Scoring in Rubber Bridge
When the Declaring Partnership Makes Their Contract or More
When the Declaring Partnership Does Not Make Their Contract
Doubled or Redoubled Contracts
Bonuses!
A Sample Rubber
Quiz Time!
The high card points in your hand are not the points you actually score. Bids (by themselves) are not what you score either! What DOES count is:
- Winning the bidding and then succeeding in taking the tricks you contracted to take;
- Your opponents winning the bidding and your side taking enough tricks to prevent them from making their contract (taking the number of tricks they contracted to take); and
- Bonuses for games, slams, and doubled contracts.
In rubber bridge, score is kept on a pad of paper (or on a computer) in one of four areas. There's "We" (the side keeping score) and "They" (their opponents.) For each partnership, there's also a section "above the line" and "below the line". Points below the line are used to determine if bonuses can be applied. Points above the line are not used in determining bonuses.
When the Declaring Partnership Makes Their Contract or More
The partnership which makes the final suit or notrump bid is called the declaring partnership. The other partnership is called the defending partnership. As an example, if the declarer contracts for 3 spades and takes 9 OR MORE tricks, then the declaring side has made its contract and gets the score for making 3 spades, plus any associated bonuses.
Tricks are worth different points depending on what the final contract is. If the final contract is in clubs or diamonds (also called the minor suits) and the declarer makes the contract, each trick above the first six (also known as "book") taken by the declaring side is worth 20 points below the line. Thus, declaring at 1♣ and taking 7 tricks total gives the declaring partnership 20 points.
If the final contract is in hearts or spades (also called the major suits), each trick above book taken by a successful declarer is worth 30 points below the line. So succeeding in declaring 2 spades (taking 8 tricks) would score 60 points for the declaring partnership.
Lastly, in notrump contracts, the first trick is worth 40 points, and every trick thereafter is worth 30 points below the line. Thus, if the declaring partnership bids 3NT and takes 9 tricks, they will score 40 (first trick above 6) + 2 x 30 (next two tricks) for a total of 100 points below the line.
If the declaring partnership takes MORE tricks than they bid, they get the points below the line for those tricks they bid WHILE the points for the extra tricks are placed above the line.
When the cumulative partnership points below the line totals 100 points or more, the partnership has scored a game. A new horizontal line is drawn below ALL the scores "below the line" at that time for both sides. New "below the line" points for subsequent hands are now placed beneath this new line.
When the points below the line total 100 points or more, then that partnership has scored a game. A new line is drawn below ALL the scores "below the line" at that time for both sides, and new "below the line" points are now placed beneath this new line.
At the start of the rubber, since neither partnership has a partscore, each partnership is referred to as non-vulnerable. After a partnership scores one game, they are vulnerable. This doesn't mean that they are suddenly easier to beat. What it means is that the penalty for NOT making contracts OR the bonus for making a slam are increased compared to when they are non-vulnerable.
After a partnership has scored two games, the rubber is over. All the points above the line and below the line are totaled and the partnership with the highest total is the winner.
When the Declaring Partnership Does Not Make Their Contract
If the declaring partnership FAILS to take the tricks that they contracted to take, they have been SET by the defending partnership. The points are then scored by the defending side. All of these points are scored above the line.
If the declarer was non-vulnerable and not doubled, then the defending side scores 50 points above the line for every trick that the declarer failed to take to reach the contract regardless of the amount of the contract.
For example, if the contract was 4♠ (bid to take 10 tricks with spades as trumps) and only 8 tricks were taken by the declarer, then the defending side would score 100 points above the line, 50 points for each trick by which the declarer failed to make his contract.
If the declarer was vulnerable and not doubled, then each trick by which the declarer failed gives the defending side 100 points. So in the previous example, the defending side would score 200 points above the line.
Doubled or Redoubled Contracts
What if the declaring side is doubled? Well, that means that the penalties and trick scores are changed. By a non-vulnerable declarer, the first undertrick (that is, less than the contract) is worth 100 points to the defenders. Every additional undertrick is worth 200 points. By a vulnerable declarer, the first undertrick is worth 200 points to the defenders, and every additional undertrick is worth 300 points.
Let's say the declaring side is non-vulnerable and in two spades doubled, which is represented by 2♠X. If the declarer took only 7 tricks, then she has been set one trick (fell one trick short of the 8 that she contracted for) and the defending side will score 100 points above the line. If the declaring side took only 6 tricks (two undertricks), then the defending side will score 300 points above the line!
If the declarer takes 8 tricks, then she has made her contract! The value of the two contracted tricks (usually 30 points each for a major suit) are doubled to 60 points each, so the declaring side would score 120 points below the line (which would give them game, regardless of how many points they already had below the line). ALSO, the declarer gets a bonus of 50 points above the line for making a doubled contract (also nicknamed by bridge players as the "insult").
If the declarer takes 9 tricks, then she has made one MORE than her contract! The contracted tricks are scored the same way as before (120 points below the line and 50 point bonus above the line). Each extra trick (overtrick) is worth 100 points above the line when the declaring side is non-vulnerable. If the declaring side is vulnerable, then the score for each overtrick is 200 points above the line.
If the contract is REDOUBLED (e.g. 2♠XX), then a successful declaring side scores FOUR times the value of the tricks (that is, doubled again) and the values for overtricks are doubled. [The 50 point bonus is not doubled, however.] If the declaring side is set, the penalties are twice as great as those for a doubled contract.
Bonuses!
If one hand holds four of the top five cards in the trump suit for a trump contract, that partnership scores 100 points above the line for holding "four honors." If one hand holds all five top cards (AKQJT) in a trump suit, the bonus is 150 points above the line. If one hand holds all four aces and the contract is in notrump, then that partnership scores 150 points above the line. The defending side can score these points if they happen to hold the top cards in your trump suit or all four aces when you are declaring notrump!
When one partnership in rubber bridge has won two games, the rubber is over. Bonuses are scored, the points above and below the line are totaled, and the partnership with the highest total wins the rubber. [If the players wish to continue playing, they start a new rubber. Some people change partners at this time too, but it is not required. All points from the previous rubber do not count in the next rubber though.]
If the losing partnership was non-vulnerable (hadn't won a game yet,) then the winning partnership scores 700 bonus points for the rubber (usually written above the line, although at this point it doesn't really matter.) If the losing partnership was vulnerable, the winning partnership scores 500 bonus points.
There are special bonuses for contracting to take and taking all or almost all the tricks. A contract of six (12 tricks) is known as a small slam. A contract of seven (13 tricks: all of them!) is known as a grand slam. If you contract for a slam (small or grand) AND you succeed as the declaring side, then you score the following bonus points above the line:
Small slam: 500 points for a non-vulnerable declarer, 750 points for a vulnerable declarer,
Grand slam: 1000 points for a non-vulnerable declarer, 1500 points for a vulnerable declarer.
A Sample Rubber
[Note: Usually, the cardinal points of a compass are used to describe where partnerships sit. They do NOT have to sit in these directions. It is merely used to help people envision where the players are sitting.]
North and South are keeping score so they are the "WE" side. East and West are therefore "THEY". North draws the highest card out of the deck, so she is the first dealer.
North shuffles and deals one card at a time starting with East and continuing clockwise. The last card is dealt to North and everyone should have 13 cards. Since North dealt, she is the first to bid. She bids 1♠. The next player clockwise, East, passes. South bids 2♠, then West passes. North bids 4♠, and East, then South, then West pass.
The last non-pass, non-double/redouble bid was 4♠, so the contract is four spades by North/South. Since North was the first person from their side to bid spades, so she is also the declarer. East, the person to her left, is the opening leader. He selects a card and places it in the center of the table face.
[Note regarding opening leads: If the opening leader has any questions about the declaring side's bidding, he can ask before he leads. However, his partner should wait until the opening lead is made. Thus, the person who makes the opening lead will usually put the card they wish to lead face down on the table, and ask his partner if he had any questions to ask the declaring side about their bidding. Once the opening leader's partner has finished asking any questions (or didn't have any questions), the card is turned face up in the middle of the table. The play continues as described in the lesson.]
South (partner to declarer: also called the "dummy hand" since everyone can now see her cards) now places all of her cards on the table face up, arranged in suits (usually in columns and usually puts the trumps so that they are to the declarer's left.) Declarer takes a card from dummy (following suit if dummy has a card in the suit led) and places it in the center of the table. West then takes a card from his hand (following suit if possible) and places it in the center of the table. Finally, declarer takes a card from HER hand and places it on the table. Each hand has had one card played on the table. This is ONE TRICK. If everyone played the same suit OR there are no trump cards (spades in this contract) in the trick, then the highest card of that suit LED wins the trick. Players must follow suit unless they are void in the suit that has been led. [Cards of other non-trump suits are not counted in determining who wins the trick.]
One member of that partnership takes all four cards, stacks them neatly and places this group on the table in front of them. [Later tricks taken by that partnership will be stacked neatly, but separately from this trick.] The hand who played the winning card on the last trick now leads to the next trick, with each hand (clockwise) contributing a card to the next trick.
If one or more players did NOT play a card of the same suit and one of the cards is a spade (the trump suit in this contract,) then the highest TRUMP card wins the trick. In these cases, non-trump cards do not count as far as determining who wins the trick. [REMEMBER: you must play a card of the suit led if you can.]
After all 13 tricks are played, the declaring side counts the number of tricks that their side took. Let's say that North and South took 10 tricks, four above book. They made their contract! These four tricks are worth 30 points each (120 points) and these points are scored below the line. As a result, they have also scored more than 100 points below the line, so a new line is drawn below the 120. North and South are now vulnerable. The scorepad looks like:
For the next hand, East (next in line clockwise) is the dealer. Let's say that after the bidding, South is the declarer in 3♣. West, the person to the left of declarer, leads and the tricks are played as before. North and South wind up taking 11 tricks. They have made their contract and more! The contracted tricks are worth 60 points below the line (3 x 20 points each) and the overtricks are worth 40 points above the line (2 x 20 points.) The scorepad looks like:
| We |
They |
|
| 40 |
|
Above |
| 120 |
|
Below |
| 60 |
|
For the next hand, South deals. Let's say that East becomes declarer in 3 no trump and takes 9 tricks. [Who led to the first trick of this contract? Correct! South!] Now, East and West score 100 points below the line (40 + 2 x 30 points). They have scored a game, so a new line is drawn.
| We |
They |
|
| 40 |
|
Above |
| 120 |
|
Below |
| 60 |
100 |
Note that "WE"'s 60 points cannot be used to try to total 100 points now. West deals, and South declares in 3NT, but takes only 7 tricks (down 2). East and West, the defenders, score 200 points above the line for setting the contract (2 tricks down by a vulnerable declarer). North deals, and East declares in 6♥, taking all 13 tricks. First, East and West score 180 points below the line for contracting for 12 tricks and taking at least 12 and score 30 points above the line for the overtrick. They have also bid and made a small slam, so they score 750 points above the line for that. [Yes, they took enough tricks to score a grand slam, but they didn't CONTRACT to do it.] Finally, they have scored their second game, so they have won the rubber! North and South were vulnerable, so East and West score a bonus of 500 points. The points are totalled and the scoresheet looks like:
| We |
They |
|
| 40 |
500
750
30
200 |
Above |
| 120 |
|
Below |
| 60 |
100 |
| |
180 |
| 220 |
1560 |
Totals |
Thus, East and West have won by 1340 points. Note that IF North and South had bid 5♣ instead of 3♣ on the second hand, THEY would have won the rubber and the scoresheet would have looked like:
| We |
They |
|
| 700 |
|
Above |
| 120 |
|
Below |
| 100 |
|
| 920 |
0 |
Totals |
This is why it is important to be able to bid games when your partnership can make them. We'll talk about bidding and how to communicate with partner later.
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