Welcome to Semi-Exposed Dummy Bridge

Let’s Explore Semi-Exposed Dummy Bridge

Have you ever played Semi-Exposed Dummy Bridge? It’s a fun and challenging card game designed for 2 players. The main objective is to score a specific number of points to secure a victory. How do you get those points? Well, by making bids and successfully fulfilling them. This exciting process happens through several rounds of play, and the first person to reach the target score emerges as the winner. Are you ready to give it a try?

Before we dive into the game, let’s set the score that you need to achieve in order to win. Make sure you agree on this number with your opponent before starting.

Now, let’s talk about the setup. To begin, you’ll need a dealer, who will be chosen randomly. The dealer will then alternate between players for each round. The deck of cards, consisting of 52 cards, will be shuffled by the dealer and divided into 4 hands. Each player will receive one hand, and there will be two additional hands known as dummy hands. The dummy hands will be placed opposite each player. The cards will be dealt in a counterclockwise direction, one card at a time.

When playing Semi-Exposed Dummy Bridge, I start with 6 cards face down, and then place 6 face-up cards on top of them. I also deal another card face up, without a face-down card underneath.

Before the game starts, we have a round of bidding.

Card Rankings and Trumps

In Semi-Exposed Dummy Bridge, the cards are ranked in the traditional order: Ace (highest), King, Queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 (lowest).

When it comes to suits, they also have a ranking, but this is only used for bidding. The order is: no trumps (highest), spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs (lowest).

BIDDING

Once the cards are dealt, the real game begins with a bidding round. It all starts with the dealer, and then it’s your turn to make your move. Here’s how it works: you have two options. Option one: you can place a bid, where you announce how many tricks you believe you can win in this round, along with the suit that will be the trump. Option two: you can pass and let your opponent have a go. Keep in mind that you must win at least 6 tricks, so when you make a bid, you’re saying how many tricks you’ll win above that minimum. The minimum bid is 1, which means winning 7 tricks, and the maximum bid is 7, which means winning all 13 tricks. The bidding continues until one player decides to pass. The player with the highest number of tricks or the highest-ranked suit with the same number of tricks wins the bid.

When it’s your turn to bid in a game, you have a few options. Instead of just increasing the bid, you can also call for a double or a redouble. If an opponent makes a bid, you can double it on your turn to double the score at the end. Or, if a double has already been made on your bid, you can redouble it. But once a new deal is made, the double and redouble disappear, and you have to make them again if you want to use them.

How to Play

Once the bidding is finished, the game begins. The first player is the opponent of the winning bidder, and they can lead with any card they choose. The other players must follow suit if they can. To win a trick, you need to play either the highest trump or the highest card of the suit that was led. The player who wins a trick gets to lead the next one.

When I play the game, I have two sets of cards to choose from: my hidden hand and the revealed hand of my dummy. On my turn, I can play a card from either hand. If I happen to reveal a face-down card while playing from the dummy hand, I can flip it over once the trick is done.

Remember, we take turns in a clockwise direction.

Once the final trick is won, it’s time to tally up the scores.

Let’s talk about scoring now.

Once all the tricks are played, we calculate our points.

If I successfully bid, I earn points for each trick I won above 6. The number of points depends on the trump suit I chose. If it’s spades or hearts, each trick over 6 is worth 30 points. For diamonds and clubs, each trick over 6 is worth 20 points. And if we’re playing without trumps, the first trick over 6 is worth 40 points, while all the following tricks are worth 30 points each.

If you double your bid, you’ll double your end score. And if you redouble it, you’ll quadruple your score.

The Game’s End

In order to win the game, you need to reach or go beyond a certain number of points, which is determined before the game starts. The first player to achieve or exceed this number is declared the winner.

Hi, I’m Amber! I love playing games and consider myself an expert. I’m also a big fan of dogs, plants, and Dungeons & Dragons.

Semi-exposed dummy bridge game rules- how to play semi-exposed dummy bridge