"Learn To Play Bridge" The ACBL Downloadable Bridge Class

I've been studying the "Learn To Play Bridge", the down-loadable introductory bridge class from ACBL. It is a great introduction to playing bridge. Plus it is fun:)The program is somewhat interactive, but you can go back and forth to previous sections, or chapters, as many times as you want to review previous information, at the click of an arrow. It's very basic, but very clear, written by a Master bridge player and teacher. I would highly recommend it, and it's free from the ACBL website. Can't beat that.

I'm studying the section entitled, "Taking tricks: Introduction to the Trick" A trick is the play of one card, of one hand, with all players participating. A hand would be the use of the entire 13 cards dealt in one hand of a round. An entire bridge game consists of the play of 4 or more hands or rounds. The winning of points, and the game, is all about how many tricks you and your partner can manage to win. From each round, and for the entire game, as a whole.

Bidding precedes the "play of the cards", or the laying down of the cards that make a trick. It is where you each bet on how many tricks you think you and your partner can take in a round, based on what you each have for cards. Experienced players can surmise what their opponents have for cards, based on a complicated metric of their own hands, their partners, as well as clues from what the opponents bid, in terms of tricks. This is the real mystery of the game I hope to crack, once I get a good handle on the rules. For now it's the basics.