At Crockfords we are pleased to offer a series of 10 beginners lessons for free. These lessons will provide you with a good basic understanding of the game and will instill an enthusiasm and love for Bridge – the ultimate of card games! Become a member and learn to love the game like we do!
Want to know more?
There are a number of good players at the club who can help you on your journey to playing better Bridge. Don’t be shy. Ask them for help. Your convenor will point you in their direction. When you get better you also might like to help a new player not as far along the way as you.
We have a collection of excellent bridge books that you are welcome to borrow.
Beginners
These free lessons are aimed not only at those who have never played before, but also anyone who would like a refresher course in the basics.
We follow the standard NZ Bridge teaching materials so everyone learns the same system throughout New Zealand.
If you would like to register for one of our future classes, please contact the office:
Features of the Crockfords Beginners classes
While you can find detailed lesson notes on the New Zealand Bridge website, learning in a group offers a more enriching experience. Immerse yourself in the camaraderie of fellow Bridge enthusiasts, share insights, and learn from each other's questions and mistakes.
You’ll make friends, and one friend in particular – your partner. You’ll enjoy social time with a group of like-minded people. As bridge is great brain food, you will improve your strategy skills and memory.
You will learn a new and different ‘language’ in order to communicate with your partner and understand what the opposition is saying. You and your partner will learn strategies for making the most of your cards compared to all the other pairs who play the same hands.
If you have missed a lesson or need to go through it again as a refresher then try these links:
Introduction
1-Level Opening Bids
Responder’s Limit Bids
Responder’s New Suit Bids
Balanced Hands
Responder’s Rebids
Overcalls
Takeout Double
Pre-emptive Openings
Strong Opening Bids
Improvers
These lessons are aimed at those who have played for a year or two and will be based on the content provided by NZ Bridge Improver Lessons.
However they are often beneficial to players of much greater experience who want to improve their card play, extend their playing technique, or keep up with modern bidding trends. Typically the block of improvers’ lessons is run once a year, each lesson held fortnightly. Dates for future classes will be advised in the weekly notices.
Bridge is a trick-taking card game played by four players in two partnerships. The game aims to win tricks and score points. The game is played in two distinct phases: the auction and the play.
The Auction
The auction is the first phase of the game, in which the players compete to win the contract. The contract is a declaration of how many tricks the winning partnership will make. The bidding starts with the dealer and continues clockwise around the table. Players can either pass or make a bid. A positive bid must be higher than the previous bid. The auction ends when there are three consecutive passes. The contract is the last bid made before those passes.
The Play
The play is the second phase of the game, in which the winning partnership tries to fulfil the contract. The declarer is the player who plays the hand. The declarer's partner, called the dummy, places their cards face up on the table. The declarer makes all decisions in the play of the hand, both their own and the dummy's cards.
A trick is a collection of four cards, one from each player in turn. The player who wins the trick is the one who played the highest card of the suit led, or the highest trump if a trump was played. The next trick must be played from the hand that won the previous trick.
How the Cards Are Placed
The cards are placed individually in front of each player. The cards are placed vertically (towards us) if we win the trick. The cards are placed horizontally (towards opponents) if we lose.
Ranking of Cards in a Suit
The cards in each suit are ranked from highest to lowest as follows:
A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Ranking of the Suits
The suits are ranked from highest to lowest as follows:
Notrumps (NT) Spades (♠) Hearts (♥) Diamonds (♦) Clubs (♣)
Naming a Suit
Naming a suit declares that suit to be trumps. A card from the trump suit is more powerful than cards from any other suit. Notrumps means that there is no dominant (trump) suit.
Value of the Honour Cards (HCP – High Card Points)
The honour cards are ace (A), king (K), queen (Q), and jack (J). They are worth a certain number of high card points (HCP) as follows:
A = 4 K = 3 Q = 2 J = 1
What is the Partnership Looking for in a Contract?
The partnership is looking for the best contract at the correct level. There are three levels to bid to:
Partscore: Combined points less than 25
Game: Combined points 25-32
Slam: Combined points 33+
Game
Game is a bonus that is awarded when a partnership makes a certain number of tricks. The number of tricks required for game varies according to the trump suit or notrumps.
3NT: 9 tricks
4♥/♠: 10 tricks
5♣/♦: 11 tricks