In real life, your partner doesn't say "Hey, I have 10 HCP, 4 Hearts and 2 Spades!" so you can find the contract to play. We make "bids". That's right.
Bidding is the first phase of the game, in fact. Each player, in turn, clockwise:
- either pass (like: let me sleep)
- or name a contract (like: 2♥, 3NT or 6♠, you know these now)
Learn more: contract
Actually, we can also:
- double an opponent's contract ("Let's play your 4♥, but you won't win and we increase the scores: it's going to hurt!")
- redouble a contract from your side that has been doubled ("Yes yes, he will make my 4♥, and we increase them even more: it's really going to hurt"). Rare.
But forget about that for now, we'll see it later. Besides, I didn't mention it.
To prevent bidding from lasting 4 hours, we require that each contract be higher than the previous one.
What do you mean, contracts have an order?
Yes:
| Level | ♣ | ♦ | ♥ | ♠ | NT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1♣ | 1♦ | 1♥ | 1♠ | 1NT |
| 2 | 2♣ | 2♦ | 2♥ | 2♠ | 2NT |
| 3 | 3♣ | 3♦ | 3♥ | 3♠ | 3NT |
| 4 | 4♣ | 4♦ | 4♥ | 4♠ | 4NT |
| 5 | 5♣ | 5♦ | 5♥ | 5♠ | 5NT |
| 6 | 6♣ | 6♦ | 6♥ | 6♠ | 6NT |
| 7 | 7♣ | 7♦ | 7♥ | 7♠ | 7NT |
So if someone has bid 1♥, no one can then bid 1♦.
If someone wants to bid Diamonds, they must bid at least 2♦. Understood?
The last bid is 2♠. What is the lowest contract among these three that you can still announce?
Section quizAfter a bid, three consecutive Passes end the bidding. If no one has bid, all four players must Pass. When a contract has been announced, we play the last bid contract, which is necessarily the highest.
The bids are presented in the table below. Which contract is played?
Section quiz| South | West | North | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♦ | Pass | 1NT | Pass |
| Pass | Pass |
South bids 1♦, North 1♠, then South 4♠; the opponents pass each round. Who will play the dummy's cards?
Section quiz| South | West | North | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♦ | Pass | 1♠ | Pass |
| 4♠ | Pass | Pass | Pass |
For now, play these deals while watching the bidding sequence unfold. Never mind what these bids mean for now, just watch how they unfold: clockwise and increasing.
Next step: you'll be the one bidding, I promise.