| Don't know how to play Bridge but want to learn? Bridge might look a little hard at first, but once you know the basics, you're on your way to hours of fun-filled card playing! In this series of “Learning the Bridge Basics," we'll teach you all you need to know to play; from counting cards, to bidding, to rebid, and more! And it's complete with a mini-exercise at the end.
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Lesson One: Know Your Hand
In Bridge, you and your partner bid against your opponents to establish the contract for the hand. Half of the game is learning to communicate your hand to your partner through your bidding patterns. And before you can decide what to bid, you need to evaluate the strength of your hand -- how many points you're holding and if it's a balanced hand. Here's how to find out how many points are in your hand: | |
| What's the Shape of My Hand? Is It Balanced?
The shape of your hand is important because it could determine your opening bid, how to respond to your partner's bid, or how to play your cards defensively.
For example, to make an opening bid of 1NT, you need a balanced hand -- a hand where you have no voids, no singletons, and only one doubleton.
Pop Quiz!
In the following hands, what are the high-card points (HCP), the distribution points, and total points, and is it a balanced hand? | |
