Lesson 1

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Video 1

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Bridge is a Midsport

Bridge belongs to mind sports like Chess, GO, and International Draughts. 

Bridge is a game for 4 players

The main difference from other mind sports is that bridge is played by 4 players, sitting around the table.
We call the players according to the four cardinal directions: North, East, South, and West.

Bridge is a card game

  • Bridge is played with a standard deck of 52 cards.
  • There are 4 suits, each represented by a unique symbol: Spades ♠, Hearts ♥, Diamonds ♦, and Clubs ♣.
  • There are 13 cards within each suit, and the highest card is the Ace, followed by the King, Queen, and the Jack. We call these picture cards "Honors". The numbered cards are ranked from 10 (the highest) to 2 (the lowest). We call them "spot cards".

Task 1

1) One player deals all the cards one by one to all players.

We refer to this player as a "Dealer". 

2) Count your cards before you see them.

Each player must have 13 cards in their hand.

3) Sort your cards according to suits and their rank within the suits.

We recommend to sort the suits that two dark/black suits and two light/red suits are not next to each other.
You avoid making mistakes if you sort the cards well.

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Video 2

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Bridge is a game of tricks

  • A trick is a set of 4 cards, one from each player's hand, placed face up on the table.
  • There are 13 tricks in one deal.
  • Players play the cards one after another in a clockwise direction. We refer to the first card as the "opening lead".
  • Players must follow the suit of the first card led in each trick. They do not have to play a higher one if they do not wish to.
  • The highest card in the suit wins the trick.
  • The player who wins the trick leads into the next one.
  • If a player cannot follow the suit, he can play any card from his hand, but cannot win the trick, unless there are trumps in the game.

Task 2

1) The dealer makes the opening lead.

He puts one of his cards face up on the table.
Place the card towards the middle, but keep it on your side of the table so it is clear which player played which card.

2) Other players play  in a clockwise direction.

Each player puts one of his cards on the table. 
The ONLY RULE is that they must play a card of the same suit/symbol as the opening lead.
They can choose any card in the suit.

3) Evaluate the trick.

The highest card in the suit of the opening lead wins a trick.

4) Turn around the cards.

The cards that were already played are out of the game.
Turn around the card and put it aside, close to you.
If you won the trick, place the card vertically, if you lose, horizontally.

Tip: Keep the card that won the trick open.
You will count the winning tricks more easily, and you will learn which cards win the trick more often.

5) The winner leads to another trick.

(S)He can play any card from his/her hand. This card sets the suit for this trick.

6) Play all 13 tricks.

Repeat the process till you have no cards left.
Each player will play one card to finish the game with 13 tricks.

7) Count your winners and compare with others.

Count how many tricks you won – placed horizontally in front of you. 
Ensure that the total of all the winning cards for all 4 players equals 13.

Teacher tip: Compare the results of all tables in the class.
If you played the same deal, the player who won the most tricks in each direction wins.

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If you want to learn more, visit the MM Bridge Academy