show strength, no facial expressions. Your bids are your only language.

Conventional bids are legal but must be disclosed. If your 2♣ bid doesn’t show clubs, you have to tell opponents what it means when they ask.

You can’t look at another player’s cards during bidding. Dummy’s cards stay hidden until play begins.

Play Rules

Who Leads

The player to declarer’s left makes the opening lead. Always. No exceptions.

The lead is face down in duplicate. In tournament play, you put your lead face down on the table first so everyone can ask last-minute questions. Then it gets turned over.

The lead is immediate in rubber bridge. Just play it.

Following Suit

This is the golden rule of bridge:

You must follow suit if you can. If someone leads ♥ and you have hearts, you have to play a heart.

You can play any heart. High, low, doesn’t matter—but it must be from the suit led.

If you’re out of that suit, you can play anything. This includes trumps.

Revoking (failing to follow suit when you could) is a serious penalty. More on that below.

Trumps

If the contract has a trump suit:

Trump beats any card from other suits. The ♠2 beats the ♥A if spades are trumps.

Higher trump beats lower trump. ♠K beats ♠5.

You can only trump if you’re out of the suit led. Can’t just decide to play trump when you still have cards in the led suit.

In notrump, there are no trumps. Highest card in the suit led wins the trick.

Winning Tricks

Highest card in the suit led wins—unless someone trumped.

If multiple people trump, highest trump wins.

Winner of the trick leads to the next trick.

Dummy Rules

After the opening lead, declarer’s partner puts their cards face up on the table. This player is called dummy.

Dummy doesn’t play their own cards. Declarer calls which card dummy plays.

Dummy can’t talk about the hand. Can’t suggest plays, can’t comment on what happened. Just sit there.

Dummy can point out revokes or illegal plays. That’s allowed. Just can’t give strategic advice.

Declarer can ask dummy questions about bids or rules. But dummy can’t volunteer information.

Play Speed

You can’t take forever. There’s no shot clock, but deliberately slow play can result in penalties in tournament bridge.

You can’t rush opponents. They get reasonable time to think.

Dummy comes down immediately after opening lead. No stalling.

Scoring Rules

Scoring is where rubber bridge and duplicate bridge split completely. Here are the core concepts that apply to both:

Trick Values

You need 6 + your bid level tricks to make your contract.

  • 1-level contract = 7 tricks needed
  • 2-level = 8 tricks
  • 3-level = 9 tricks
  • 4-level = 10 tricks
  • 5-level = 11 tricks
  • 6-level = 12 tricks (small slam)
  • 7-level = 13 tricks (grand slam)

Points per trick vary by suit:

Minor suits (♦ and ♣): 20 points per trick

Major suits (♥ and ♠): 30 points per trick

Notrump: 40 points for first trick, 30 for each additional trick

Game and Partscores

Game = 100 points in tricks.

Game contracts:

  • 3NT (40+30+30 = 100)
  • 4♥ or 4♠ (30×4 = 120)
  • 5♣ or 5♦ (20×5 = 100)

Partscore = anything below game. Examples: 1NT, 2♥, 3♣.

Slam Bonuses

Small slam (bidding 6-level): Bonus of 500 points (not vulnerable) or 750 points (vulnerable).

Grand slam (bidding 7-level): Bonus of 1000 points (not vulnerable) or 1500 points (vulnerable).

You only get slam bonuses if you bid slam. Making 12 tricks when you only bid 3NT gets you nothing extra.

Overtricks and Undertricks

Overtricks: Extra tricks beyond your contract. Worth the per-trick value of your contract.

Undertricks: Tricks short of your contract. Your opponents score penalty points. Amount depends on vulnerability and whether you were doubled.

Vulnerability

Vulnerable = you’ve already won a game. Bonuses are higher, but penalties are steeper.

Not vulnerable = you haven’t won a game yet. Smaller bonuses, smaller penalties.

In rubber bridge, vulnerability comes from winning games. In duplicate, it’s preset for each board.

Doubled Contracts

Making a doubled contract: Your trick score doubles, plus you get a 50-point bonus.

Failing a doubled contract: Penalties are much higher. First undertrick is -100 (not vul) or -200 (vul). Gets worse from there.

Redoubled: Everything doubles again.

Common Rule Questions

Can I sort my cards during play?

Yes. You can arrange your hand however you want, anytime.

What if I lead out of turn?

During bidding: Penalty, usually you lose that bid.

During play: Declarer has options. They might accept the lead or require a different suit.

What happens if I revoke?

Revoke = fail to follow suit when you could have.

If caught and established (you played to the next trick), you typically transfer one or two tricks to the opponents. The exact penalty depends on when it’s caught.

Can I ask what a bid means?

Yes, always. You can ask opponents to explain their bids anytime during the auction or before your opening lead.

You can’t ask your partner. You’re supposed to remember your agreements.

Can I take back a bid or play?

Before the next player acts: Maybe, if you genuinely misspoke and everyone agrees.

After the next player acts: No. Your bid or play stands.

What if someone sees dummy’s hand early?

If dummy exposes cards before the opening lead: Usually no penalty, just asked to conceal them again.

If someone else looks: That’s cheating. Penalties depend on whether it’s deliberate.

Can I write notes during play?

Duplicate bridge: No. You can’t record anything about the current hand while it’s in progress.

Rubber bridge: Usually yes, especially score.

Do I have to tell opponents my system?

In clubs and tournaments: Yes. You must disclose agreements when asked.

At home: Technically yes, but nobody’s enforcing it. Still polite to explain if asked.

Etiquette vs Rules

Not everything at the bridge table is a rule. Some things are etiquette—strongly encouraged but not legally required.

Actual Rules (Can’t Break These)

  • Following suit when you can
  • Bidding in turn
  • Not communicating illegally with partner
  • Revealing your agreements when asked

Etiquette (Should Follow, But Not Laws)

  • Not gloating when opponents go down
  • Not criticizing partner’s play
  • Saying “thank you, partner” when dummy
  • Not pulling cards until it’s your turn
  • Playing at a reasonable pace

Break a rule: You get penalties, possibly adjusted score.

Break etiquette: You’re just annoying. Might get asked to leave if you’re terrible about it, but no in-game penalty.

Rubber Bridge vs Duplicate Differences

The core rules stay the same, but a few things change:

Rubber Bridge

  • Vulnerability comes from winning games
  • Scoring is cumulative (you’re trying to reach certain point totals)
  • Same players stay in same seats
  • One deck, redealt each hand
  • Typically played for money or pride

Duplicate Bridge

  • Vulnerability is preset for each board
  • Scoring compares your result to other pairs who played the same hands
  • Players rotate (you play different opponents)
  • Pre-dealt boards (everyone plays identical hands)
  • Typically played in clubs and tournaments

Laws Are Identical

Both use the same Laws of Contract Bridge. If something’s illegal in rubber, it’s illegal in duplicate.

Where to Find Official Rules

Want the actual laws? Here’s where to look:

The Laws of Contract Bridge (2017): Published by the World Bridge Federation. This is the bible. Available free online at worldbridge.org.

ACBL interpretations: The American Contract Bridge League publishes additional guidance for specific situations. Available at acbl.org.

Tournament-specific rules: Some events have supplemental conditions (like screen rules or convention restrictions). Check with the tournament organizer.

Local club rules: Your bridge club might have house rules for things like cellphone use or slow play. These don’t override the Laws but add to them.

Regional Differences

Bridge laws are universal. A legal bid in New York is legal in Sydney.

The only real differences are:

Scoring format: Some places prefer IMPs (International Match Points), others matchpoints.

Allowed conventions: Some tournaments restrict certain bidding systems.

Language: The laws exist in multiple languages, but the rules are identical.

Final Word

Bridge rules exist for a reason: to keep the game fair, consistent, and honest. Learn them. Know them. Don’t be the person who argues about basics.

Most rules questions come up once, get answered, and never bother you again. You’ll internalize the important ones (like following suit) after a few hands. The weird edge cases (simultaneous leads, anyone?) you can look up when they happen.

Keep this page bookmarked. When someone asks “is that legal?” you’ll have the answer.

Now get to the table and play.

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