Bridge
  • The bridge games
  • How to play contract bridge
  • The development of the game
  • Duplicate and tournament bridge
  • Strategy of contract bridge
    • Slam bidding
  • Bridge problems
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Call Bridge
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Callers can access a conference call bridge to dial in to a company meeting; the host of a conference call can also dial out to invite or 'bridge' more participants into the call. To summarize, there are two ways to connect using a conference call bridge: Dial-in. Dial-in provides codes for you and your guests. Welcome to the tournament edition of Bridge. With 3 modes of play, practically unlimited deals and the ability to search for hands matching one of many different criteria this Bridge card game is sure to teach, challenge and entertain you for hours. Alternatively, why not play in some Bridge tournaments or create your own Bridge club and play online against your family, friends and invited. Bridge is a card game that uses a regular 52-card deck and features four players that are in teams of two. When you play bridge online you’re matched up with a virtual partner and battle against virtual opponents. The object of bridge games is to win points by taking tricks off of your opponents. The mechanical bridge crossing is the first puzzle to solve in Call of the Sea. You must cross the bridge to progress to the next area, but you might be unsure about what the rotating pillar’s.

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Britannica's Publishing Partner Program and our community of experts to gain a global audience for your work! Albert H. MoreheadSee All Contributors
Writer and editor. Bridge editor, the New York Times, 1935-63. Author of Hoyle's Rules of Games and The Complete Guide to WInning Poker, among others.

Bridge, card game derived from whist, through the earlier variants bridge whist and auction bridge. The essential features of all bridge games, as of whist, are that four persons play, two against two as partners; a standard 52-card deck of playing cards is dealt out one at a time, clockwise around the table, so that each player holds 13 cards; and the object of play is to win tricks, each trick consisting of one card played by each player. Another feature is that one suit may be designated the trump suit (i.e., any card in that suit may take any card of the other suits), but the methods of designating the trump suit (or of determining that a deal will be played without trumps) differ in the various bridge games, as explained below.

Since about 1896 bridge whist, auction bridge, and contract bridge have successively been the principal intellectual card games of the English-speaking countries. The third game of the series, contract bridge, spread throughout the world and in some respects constituted a social phenomenon unparalleled in the history of games. In addition to millions of casual players worldwide, there exist numerous national federations affiliated with the World Bridge Federation (WBF), which organizes international tournaments for more-serious competitors. Its largest affiliated member is the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) with nearly 160,000 members.

The arrival of personal computers and the Internet opened up new opportunities for instruction and play. In addition to being a venue for casual play, some Internet sites host tournaments recognized by ACBL and WBF at which participants can earn international master points.

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The bridge games

The first game of the series was originally called, simply, bridge, but it is now called bridge whist to distinguish it from the two later games. Upon its introduction to New York in 1893 and to London in 1894, it almost immediately supplanted whist in the card rooms of men’s clubs, and before 1900 it was the favourite diversion of fashionable mixed gatherings. Bridge whist was itself supplanted with almost equal rapidity by auction bridge, which was introduced in England about 1904 and which became, from 1907 to 1928, the most universally popular card game theretofore known. Auction bridge had at least 15 million adherents when it was supplanted by contract bridge about 1930 and began to die out.

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Bridge whist

In bridge, as in whist, there are four players in two partnerships, each player being dealt 13 cards. But in whist there is always a trump suit, determined by turning up the last card dealt to the dealer, and each player holds and plays his own hand. The principal innovations of bridge whist were: selection of the trump suit by the dealer or the dealer’s partner after they saw their hands; the option of playing at no trump; the exposed dummy (the hand of dealer’s partner), which was played by the dealer; a different method of scoring; and the right to double (the scoring values).

In bridge whist, after the cards were dealt, the dealer could make the declaration (name any suit as trump, or decide to play without any trump), or he could transfer this duty to his partner. Before leading, the player on the dealer’s left (eldest hand) could double or could pass that privilege to his partner; and if either doubled, dealer or his partner could redouble, and so the redoubling might continue indefinitely (except that many clubs placed a limit upon the number of redoubles).

The player on the dealer’s left then led. Dealer’s partner, called the dummy, placed his entire hand faceup on the table in front of him, and dealer played both his own cards and dummy’s, from each hand in proper turn. Otherwise play was as at whist.

The side that won the majority of the tricks scored, for each odd trick (trick over six): if spades were trumps, 2 points; clubs, 4; diamonds, 6; hearts, 8; no trump, 12; these values doubled and redoubled as previously determined. The first side thus to score 30 or more points won game, and a fresh game was begun. The first side to win two games won rubber and received a 100-point bonus. Other bonuses, which did not count toward game, were awarded for a side holding three or more honours (ace, king, queen, jack, and 10) of the trump suit or, at no-trump declarations, three or more aces; for making slams (12 or 13 tricks won); and for chicane (a player’s holding no card of the trump suit).

Auction bridge

The essential features added by auction bridge were that all four players bid for the right to name the trump suit and that the high bidder or his partner (not necessarily the dealer) became declarer and played the dummy’s hand. In other respects the procedure at auction bridge underwent constant and frequent change.

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Contract bridge

In its mechanics, contract bridge differs from auction bridge only in the scoring. At auction bridge, declarer’s side scores toward game each odd trick that it wins, whether or not it contracted to win such a trick. At contract bridge, the odd tricks won by declarer cannot be scored toward game unless declarer’s side previously contracted to win those tricks. Values of tricks, penalties, and premiums are higher in contract bridge than in auction bridge, and large bonuses are awarded for bidding and making slam contracts. See belowScoring.

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Conference Call Bridge

A Conference Call Bridge is a telephone conferencing service that allows multiple participants to be connected together seamlessly over a conference call bridge. Traditional telephone access for the phone conference bridge is done by dialing a toll-free or direct dial-in conference call bridge number. Teleconferencing Bridge services can be done as scheduled, or reservationless, with operator assisted conferencing available. Many audio conference bridge providers offer VOIP conferencing which allows use of the Internet for conference calling bridge using VOIP conferencing technology. Conference Call Bridges are used by businesses to remotely meet, collaborate, or present information to reduce the time and cost of business travel for meetings. Additional audio conference bridge service features include options to record conference call bridges, roll call, participant Q&A, polling, and special announcements. Conference Call Bridge service is also known as a Teleconference Bridge, Phone Conference Bridge, Audio Conference Bridge, or Telephone Conference Bridge.

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