Stepping Into the First Trick

Imagine sitting at a table with three other players, one of whom is your partner. The two of you form a team for the hand. 

The other two players sit across from you and are working together as well. Once the cards are dealt, the hand begins with a quiet moment before the first card is played. 

The first player that places a card face up on the table is the one making the opening lead. Each of the other players follow in turn, placing one card each. All four cards together form what is called a trick. The player who wins the trick by playing the highest card of the suit led takes the trick and then leads the next card from their hand. This is how play moves until all thirteen tricks have been played. 

To understand how the hand unfolds, it helps to know a little about the players. There are four players: North, South, East, and West. You play as part of a partnership with the player sitting opposite you. The player who wins the contract is called the declarer, and their partner lays their cards face up on the table as the dummy. The declarer plays both their own hand and the dummy’s hand, while the defenders try to win as many tricks as possible. 

Even though we’re only at the beginning, you can already see how each card matters. By understanding the players, partnerships, and what a trick is, you’ve taken the first step toward thinking like a bridge player. We’ll continue on by building on here, introducing the simple rules that guide play for every hand.