How to Bid in Bridge: Openings and Responses for Beginners

When you play a game of bridge, each round starts with an auction where each player places bids on how many cards they think their team will win. Bids also convey information to your teammate about the strength of your hand, so it's important to count points first. Keep reading, and we’ll cover how to count the points in your hand, how to open a bid, and how to respond when another player bids first. We'll also refresh your memory on how bidding rules work in the game.

Basic Bridge Bidding Strategies

Count high-card points (HCP) in your hand: 4 per ace, 3 per king, 2 per queen, and 1 per Jack.
Make a bid in hearts or spades if you have 12-21 HCP and at least 5 cards in the suit.
Bid 1-Club or 1-Diamond if you have 3 cards in the suit and 12-21 HCP.
Choose no suit if you have an even number of cards in each suit and 15-17 HCP.
Pass the bid if you have below 11 HCP in your hand.

Section 1 of 5:

How to Count High-Card Points (HCP)

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1
Count up high-card points from aces and face cards. High-card points, or HCP, are a way to determine the strength of your hand during a round. Before you make your first bid in a game of bridge, look for face cards and aces you have in your hand. The points for each card are:^{[1]
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- Ace: 4 HCP
- King: 3 HCP
- Queen: 2 HCP
- Jack: 1 HCP
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Add extra HCP if you have suits with more than 4 cards. When you have more than 4 cards in a single suit, you are “long” in that suit and it makes your hand stronger. If you have 4 cards of a suit, earn 1 HCP for each additional card in that suit. Add the HCP to any points you have from aces and face cards.^{[2]
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- Example: If you have 7 cards that are hearts, the suit is worth 3 HCP. If you also have 2 Kings and a Jack, you’d have a total of 10 HCP in your hand.
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Count points for short suits if you have a trump fit. If you believe you and your partner have 8 cards of the same suit, your team has a “trump fit.” Your short suits become more valuable when your team has a majority because you can easily make it the trump suit, or the suit that is stronger than any other. Points for short suits are:^{[3]
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- Void (no cards of a suit): 5 HCP
- Singleton (1 card of a suit): 3 HCP
- Doubleton (2 cards of a suit): 1 HCP

Section 2 of 5:

How to Make an Opening Bid in Bridge

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Open with 1 no-trump if you have between 15 and 17 HCP. A no-trump bid means that you want to play the hand without any trump suit. A no-trump bid also tells your partner that you have a balanced distribution of cards in your hand with 15 to 17 high-card points.^{[4]
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- A balanced hand means you have about the same number of cards in each suit. Your hand is balanced if it has no voids or singletons, and at most one doubleton.
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Bid 1-Spade or 1-Heart if you have 12-21 HCP and 5 cards of the suit. If you open with a 1-Spade bid, you’re telling your partner that you have at least 5 spades in your hand. If you say 1-Heart, then you’re communicating that you have 5 or more hearts in your hand. Make sure you have at least 12 HCP in your hand before making your bid.^{[5]
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- Spades and hearts are considered the major suits in bridge, so it’s important to let your partner know if you’re holding a lot of them in your hand.
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Bid 1-Club or 1-Diamond if you have 13-21 HCP and 3 cards in suit. Clubs and diamonds are considered minor suits, so they aren’t considered as strong in a bridge game. If you have 3 or more cards in clubs or diamonds, choose the longer suit for your opening bid.^{[6]
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- This bid is also known as a “convenient minor” because it tells your partner you have high-card points in your hand but don’t meet the requirements for the other higher bids.
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Open with a 2-Club bid if you have 22 or more HCP. Even if you don’t have a lot of cards in the club suit, bidding a 2-Club right away lets your partner know you have a high number of HCP in your hand.^{[7]
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- Example: If you have 3 Aces, 2 Kings, 2 Queens, and 2 Jacks, your hand would contain 24 HCP.
- If you have a balanced hand and exactly 20-21 HCP, then bid 2-No-Trump instead.
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Open with 11 or 12 HCP if you have strong plays in your hand. If you only have 11 or 12 HCP in your hand, it’s usually best to pass the bid unless your hand meets specific requirements. The suit you bid on depends on the exact cards you hold, but the criteria to look for includes:^{[8]
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- You have 2 or more quick tricks. An ace-king set counts as 2 quick tricks, an ace-queen counts as 1 ½, an ace or king-queen set counts as 1, and a single king counts as ½. Open in the suit you have the most quick tricks in.
- You have high-ranked cards in long suits. For example, if you have the ace, jack, 10, 9, and 8 in spades, you could safely make a 1-Spades bid.
- You have long, strong major suits. When you have HCP cards in spades or hearts, you have a stronger hand. Bid with your next longest minor suit to see how your partner responds.
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Pass the bid if you have fewer than 11 high-card points. If you have fewer than 11 HCP, then you don’t have a strong hand for the current round. Rather than risking it on a bid, pass right away to let your partner know you don’t have a lot of high cards.^{[9]
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- Example: If your hand includes 1 Ace, 1 King, 1 Queen, and 1 Jack as its only high-card points, then your total would only be 10 HCP and you should pass.

Section 3 of 5:

How to Respond to a Partner’s Opening Bid

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Raise a 1-Heart or 1-Spade bid to 2 if you have 3 cards in the suit. If your partner opens the bid on the 1-level of a major suit, check if you have at least 3 other cards in the same suit. If you have 6-9 HCP in your hand, raise the bid to a 2-Heart or 2-Spade to show you can support the suit.^{[10]
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- If you’re holding 10-12 HCP in your hand, then raise the bid to a 3-level.
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Bid a major suit you’re long in if your partner opened with 1-Club or 1-Diamond. When your partner opens with 1-Club or 1-Diamond, they’re saying they don’t have a lot of points in the major suits. If you have 4 or more hearts or spades and you have at least 6 HCP in your hand, bid at the 1-level for that suit.^{[11]
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- Example: If your partner bid 1-Diamond but you have 5 spades in your hand, then say “1-Spades” for your bid.
- If you have the same number of hearts and spades in your hand, bid 1-Spade to keep the bidding lower.
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Respond to a 1-Suit bid based on the strong suits in your hand. When your partner declares a suit at the 1-level, they are conveying basic information about their hand. How you bid depends on the HCP and number of cards you have in each suit, but you'll usually let your partner know what suit is the strongest in your hand. Use the following strategies to determine the best bid for you.^{[12]
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- Bid 1 of a new suit if you have at least 4 cards in that suit and 6+ HCP.
- Bid 2 of a new minor suit when you have 4 or more cards in the suit and 10-11 HCP.
- Bid 2 of a new major suit if you have 5 or more cards and 10-11 HCP.
- Raise the major suit from your partner’s bid if you have 3 cards in that suit and 6-10 HCP.
- Raise the minor suit from your partner’s bid by 1 level if you have 4-5 cards in that suit, 6-10 HCP, and no major suits with 4+ cards.
- Make a no-trump bid if you have 6-10 HCP and do not meet the criteria for other bids.
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Raise a no-trump bid if you have 8 or more HCP. If you have a balanced hand, count up the points you have in your hand. If you have 8-9 HCP, then raise the bid to 2-No-Trump. If you’re showing 10-15 HCP, then raise the bid to 3-No-Trump instead.^{[13]
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- If you have 0-7 HCP in your hand, then pass the bid to show you don’t have a lot of high cards.
- If you bid 2-Clubs to a 1-No-Trump opening, it’s called a Stayman. This bid is asking your partner if you have major suit cards. If your partner bids 2-Diamond in response, then they don’t have enough cards in a major suit. If they bid 2-Heart or 2-Spade, it means they have 4 cards in that suit.

Section 4 of 5:

How to Respond to an Opponent’s Opening Bid

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Overcalls are another name for bids made after your opponent makes the opening bid. If you have 5 or more cards of a suit and you have at least 10 HCP, then make a 1-level bid in that suit to tell your partner what cards you’re holding.^{[14]
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If you have high cards in a different suit than the opening bid and at least 12 HCP, raise the bid to a 2-level in that suit. That way, your partner knows you have more powerful cards in that suit.^{[15]
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Do a jump overcall if you have 6 or 7 cards and 2 honors. Honors are the ace, king, queen, jack, and 10 of the potential trump suit. When you have 5-10 HCP, as well as 6 or more cards of the same suit with 2 of them being honors, then jump to the 2-level bid of the suit you’re long in.^{[16]
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- If you have 7 or more cards in the suit, then raise the bet to the 3-level instead.
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Call 1-No-Trump if you have a balanced hand with 15-18 HCP. If the opening bid was a suit at a 1-level and you have an even number of cards between suits, check your HCP. If it’s between 15-18 and you have a high-ranked card in the original bid’s suit, call the No-Trump bid.^{[17]
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- High-valued cards in the opening bid’s suit are known as “stoppers.”
If you have 0-1 cards in the opening bid suit but have a balanced hand otherwise, say “double” instead of making a bid. This can help you earn more points at the end of the round, but it allows your partner to pick the trump suit.^{[18]
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Section 5 of 5:

Bridge Bidding Rules Overview

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The dealer is always the first to bid in a round of bridge. Then, each player makes a bid going clockwise from the dealer. If the dealer wishes to pass, then they can say “pass” instead.^{[19]
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Make a bid higher than or equal to the previous player’s bid. When it’s your turn to bid, you cannot bid lower than the previous player. From strongest to weakest, the suits for bids are No-Trump, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. Therefore, if the player before you has bid 1-Heart, then you would have to bid 1-Spade or higher. You may also bid on a higher level, such as 2-Hearts, if you have a stronger hand.^{[20]
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- If you would rather not bid, say “pass” to skip to the next player.
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Stop taking bids once 3 players in a row say “pass.” Keep going around until 3 consecutive players pass on the chance to bid. The last bid that was made becomes the “contract.” The winning pair of players has to complete the number of tricks they bid plus 6 with the declared suit being trump. At this point, it’s time to start the game and players can play tricks, or putting down cards.^{[21]
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- Example: If a team makes a bid of 2-Diamonds, then they must win a total of 8 tricks with diamonds as the trump suit.
- The player who names the final contract suit first is called the “declarer” and their partner is the “dummy.” The dummy puts their cards face-up on the table and sits out for the round, while the declarer plays from both their and their partner’s hand.

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How many points do you need to open a bid in bridge?

Drew Hawkins1

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You shouldn't open the bid unless you have 13 or more HCP, or high-card points. Any less than that and you should pass. Before you make your decision, count up your high-card points. An ace is worth 4 points, a king is worth 3, a queen is worth 2, and a jack is worth 1. Count them all up to get your total points. If you have a balanced hand with 15 to 17 high-card points, it's a good idea to announce a no-trump bid, which means you will take a hand without placing an Ace. If you have 22 points or more, you can make a 2-suit bid. Whenever you do open your bid, choose a card from your high-card suit.

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Can you preempt after an opening bid?

Drew Hawkins1

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You can make a preemptive overcall, which has suit requirements similar to a preemptive opening. A preempt is a bid on contract bridge where the primary objective is stop an opponent's ability to bid their best contract and to show your hand to your partner in a single bid. A preemptive bid usually has the goal of a "save" which is where your partner bids a contract that they know can't be made, but assumes that the penalty will be smaller than the value of your opponent's bid and contract. It can be a risky gamble, but if it works, you and your partner can take a serious advantage over your opponents. It also requires a lot of trust and ability to work well with your partner.

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How does each partner get 15 cards when there only 52 total cards and four players?

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They don't. You get 13 cards because otherwise you could not finish the game because someone has cards left.

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Bidding in bridge can be tricky to get the hang of, so keep playing games with a variety of players to improve your skills. Try joining a local bridge club or playing online to develop your skills and to get better at bidding.

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