Understanding Tricks: The Heart of Card Play

1. What is a trick?
Once your cards are sorted, you’re ready to discover one of the essential mechanisms of bridge: the trick. A trick consists of four cards, one played by each player in clockwise order. The rule is simple: the first card played establishes the led suit (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, or Clubs), and every player must follow suit if they can. Among the cards played in that suit, the highest one wins the trick.

2. The rhythm of the deal: Leading and winning
The player who wins a trick earns the right to lead to the next one. This creates a true rhythm within the deal: each trick shapes the next, and the flow of the game constantly evolves.
In the example shown, the first lead is a Club; everyone follows with a Club, and the highest Club wins. The next trick begins with a Spade – same principle. You can see how tricks unfold naturally until all 13 cards from each player have been used, forming the 13 tricks that make up a complete deal.

3. Tracking tricks: A key element of the game
Each partnership keeps track of the number of tricks they win, helping them follow the progress of the deal and understand how each side is doing. At this stage, you’re learning the foundations of card play: noticing the led suit, following correctly, playing in the right order… and enjoying the small pleasure of winning a trick!
But one essential question remains: what happens if you don’t have a card in the led suit? You’ll discover that in the next video.