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Dictionary of Terms
Above the Line
Scoring that does not count towards
game
, but over the line points are added up at the end of the
rubber
.
Below the Line
Scoring that counts towards
game
.
Bidding
The first phase of bridge, when the players decide who will get the contract.
Clubs(
)
The lowest suit in the
bidding
.
Contract
An agreement that one partnership gets to take a certain number of tricks. If the contract is four hearts, the partership agrees to take 10 (6+4) tricks with hearts as trump. Which side gets the contract and what it is is decided in the
bidding
Control
A control in a suit is either a
stopper
in that suit or a
void
in that suit. You can
cue bid
controls.
Declarer
The first person in the partnership that gets the contract to bid the trump suit. The Declarer plays out both his/her and the
dummy's
hand.
Diamonds(
)
The second-lowest suit in the
bidding.
Double
A bid that increases the amount of points that the hand is worth. Only the opponents can double a
contract
. Doubles can also be takeout doubles.
Doubleton
A doubleton in a suit is when a hand contains only 2 cards in that suit.
Dummy
The partner of the
declarer
, dummy lays out his hand after his
RHO
leads
.
Five Card Majors
A bidding system in which a five card suit is required to open in a
major suit
.
Following Suit
To play a card of the same suit as what was
led
. All players must always follow suit if possible!
Forcing Bid
A bid that forces partner to respond, no matter how many points he/she has.
Game
A game is made when one team scores 100 points
under the line
. Whichever side makes two games first wins the
rubber
.
Grand Slam
A bid of 7 that is made. A grand slam gets a special bonus - see
scoring
for details.
Hearts(
)
The second-highest suit in the
bidding
(excluding
no-trump
).
HCP
An abbreviation for High Card Points, or points that are counted with high cards and not distribution (see
Point Count
for details).
Honors
The ace, king, queen, or jack of a suit (and sometimes a 10 is called an honor).
Lead
To play the first card after the bidding. The
RHO
of the
dummy
always leads.
Level
The number of the
bidding.
For example, a bid of 2
is at the two-level.
LHO
An abbreviation for Left-Hand Opponent.
Major Suit
Hearts or spades; these suits are worth less in the
scoring
. A bid of 4 in a major suit is
game
.
Minor Suit
Clubs or diamonds; these suits are worth less in
scoring.
A bid of 5 in a minor suit is
game
.
Nonvulnerable
A partnership is nonvulnerable if they have not won a game. Vulnerability matters in
scoring
.
No-trump
No-trump is considered a suit in the
bidding
, and is the highest suit. In a no-trump
contract
, you must follow suit in order to win the trick. A bid of 3 no-trump is
game
.
Overtrick
An overtrick is a trick that is not needed to fulfill your contract. You get points for overtricks - see
Scoring
for details.
Pass
A pass is the lowest bid. You may always pass, and three consecutive passes end the
bidding
.
"Passed out"
The hand is "passed out" if everyone passes. The hands are thrown in, and the cards are reshuffled and redealt.
Preemptive Bid
A preemptive bid is a bid made to prevent the enemy from making a high contract by bidding high, and thereby cutting their communications. Usually, a preemptive bid is an open of 3 with a long suit (7 or more). See
Conventions
for details.
Redouble
A bid that is made by the declaring side after the opponents
double
. A redouble quadruples the normal amount of points.
RHO
An abbreviation for Right-Hand Opponent.
Rubber
Two
games
. Whichever team makes the rubber first gets an
over the line
bonus of 700 points if the opposing side has no
games
, or 500 points if the opposing side has one
game
.
Run
As a verb, to run the opponents out of a certain suit and to play your low cards so that they win tricks. Running suits is usually done at notrump, because otherwise the opponents can trump after they are out of that suit. As a noun, a run of high cards means 2 or more high cards of the same suit in sequence; for example QJ or AKQ of a suit.
Set
To prevent the other partnership - the one who has the
contract
- from making their contract.
Singleton
A singleton in a suit is when a hand contains only 1 card of that suit.
Slam
A contract of 6 or 7 that is made. Slams can be either
grand
or
small.
See
Scoring
for details.
Small Slam
A contract of 6 that is made. A small slam gets a special bonus - see
Scoring
for details.
Spades(
)
The highest suit in the
bidding
(excluding
no-trump
).
Stopper
A high card in a suit that can stop opponents from
running
that suit.
Trick
A group of four cards played one after the other, one by each player. A partnership needs to take a certain number of tricks to make its
contract
.
Trump
The trump suit is the highest suit, but remember that you can only play a trump if you cannot
follow suit
. A card of the trump suit is also called a trump.
Undertrick
A trick that you needed to get to fulfill your contract, but did not get. Your opponents score points for your undertricks - see
Scoring
for details.
Void
A hand is void in a suit if it has no cards of that suit.
Vulnerable
A partnership is vulnerable if they have won a game. Vulnerability matters in
scoring
.
Yarborough
A hand which contains no cards higher than a 9.
Main Page
Rules of Bridge
Part 1: Bidding
Part 2: Playing out the Hand
Scoring
Point Count
Conventions
Mathematics of Bridge
Dictionary of Terms
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