What is Bridge?

Introduction

Bridge is one of the most popular card games on the planet, with millions of players worldwide. Unlike many other card games, Bridge has no luck involved. Winning Bridge is all about the decisions you make!

There's another thing that makes Bridge so special. It's played with partners! Collaboration and teamwork are just as important as individual skills.

Basic Rules

Bridge is a trick-taking game with two opposing partnerships. A standard deck of 52 cards is dealt to all four players (13 cards each). The game consists of two parts: first the auction and then the play.

In the auction phase of the game, each player takes turns making bids to describe the features – such as the overall strength and distribution of suits – of their hands, which are hidden from view for all other players. Each player processes what information has been shared, and at the conclusion of the auction, a goal is determined. In the playing phase, the partnerships strategically play cards to collectively complete the goal. Courageous partnerships may win more points for selecting and completing a more challenging goal.

Complete Rules

Quotes

Warren Buffett ~

“Bridge is such a sensational game that I wouldn't mind being in jail if I had three cellmates who were decent players and who were willing to keep the game going 24 hours a day.”

Bill Gates ~

“Bridge is the king of all card games.”

“Bridge helps you think. It's a game you can play your entire life and keep getting better and better.”

“[Bridge is] deliciously simple in the rules but deliciously complex in doing well.”

Trivia

There are 635013559600 possible bridge hands (52 choose 13), and there are 5.36×10^28 possible bridge deals (52!/(13!)^4). This means that if you play one deal every second, it will take 1.69×10^21 years to play every possible deal. In comparison, the estimated time for the sun to burn out is 5×10^9 years!