Bridge Scoring Explained: Contracts, Vulnerability and Rubbers
Bridge has the most intimidating score sheet in card games, and the reputation is only half deserved. The scoring is not complicated so much as layered: a trick value, then a set of bonuses on top, then a multiplier, then a different set of numbers depending on whether you are vulnerable.
Once you see the layers separately it stops being a memory test.
Layer one: the contract itself
The auction ends with a contract: a number of tricks above six, and a trump suit or no trump. "Four hearts" means the declaring side has undertaken to win ten tricks with hearts as trump.
Making the contract scores per trick bid, at these rates:
| Denomination | Per trick bid |
|---|---|
| Clubs or diamonds (minors) | 20 |
| Hearts or spades (majors) | 30 |
| No trump | 40 for the first, 30 for each after |
So four hearts made is 4 x 30 = 120 below the line. Three no trump is 40 + 30 + 30 = 100.
Layer two: the game threshold
100 points below the line makes a game. That single number explains most of bidding theory.
- Three no trump is exactly 100. Game.
- Four hearts or four spades is 120. Game.
- Five clubs or five diamonds is 100. Game, but it takes eleven tricks, which is why minor suit games
are avoided when three no trump is available.
Anything short of 100 is a part score, and part scores accumulate until somebody makes a game.
Layer three: vulnerability
Once a side has made a game, they become vulnerable. Vulnerability does not change what you score for making a contract. It changes the bonuses and, much more importantly, the penalties:
| Not vulnerable | Vulnerable | |
|---|---|---|
| Game bonus | 300 | 500 |
| Small slam (12 tricks) | 500 | 750 |
| Grand slam (13 tricks) | 1000 | 1500 |
| Undertrick, undoubled | 50 each | 100 each |
Being vulnerable roughly doubles the cost of going down, which is what makes sacrificing a real decision rather than a free option.
Layer four: doubling
A double multiplies the trick score and sharpens the penalties considerably. Redouble doubles it again. A doubled contract that makes also collects a bonus for the insult, and a doubled contract that fails escalates fast:
Non vulnerable doubled undertricks run 100, 300, 500, then 300 each thereafter. Vulnerable doubled undertricks run 200, then 300 each. This is the layer where a paper score sheet most often goes wrong, because the sequence is not a flat rate.
Layer five: overtricks and honours
Overtricks score at the trick rate when undoubled, at 100 or 200 each when doubled depending on vulnerability. Holding four or five trump honours in one hand is worth 100 or 150 in rubber bridge.
Rubber bridge and duplicate
Rubber bridge is the classic home game: first side to two games wins the rubber, worth 700 if the opponents have no game and 500 if they have one. Part scores carry across hands until a game closes the line.
Duplicate replaces the rubber with a per hand result compared against every other table playing the same cards, which removes the luck of the deal. The trick and bonus values are the same, but game bonuses are awarded per hand rather than per rubber.
Keeping score without the arithmetic
Braggster gives Bridge a scorecard for four players in two fixed partnerships on a standard 52 card deck, so the sides are set up correctly from the start rather than being four independent columns you have to remember to pair.
The point of a digital sheet here is not that Bridge scoring is impossible by hand. It is that the doubled undertrick sequence and the vulnerability switch are exactly the kind of rule that gets applied from memory, incorrectly, at the end of a long evening.
Frequently asked questions
How many points do you need for a game in bridge? 100 points below the line, from trick scores only. Bonuses do not count towards it.
What is the difference between vulnerable and not vulnerable? Vulnerability raises your bonuses for making contracts and raises your penalties for failing them. You become vulnerable after making a game.
How much is a slam worth? A small slam is 500 not vulnerable and 750 vulnerable. A grand slam is 1000 and 1500. Both are on top of the game bonus and the trick score.
Is duplicate bridge scored differently from rubber bridge? The trick values and slam bonuses are the same. Duplicate awards a game bonus per hand instead of running a rubber, and compares your result against other tables playing identical cards.
Does Braggster play Bridge against the computer? No. Bridge in Braggster is a scorecard for a real table of four. The card games with in app play are Blackjack, Solitaire, Loteria, Hearts and the Freestyle table.
More: browse every card game at braggster.com/games, or read the overview of card game scoring.