• Bridge is a popular card game, which features four players, situated in seats labeled North, South, East and West. The players take turns laying down cards, with each instance of four cards (one per player) being known as a trick. A hand of bridge is over after 13 tricks have occurred, and none of the players have any cards remaining.
  
  

Dealing

• A game of Bridge is played using a single deck of playing cards, with the 52 numbered and lettered cards, but not the two jokers. The dealer passes around the table to the left each hand, with the dealer of a hand giving cards out one at a time, starting with the player to his left, then the player across from him, then the player to his right, then to himself. All 52 cards are dealt out every game, creating four equal hands.
  
  

Bidding

• In each hand, one team is attempting to "make the bid" while the other is defending, roles which are determined through bidding after the cards are dealt but before any cards are played. Starting to the left of the dealer, players take turns making a bidding action. Players can raise the bid, becoming the new high bidder in the process, double the prior player's bid, increasing the magnitude of the points given out in a hand, redouble the prior player's double, further increasing the magnitude, or pass by not making any action. A bid is considered a raise if the magnitude of the bid is larger than the previous high bid, or if the magnitude is equal and the value of the trump suit is higher. The order of suit strengths is clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, no trump. The magnitude of a bid can be any number from one to seven, and is equal to six less than the number of tricks which must be won in the hand for the team to make the bid. Bidding ends after three consecutive players pass.
  
  

Playing

• The two defending players each play their own hand. The first player on the bid winning team to bid the suit of the bid contract plays both their own hand, which remains concealed, and their teammate's hand, which is laid on the table face up, broken down by suit. The defender to the left of the concealed hand plays the first card, and may lay down any card. Play passes around the table to the left, with each hand required to play a card of the same suit as the lead card if one is possessed. If no card of the opening suit is held, any card may be played. After all four hands play a card, the four cards, known as a trick, are awarded to the highest card played in the opening suit, unless a trump card is played, in which case the trick is awarded to the highest trump card played. From the second trick on, the first card is played by the winner of the prior trick. 13 tricks total are played in a hand.
  
  

Scoring

• The magnitude of points awarded in a hand is determined by the trump suit, if the hand was doubled or redoubled, and the size of the bid contract. Contract points are awarded to teams who successfully make the bid, equal to 20 points multiplied by the magnitude of the bid for a club or diamond trump, equal to 30 points multiplied by the magnitude of the bid for a heart or spade trump, and equal to 30 points multiplied by the magnitude of the bid plus an additional 10 points for a no trump bid. A game bonus, equal to 50 points for a contract worth less than 100 points and 500 points for a contract of 100 or greater, is also awarded for making the bid. Extra tricks earned over the contract level score equal to the value of a trick that is a part of the contract. If the defending team successfully prevents the bid winners from making the bid, the bid winners receive no points, and the defending team receive 50 points multiplied by the number of tricks the winners missed the target by.