Guest Author - Lynn Little

To play the game of Bridge, there are certain terms that you will need to know the meaning. There are many words that have special meaning in Bridge. Whole books are based on just the lingo of Bridge. This is meant to be a beginner's guide to some of the terminology of Bridge.

Auction--This is just another term for bidding.

Bid--A Bid is basically how many tricks above 6 you think you and your partner can take of a certain suit (or no trump), which you name. You can also pass if you think your Bridge hand is not very good. You can also double an opponent's bid if you think they are not going to reach their lofty bid. However, they can double your double bid.

Book--On the offense, a book refers to the first six tricks you must win before you can start making your contract. On the defense, it means the number of tricks your opponent must win before they can start defeating your contract.

Contract--The final bid becomes the contract.

Declarer-- The player who plays the contract. His partner is called the Dummy because he/she normally doesn't speak during the game and must play with his/her cards face up.

Defenders--The opponents of the Declarer are called the Defenders. The defenders try and keep the declarer from making his/her contract.

Follow suit--To play a card of the same suit(example: Clubs) as the previous card.

North, East, South, West--This is a reference to where each player is sitting at the table. North and South are partners as well as players East and West.

No-trump--A contract that only the highest cards can win the hand, and suit does not matter.

Pass--A bidding term where you simply pass your turn. Consider it a signal to your partner that your hand is not likely to help win a lot of tricks.

Suits--These are spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.

Ruff--This word means to trump.

To Trump--A player plays a trump card when he/she can't follow suit of the previous played cards. A trump beats any non-trump suit, no matter what the face value of the cards.

Trick--Once all four players have played a card, the person who played the highest card of the suit or a trump card wins the trick. The four cards on the table are called a Trick.

Feel free to add your own definitions or must know tips for playing the game of Bridge by visiting the Cards Game forum.