Bridge is played with a standard, 52
card deck. This is much different than some other trick taking games
in which a special deck of cards is used. Since you do not need to
buy a special deck of cards, there is a good chance that you have
everything you need in order to play bridge. The nice thing about
this game is that you do not need anything out of the ordinary in
order to play.
For each session, one of the four players at the table is named the
dealer. Although this can be anybody, the group will probably want
to decide on who will take on this responsibility first. From there,
everybody can take a turn in order to make sure that each player
gets a chance at this part of the game. In most cases, the next
dealer is chosen by moving clockwise around the table. Although you
should follow this rule, it is not something that is integral to the
game.
You should be aware that the cards are dealt with differently
depending on the type of bridge that you are playing. For instance,
in rubber bridge, the cards are shuffled prior to every game. The
dealer will then proceed to hand out the cards one at a time in a
clockwise manner.
In duplicate versions of bridge, at the beginning of the first
session the cards are shuffled, and that is that. From there, the
same four hands of 13 cards are kept for the entire game. This way,
the element of luck is kept to a minimum at all times.
In duplicate bridge, once a trick has been completed, each player
turns their cards face down in front of them. This is different than
most other types of bridge, as well as other trick taking games, in
which players put their cards in the middle of the table. Again,
this is meant so that each player can keep their cards the same.
The actual cards used, as well as the dealing process in a game of
bridge is not complicated. It is when you switch versions of the
game that things can start to get a bit tricky.
