You must commit yourself to making a contract. There are four players. You (always South) and the 3 others simulated by the computer.
One North-South team against one East-West team.
13 cards are dealt to each player, for a total of 52.
For each suit: Ace King Queen Jack 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2.
The suits have the following increasing order: ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠, notrump. We do not count points but the number of tricks won in each deal: 13 tricks possible to be shared between the 2 teams.
The dealer speaks first (randomly selected by the software). Either he "PASSES" or he bids. In that case, his bid must be higher than the last bid. Then the next player speaks, and so on. The last bid becomes the contract to be made. You must determine the total strength of the cards of a side. This strength makes it possible to commit to winning a certain number of tricks in a trump suit or in notrump. To bid, we have 4 suits (♠ ♥ ♦ ♣) and notrump (which means that none of the 4 suits ranks above the others, so you cannot ruff). We do not count the first 6 tricks. Bids range from 1♣, 1♦, 1♥, 1♠, 1NT, 2♣, up to 7NT.
-saying 1 notrump (1NT) means committing to win at least 7 tricks (6+1),
-saying 4 spades (4♠) means committing to win at least 10 tricks (6+4),
-saying 7 notrump (7NT) means committing to win at least 13 tricks.
Slam: a contract at the 6-level (small slam) or the 7-level (grand slam).
DOUBLE: a challenge by which one side commits to defeating the contract chosen by the other side. Consequence: if the contract goes down, the penalty is higher. If the contract makes, the score for making it increases. REDOUBLE: a weapon used by the doubled side if it believes it can make its contract. Then the gain or the penalty becomes even higher. DOUBLE and REDOUBLE are not blocking. If the players wish, a higher bid cancels the double.
The suit of the contract defines trumps (for example 4♥ = 10 tricks with ♥ as trumps). The declarer is the player who first bid the suit of the contract played by his side. To begin play, the player to the left of the declarer places a card on the table (he makes the opening lead). The declarer’s partner is called the dummy. He spreads his hand on the table after the opening lead.
Clockwise
The player sitting before the dummy.
Each player plays in turn. Players must follow suit if possible. The highest card wins the trick, or in case of a ruff, the highest trump. There is no obligation to overruff or trump on the led suit. If you do not have the suit led, you may discard (play another suit) or ruff (with trumps) if you wish. In notrump, you cannot ruff. Each player in turn plays one card. The trick consists of the 4 cards on the table and is won by the player who played the highest card. That player leads to the next trick.
Vulnerability is fixed before each deal: a vulnerable team (symbolized by 2 small red triangles) gets a higher bonus for making the contract, or a higher penalty for going down. A non-vulnerable team is symbolized by 2 small green triangles.
From now on, you will be able to improve very quickly, since you already have enough elements to play. The software is there to guide you automatically along the right path. As you play your first tournaments, you will gradually discover the finer points of the game.
6 tricks + the contract level. Example: 3♠ = 9 tricks with ♠ as trumps.
Calculated by the software, but it is important to know it in order to determine your strategy. There are 140 possible contracts from 1 to 7NT redoubled. Some examples: 1♣ = 70 ; 3♥ = 140 ; 4♠ = 420 ; 5♦ = 400 ; 6♣ = 920 ; 6♥ = 980 ; 3NT = 400 ; 4♠ doubled = 590. An undertrick is worth from 50 to 300 points, depending on doubling and vulnerability.
Honors (HCP) have the following values: Ace = 4 ; King = 3 ; Queen = 2 ; Jack = 1.
Openings are made from 12 points upward.
ABSOLUTE PRIORITY: check whether you have 5 hearts or 5 spades: if yes, open 1♥ or 1♠, this is the FIVE-CARD MAJOR system; otherwise, open 1NT with 15-18 HCP and no long suit. If you cannot open 1♥ or 1♠, nor 1NT, open 1♣ or 1♦. Major suits: ♥ ♠ / Minor suits: ♣ ♦. Responses: reply from 5-6 points. The ABSOLUTE PRIORITY: find 8 hearts or 8 spades in your side (5+3 or 4+4, 6+3…). From 20 to 22 HCP in the partnership, it is theoretically possible to make 7 tricks; from 23 to 24 HCP, 8 tricks; from 25 to 26 HCP, 9 tricks; from 27 to 29 HCP, 10 tricks; from 30 to 32 HCP, 11 tricks; from 33 to 36 HCP, 12 tricks; and finally more than 37 HCP, 13 tricks.